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In memory of Armenian Genocide

Information collected by Kobayat.org

Genocide - Chronology 1914-1923 - Chronology 1875-1923 - Turkish Triumvirate - In Memory of - Summary of Events - Photos - Links

 

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE  24 April 1915    

"Who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?"  Adolf Hitler, 1939

 

Armenian Genocide MemorialThe Genocide of the Armenians by the Turkish government during World War I represents a major tragedy of the modern age. In this the first Genocide of the 20th century, almost an entire nation was destroyed. The Armenian people were effectively eliminated from the homeland they had occupied for nearly three thousand years. This annihilation was premeditated and planned to be carried out under the cover of war.

 

During the night of April 23-24, 1915, Armenian political, religious, educational, and intellectual leaders in Istanbul were arrested, deported to the interior, and mercilessly put to death. Next, the Turkish government ordered the deportation of the Armenian people to "relocation centers" - actually to the barren deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia. The Armenians were driven out brutally from the length and breadth of the empire. Secrecy, surprise, deception, torture, dehumanization, rape and pillage were all a part of the process. The whole of Asia Minor was put in motion.

 

The greatest torment was reserved for the women and children, who were driven for months over mountains and deserts, often dehumanized by being stripped naked and repeatedly preyed upon and abused. Intentionally deprived of food and water, they fell by the hundreds of thousands along the routes to the desert.

 

There were some survivors scattered throughout the Middle East and Transcaucasia. Thousands of them, refugees here and there, were to die of starvation, epidemics, and exposure. Even the memory of the nation was intended for obliteration. The former existence of Armenians in Turkey was denied. Maps and history were rewritten. Churches, schools, and cultural monuments were desecrated and misnamed. Small children, snatched from their parents, were renamed and farmed out to be raised as Turks. The Turks "annexed" ancestors of the area in ancient times to claim falsely, by such deception, that they inhabited this region from ancient days. A small remnant of the Armenian homeland remained devastated by war and populated largely by starving refugees, only to be subsequently overrun by the Bolshevik Red Army and incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades, until its breakup in 1990. The word " genocide" had not yet been coined. Nonetheless, at the time, many governmental spokesmen and statesmen decried the mass murder of the Armenians as crimes against humanity, and murder of a nation.Armenian Genocide Museum (Interior View)

Reports of the atrocities gradually came out and were eventually disseminated the world over by newspapers, journals, and eyewitness accounts. In the United States a number of prominent leaders and organizations established fundraising drives for the remnants of the "Starving Armenians". In Europe the Allied Powers gave public notice that they would hold personally responsible all members of the Turkish government and others who had planned or participated in the massacres. Yet, within a few years, these same governments and statesmen turned away from the Armenians in total disregard of their pledges. Soon the Armenian genocide had become the "Forgotten Genocide".

 

In effect, the Turkish government had succeeded in its diabolical plan to exterminate the Armenian population from what is now Turkey. The failure of the international community to remember, or to honor their promises to punish the perpetrators, or to cause Turkey to indemnify the survivors helped convince Adolph Hitler some 20 years later to carry out a similar policy of extermination against the Jews and certain other non-Aryan populations of Europe.

 

The Genocide Monument is designed to memorialize the innocent victims of this first genocide of the 20th century. The Genocide Museum teaches that understanding the Armenian Genocide is an important step in preventing similar tragedies in the future, and that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

 

This map, prepared by Peter Der Manuelian (courtesy of the Armenian Library and Museum of America).

 

 

Chronology 1914-1923 - Chronology 1875-1923 - Summary of Events  (click to see them)

 

Turkish Triumvirate

ENVER PASHA, Minister of war: A man of the people, who at 26 was a leader in the revolution which deposed Abdul Hamid and established the new regime of the Young Turks. At that time Young Turks honestly desired to establish a Turkish democracy. This attempt failed miserably and the Young Turk leaders then ruled the Turkish Empire for their own selfish purposes, and developed a government which is much more wicked and murderous than that of Abdul Hamid. Enver is the man chiefly responsible for turning the Turkish army over the Germany. He imagines himself a Turkish combination of Napoleon and Frederick the Great.

TALAAT PASHA. Ex-Grand Vizier of Turkey:  In 1914, when the war broke out, Talaat was Minister of the Interior and the most influential leader in the Committee of Union and Progress, the secret organization which controlled the Turkish Empire. A few years earlier Talaat was a letter-carrier, and afterward, a telegraph operator in Adrianapole. His talents are those of a great political boss. He represented Turkey in the peace negotiations with Russia and his signature appears on the Brest-Litovsk treaty.

DJEMAL PASHA, Minister of Marine: In 1914 Djemal headed the Police Department; it was his duty to run down citizens who were oppositing the political gang then controlling Turkey. Such opponents were commonly assassinated or judicially murdered. Afterwards, Djemal was Minister of Marine, and as such violently protested against the sale of American warships to Greece. Then he was sent to Palestine as Commander of the Fourth Army Corps, where he distinguished himself as leader in the wholesale persecutions of the non-Moslem population.

Henry Morgenthau

 

IN MEMORY OF THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES OF 1915

As a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian artist Armiss, who escaped to France, created the following interpretation of his eyewitness of one of the most criminal acts of the last century. Following his visual interpretations is his literary rendition.

 

In Memoriam deportation vandal destruction Deir ez-Zor

the dying the evaded survivors

click to enlarge

 

AN ALTAR IN THE DESERT

The blazing sun spread its searing flames over the immense wilderness of Deir-el-Zor, the abominable graveyard of the Armenians, having been forced there by the genocidal Turks.
That appalling tent-city sheltered some forty thousand deportees, remnants of an immolated people. Who in that multitude would be spared?
The terrors of daily life and the tormented picture of the unknown morrow brought their daily agonies and obsessed the souls of this horrible mass.
As I watched with unutterable grief, no precise form fixed my attention. An aggregation of tents hanging in tufts sheltering vanished loves, burnt hopes and martyred faith made mountains of ashes.
Over the wreckage stood a priest. In his look, one could seen the endless sufferings of a martyred nation. Missal in hand, he was praying for the souls of the Armenian calvary. The gnawing words he uttered echoed the myriad sighs of pain-afflicted souls.
Some mourning grandmothers and skeletons of children standing in a circle of ghostly shadows were the only ones attending this service.
The breath of the monstrous Turk had blown out the candles, overthrown the altar and smashed the cross. Nevertheless, the Armenian soul kept on in Holy Communion, for the divine chant was in its veins and the mass in its blood. Now more than ever before shone the ardent Star of the Illuminator above Holy Etchmiadzin, symbol of the indestructible soul of Armenia.
"Dervoghormia", God have mercy on us!
This chant, woven with bitter tears, flooded the Altar ot the Desert and shook the denuded bones.
The course of life has sunk many of my paintings into oblivion, and alas! Sunlight bleached their glowing hues which I had extracted from my soul. For how long my passions and inspiration shall find idealized expression through lines and forms, I cannot say! Yet, the one picture that will ever live in my heart is the Altar of the Desert, powerfully impressive, triumphant, ineffaceable!

 

# Photos

 

 

 

Links to Genocide Web Sites

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

-- http://armeniangenocide100.org/en/ 

Armenian Genocide.
-- http://www.genocide.am/

Armenian Genocide
-- http://www.theforgotten.org

Armenian Genocide Resource Library for Teachers

-- http://www.teachgenocide.org/ 

Armenian National Institute - Dedicated to the Study, Research and Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide
-- http://www.armenian-genocide.org/

1915-1923 Armenian Genocide This website is dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide

-- http://www.genocide1915.info/ 

Documentary Videos about Armenia and Armenian Genocide
-- http://www.filminternational.com/genocidevideos.html

Armenian Genocide in the Georgian Language - Dr. Rouben Adalian's paper on the Armenian Genocide translated into the Georgian Language
-- http://www.georgia.net.ge/ani

Armenian Children Victims of Genocide

-- http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/online_exhibition_3.php

 The Forgotten Genocide

-- http://www.armenians.com/genocide/arm-gen.htm 

A Lecture on The Armenian Genocide :

-- PDF file link

Hagop Seropian's Website - Pictures

-- http://www.hagopseropian.com/ 

Armenian Links : History/Genocide

-- http://armenianlinks.com/History/Genocide/more3.html 

The Armenian Genocide - Extensive information and resources about the Armenian Genocide. Includes pictures, quotes, articles, documents, eyewitness accounts, books, treaties, declarations of recognition, and links.
-- http://www.cilicia.com/armo10.html

Scholars Debate Motives for Armenian Genocide - Ronald Grigor Suny (University of Chicago), Engin Deniz Akarli (Brown University), Selim Deringil (Bogazici University, Istanbul), and Vahakn N. Dadrian ask why the genocide happened.
-- http://www.gomidas.org/forum/af2gen.htm

Armenian Genocide

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide 

The Armenian Genocide: An Annotated Bibliography - A carefully selected list of books and articles, with a brief evaluative comment on each. Covers primary sources (documentation, including photographs), general works, and studies covering specific areas of interest.
-- http://www.ancaer.org/background/bi199906-genocide.htm

The Boston Area Remembers - Lists Boston-area events (April 2000) marking the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
-- http://www.remember1915.org/

Insurance Companies Owe Billions in Armenian Genocide Era Benefits - Study documents failure of American and European companies to pay benefits on tens of thousands of life insurance policies held by Armenians who perished in 1915-16.
-- http://www.gomidas.org/forum/af6ins.htm

The Ottoman Archives Debate and the Armenian Genocide - Ara Sarafian argues that whereas Ottoman archives are not open to intellectually honest scrutiny, records made available by Turkey do corroborate Western accounts of the events of 1915. Full text of article.
-- http://www.gomidas.org/forum/af5d.htm

Armenian Genocide Documentation Series - Books from the Gomidas Institute, including the testimony and diaries of American missionaries who lived in the interior of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-17; also a new edition of Ambassador Morgenthau's Story.
-- http://www.gomidas.org/books/catalog.htm

Another Crack in the Wall of Silence - Report on a workshop at the University of Chicago where specialists in Turkish and late Ottoman history considered the central place of the Armenian Genocide in the history of modern Turkey
-- http://www.gomidas.org/forum/chicago.htm

Map of the Armenian Genocide - A map with red dots to represent the number of Armenians sent to die from various parts of the Ottoman Empire in 1915
-- http://www.webcenter.ru/~s17

Forgotten History - Some quotes and fact sheets about the Genocide and denial thereof.
-- http://www.hr-action.org/armenia/index.html

Zoryan Institute - Sparse site includes bibliography for 1894-96 massacres and for denial of the Genocide; also a scholarly essay (apparently by Vahakn Dadrian) refuting claims made by the Turkish Embassy in Washington.
-- http://www.zoryan.org/Genocide.htm

Armenian National Institute - Affirmation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey, featuring photos, documents, maps, chronology, resolutions, bibliographies and educational resources.
-- http://www.armenian-genocide.org/

The Armenian Genocide: Survivor Interview Guide - Extensive questionnaire for survivors of the genocide, or their descendants to record their experiences.
-- http://www.cilicia.com/armo10b1.html

Frequent Questions on the Armenian Genocide - Cursory answers to a series of skeptical questions about the Armenian Genocide.
-- http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/facts/answers.html

HyeEtch - Armenian Genocide - Colorful compilation of articles and book excerpts, including an academic overview and eyewitness accounts.
-- http://www.hyeetch.nareg.com.au/genocide/

Zoryan Institute - Focusing on Genocide and Karabakh publications and research.
-- http://www.zoryan.org/

Mousa Ler - Mousa Ler AKA Musa Dagh: a real place and a famous work of fiction. Amazing things took place here during the Genocide. This is the web page of survivors.
-- http://mousaler.com/

Cilicia.com - Includes information on Armenian tourist attractions, Armenian genocide, an Armenian hall of fame, and the Armenian church.
-- http://www.cilicia.com

Armenian Museum - The Ararat-Eskijian Museum was created for the preservation of national Armenian treasures. It also contains documentation of the Genocide.
-- http://www.ararat-eskijian-museum.com/

My Armenia - Includes: Khacher's Verses, personal accounts of life in Armenia before and during the Genocide taken from excerpts of my great grandfather's book.
-- http://www.execpc.com/~mchadjin/am/armenia.html

The most powerful and one of the best sites about the Armenian Genocide. The History of Armenian Genocide. Online News from Armenia. Maps, photos, convention and more...in Russian.
-- http://www.genocide.ru

 

Genocide - Chronology 1914-1923 - Chronology 1875-1923 - Turkish Triumvirate - In Memory of - Summary of Events - Photos - Links

 

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