On the eve of World War II, Adolf Hitler spoke to his Nazi military generals, describing the blood-bath that would soon asphyxiate Europe. Total destruction of Germany’s enemies, Hitler explained, could be the only outcome—defeat wasn’t an option. In Hitler’s crosshairs were the Jews. Eliminating them as a people herald supreme victory for the Third Reich. For those in the audience who harbored doubts about such a policy, Hitler rhetorically asked, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
On Friday, April 24, the world will be called to rememberer those who Hitler believed it had forgotten. That day marks the Armenian Genocide’s Centennial. Beginning in 1915 and ending in 1923, the Ottoman Turks beheaded, starved, marched, and looted Armenians in a choreographed, government sponsored reign of terror that historians regard as the 20th century’s first genocide. At least 1.5 million Armenians perished during this time.
This wasn’t the first time Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were persecuted and subjected to violence. Categorized as infidels, Armenians—the first nation to embrace Christianity—were treated as second-class citizens within the Muslim realm. Armenians were extorted under a corrupt tax system, were victims of land theft, and witnessed the kidnapping their children—sons taken to serve the military and daughters taken to fulfill the needs of soldiers. There was no redress for these injustices. Armenians were not allowed to serve in the government nor did their testimony count in a court dominated by sharia law. With their backs against the wall, Armenian revolutionaries struck back in 1894.
The empire’s leader, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, responded in kind, sending Kurdish mercenaries into the Armenian enclaves of eastern Anatolia. What followed was two years of unbridled violence that left over 200,000 Armenians dead. Hamid’s virulence towards Armenians was so strong that he attempted to expunge their very existence, outlawing textbooks and censoring any newspaper that mentioned Armenia and its people.
In the 1908, the Committee of Union and Progress (C.U.P.) took over the reigns of government from the Bloody Sultan, as Hamid was often called. A “Turkey for Turks” became the rallying cry for the C.U.P. and its leaders, the Young Turks. Initially, Armenians backed the new government, but soon withdrew their support when they realized that their lives were just as precarious as they were under Hamid.
As Armenians struggled to co-exist with the Young Turks, World War One erupted. In an effort to stave off its impending collapse, the Ottoman Empire aligned itself with Germany and the Central Powers. Under the guise of war, the Ottoman government began its campaign against Armenians, alleging that they were cooperating with the enemy, Russia. On April 24, 1915, over 200 Armenians intellectuals were rounded up in Constantinople and systematically executed. The violence worked its way east and entire Armenian villages and towns were liquidated. News of the genocide reached the outside, as journalists filed stories about the atrocities. But sadly, the victims’ cries fell on deaf ears.
A century after the genocide, Armenians are still waiting to be heard. The theme of countless Armenian centennial committees, like both San Francisco-Bay Area Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee and The Armenian Genocide Centennial—Fresno Committee, stress both remembrance and recognition, especially from Turkey. Driving east on San Felipe Road in Hollister, one will spot the reach of the Frenso group in the form of a billboard commerating past and current genocides.
Turkey has repeatedly denied that its soil was awash in Armenian blood. In fact, under Turkish law, asserting that genocide occurred within its borders is a criminal offense. Moreover, Turkey’s intransigence has resulted in a cessation of diplomatic relations with Armenia and a sealed border between the two countries.
In recent weeks, recognition of the genocide has come from various corners, including reality TV. star, Kim Kardashian, Pope Francis, and presidential candidate, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
During his 2008 bid for the White House, President Barack Obama stated that when he entered the Oval Office he would publicly acknowledge the events of 1915 as a genocide. He has consistently fallen short on that promise, issuing a statement on Tuesday that the centenary be used “as the occasion” for a “full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties.”
The political reality is that Mr. Obama’s use of the word genocide would provoke Turkey’s ire and threaten our NATO relationship with it, thus thwarting our war against Islamic extremists and militants in the Middle East.
On Sat., April 11, I attended a teacher’s workshop on the Armenian Genocide that was co-hosted by the San Francisco Unified School District, The Genocide Education Project, and the San Francisco-Bay Area Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee. The all-day event was held at the KZV Armenian School in San Francisco, and included information on Armenian history and culture, as well as resources and strategies to support the California History-Social Science Content Standard 10.5.5 which states: “Discuss human rights violations and genocide, including the Ottoman government’s actions against Armenian citizens.”
I returned to my world history classes eager to share my experience and new knowledge with my students, who had learned about the Armenian Genocide during our unit on World War One and who recently completed their study of World War Two and the Holocaust. I also explained that Armenians have been and continue to be a part of our community (Parts Two and Three of this series feature two).
As the Armenian Genocide centennial approaches, I’ve stressed the importance of learning about genocide—a crime that continues afflicting the innocent, while haunting our conscious. I’m encouraged by the interest, questions, and humanity expressed by my students. Their eagerness to understand makes me hopeful that what occurred a century ago will not be discarded to the dustbin of history, as Hitler had so steadfastly, and erroneoulsy, predicted.
Here are some resources on the Armenian Genocide and its centennial:
San Francisco-Bay Area Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee
The Armenian Genocide Centennial—Fresno Committee
ABC News – Armenian Genocide (5 min. video)
“The Armenian Journey: From Despair to Hope in Rhode Island” by The Genocide Education Project (13 min. video)