A Historical Overview

1
Armenian Genocide

• A Historical Overview

2
Who are the Armenian People

• Armenian people or Armenians are an ethnic
  group native to the Caucasus and the Armenian
  Highland.

3
Armenian History and Religion

• In the early days of Christianity, Armenia was
  the first state to embrace Christianity
• i.e. King converted ?so did everyone else
• Armenia was surrounded by non-Christians

4
The 19th Century

• Armenian community became more educated,
  wealthier and more urban
• This change challenged the social hierarchy

5
What is the Ottoman Empire?

• It was a Turkish empire that lasted from 1299
  to1923.

6
What Is the OttOman Empire Continued

• The Ottoman Empire is a very ancient one and
  because it is located exactly in the middle,
  between EAST (Asia) and WEST (Europe), it held a
  very strategic position in the world.
• Armenians occupied the Highlands of Northern
  Mesopotamia, along the SILK route from Asia to
  Europe.

7
On this map, you can see the variations in the
Ottoman Empire from 1798 to 1923. There is little
doubt that rivalry with Europe was a dominant
motive in Ottoman expansion but a religious
element was also present.

• That element was the desire to extend Islamic
  rule throughout the world. Indeed, it was not
  altogether inappropriate that the word 'Turk' and
  'Muslim' then became synonymous in Europe. The
  Ottomans saw themselves first and foremost as
  Muslims, not as members of a particular ethnic
  group.

8
What Rights did Armenians Have When They Lived as
Subjects of the Ottoman Empire?

• 70 of the Armenian population lived in poor
  and dangerous conditions in the rural countryside
• There, the Armenians were subject to the whims of
  their Turkish and Kurdish neighbors
• They were often overtaxed, robbed, kidnapped,
  and forced to convert to Islam

9
Armenians as Second Class Citizens

• Christians were also not equal to Muslims under
  the law
• Testimony by Christians against Muslims was
  inadmissible in court
• Armenians were not allowed to carry weapons
• Their houses could not even overlook Muslims

10
Rise of Discontent

• In the mid-1860s and early 1870s a intellectual
  class emerged among Armenian society who began to
  question the Armenians status as second class
  citizens
• These groups had support from Great Britain,
  Russia and France, who pressured the Ottoman
  Empire to extend equal rights to all citizens

11
Hamidiye?

• In 1890 the Ottoman leader Sultan Abdul Hamid II,
  decided to put a stop to the Armenian
  revolutionary movement
•  Hamid II created a paramilitary outfit known as
  the Hamidiye, which was made up of Kurdish
  prisoners who were told they should "deal with
  the Armenians as they wished.
• Russia, France and Great Britain then forced
  Hamid to sign a reform package to stop the
  Hamidiye, however, the Sultan never followed
  through

12
Hamidian Massacres

• When Armenians protested Ottoman police violently
  broke the protest
• This ended in a two year massacre known as the
  Hamidian Massacres where 100300,000 Armenians
  were killed
• This also earned Abdul Hamid II, the nickname the
  Bloody Sultan.

13
The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire

• As the Ottoman Empire began to collapse, the
  Young Turk Revolution (1908) overthrew the
  government of Sultan Hamid.
• Established a Constitutional Monarchy
• Armenians living in the empire hoped that the
  Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) would
  change their second-class status.

14
The Young Turk Triumvirate
15
Turkification 1913

• an extremist branch of the Young Turks, the
  Committee of Union and Progress (the CUP) seized
  control of the government.
• Introduced a policy of Turkification, encouraging
  non-Turkish citizens to convert to Islam and
  become more Turkish.
• Christian Armenians particularly targeted by this
  policy.
• Some converted but many refused.
• Instead worked to preserve their cultural
  identity through education.

16
On the eve of World War I

• The new government looked on the Armenian
  community with distrust and suspicion.
• The Ottoman Empire was at War with the Triple
  Entente
• Russian army has a contingent of Armenian
  volunteers.

17
Someone to BLAME

• When the Ottoman Empire began to collapse, the
  Christian Armenian Empire was an easy scape goat
• January 1915, forced Turkification began.
• To limit resistance, the CUP targeted the
  Armenian population in phases, removing those
  most likely to resist.

18
Stages of Persecution

• First, young Armenian men in the army were
  assigned to hard labour in remote areas and
  executed.
• Second, on the night of April 24, intellectuals
  and community leaders were arrested and deported
  to the countryside, where they were later
  executed.
• In commemoration, Armenian communities around the
  world today observe April 24 as Red Sunday.

19
The Teshikilati Mahsusa

• In May, (third) the remaining Armenian population
  was deported.
• transported by train and foot to concentration
  camps in the Syrian desert.
• Supervised by the Teshikilati Mahsusa the
  Special Organization - a unit of the Turkish army
  made up of criminals released from prison for the
  purpose of handling the Armenian deportees.
• The members of this unit were notorious for their
  brutality.
• Estimated that one million Armenians were killed
  in, and on their way to, the camps
  approximately half of the pre-war population.

20
Stages of Persecution

• First, young Armenian men in the army were
  assigned to hard labour in remote areas and
  executed.
• Second, on the night of April 24, intellectuals
  and community leaders were arrested and deported
  to the countryside, where they were later
  executed.
• In commemoration, Armenian communities around the
  world today observe April 24 as Red Sunday.

21
Mass Murders

• Reports of the mass murders reached Western
  nations.
• These governments ignored calls for action.
• World War I was being fought on many fronts and
  other battles were of more immediate concern.
• British and American governments issued official
  condemnations against the CUP regime.
• American humanitarian organizations raised funds
  in support of the starving Armenians.

22
Why did this happen?

• A. Every society has INEQUALITY
• This societys was ethnicity and religion
• Ottoman Empire is a Muslim Theocracy
• Armenians were subjects not citizens
• Subjects role OBEY
• They were non-believers of the true faith
• The Empire is falling apart and look for some
  group to blame

23
Why? Cont..

• Ottoman Empire is collapsing
• Nationalism could be the answer for them.
• Think that they might build a modern new nation
  in Asia with Turkish nationalism.
• BUT the Armenians are there, on the eastern edge
  of the countryneed to get rid of them and
  confiscate their land.
• Want to make a Turkey that is more homogeneous.

24
Why? Cont..

• Young Turks Military Coup
• Smaller acts of violence early on are not
  punished.
• Later acts of violence continue and escalate.
• Turkey enters WW I against Russia (half of
  Armenians fighting for Czar half fighting for
  Turkey.
• Turkey loses every battle look for someone to
  blame The Armenians.

25
Why? Cont..

• Under Cover of War
• Planned early in year by CUP officials
• Easier to do terrible deeds and keep it a secret
  censorship.
• Secret coded messages are used between CUP
  officials vs. Government (this permits govt some
  deniability)
• Turks are being encouraged by their allies to be
  more efficient in warfare.
• On April 25, 1915, the Allies land at Gallipoli.
• On April 28, 1915, CUP secret decrees call for
  deportations and massacres of Armenians.

26
Results

• In May of 1915, hundreds of thousands of
  Armenians go into involuntary exile.
• Starvation, dehydration, disease, atrocities and
  mass killings.
• 1 to 1.5 million Armenians killed between 1915
  and 1923.
• May 24, 1915 Western Allies declare crimes of
  Turkey against humanity and civilization.
• See HAND OUT Statistics

27
Results Cont

• Armenian lands, goods, money and animals
  confiscated (told they would be reimbursed)
• Forced marches in the desert
• No water, food, shelter
• Not protected from marauding gangs
• Women raped
• Mutilation before or after death
• Bodies abandoned to wild animals
• Some young girls taken into Muslim homes forced
  conversion