The Armenian Genocide

Overview Planned and administered by Turkish government - Directed by a special organization called Teshkilat Mahsusa Turks believed that Armenians and other Christians were helping countries against Turkey and going against their government Armenians wanted independence and the Turks wanted a new empire Occurred during World War I between 1915-1918 in Turkey

Background… Of the 2.5 Armenians,1.5 million died Assyrians and Greeks were also targeted and attacked Armenian people were forced to move from Armenia and Anatolia to Syria (Ottoman Empire) Deportations involved forced marches with unbearable conditions as a way to kill them

The 8 Steps of Genocide Classification The Armenians were considered separate than Ottoman Turkey They were Christians, and separated from the mostly Muslim population Symbolization Generalizations were made about all Armenians because of actions of a few Christian people

The 8 Steps of Genocide (Cont.) Dehumanization Because the Armenians had different beliefs, they were forced to pay higher taxes They also were not trusted and treated as second class individuals Organization The Committee of Union and Progress made lists of different Armenian people to be murdered

The 8 Steps of Genocide (Cont.) Polarization Armenians were accused of going against their government to help the Russians Only a few people tried to help them, and by doing so they put their lives at risk Preparation The Turks ordered leaders to send all Armenian women and children on a forced march through the desert under terrible conditions They set up 25 concentration camps Militias were developed for the killings

The 8 Steps of Genocide (Cont.) Extermination Armenian political and intellectual leaders were gathered and killed on April 24th, 1915 On that day, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were butchered in the streets Denial The Turkish Government denies that there was a genocide of the Armenians They claim that the Armenians were removed from the Eastern “war zone”