Why Did The Armenian Genocide Happen
The Armenian genocide was one of the most deadly genocides in history. In 1915, The Turkish government started a several year massacre that claimed the lives of nearly 1.5 million Armenians. The Armenians were viewed as infidels in the eyes of the Ottoman rulers. Different Armenian leaders were gathered and executed, which was the beginning of the massacre. Although some countries and people do not view this as a genocide, it should not have happened because the Armenians were only scapegoats to the problems occurring in the Ottoman Empire, in result 1.5 million lives were taken, and it was a crime against mankind. The Genocide derived from long-term anger towards the Armenians by the Turkish. The Turkish people accused the Armenians of
being “more loyal to Christian governments,” (The Roots of Genocide: The Ottoman Genocide) than to the Ottoman Empire. Then when the Ottoman Empire began to fall in the nineteenth century, the Turks blamed the Armenians for being responsible for this downfall. This eventually led to Abdul Hamid II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire at the time, to order military operations that involved the murdering of many Armenians and their villages. In 1908, a group known as the ‘Young Turks’ overthrew the Sultan to establish “a more modern constitutional government.” (The Rise of the Young Turks) When the Young Turks came to power, the Armenians were hopeful that there life would improve, when in reality the Young Turks only had worse plans for them. Later, in 1914, the turks joined World War 1, fighting for the Central Powers. Meanwhile, the Armenians had formed volunteer battalions to fight alongside with the Russians. This caused the Turkish to remove all Armenians from their war zones, and so the Armenian Genocide began.
On April 24, 1915, the Turks began to capture and execute several Armenians. Soon after, they organized different ‘killing squads’ that set out to murder Armenians or force them through death marches, which consisted of them walking through the desert without anything to eat or drink until they died. This genocide went on for many years, causing many Armenians to flee in search of refugee, and killing even more. The Turks hoped that the eradication of Armenians would benefit them, yet after the genocide, the Ottoman Empire continued to fall apart. The massacres also resulted in the displacement of thousands of Armenians, taking them from their home and their heritage.The mass murder has had lasting effects that we still experience now. For example, of the 9 million Armenians in the world today, only about a third of them live in Armenia. Also, only 15% of Armenia remains, most of which was lost during the genocide and the war. All of these consequences derived from the large scale killing of a group of people that just believed in a different religion than the Turkish people. The Turks only attempted to exterminate them because they did not agree on the same things. This genocide is very similar to the Holocaust because both involved leaders of a country attempting to get rid of a certain group because they thought that group weighed down the country and did not deserve to be alive. In conclusion, Armenian Genocide was a terrible and uncalled for event that affected millions of people, whether that be getting killed, knowing someone who was killed, or being forced to relocate. The Armenians did nothing wrong, they just lived a different life than the Turks, but in the Turks’ eyes, that was not okay. The near 1.5 million people who lost their lives deserved to be alive and live a full life like each and every one person, but weren’t able to because of a selfish series of attacks that the Turkish government committed in the early 20th century.
being “more loyal to Christian governments,” (The Roots of Genocide: The Ottoman Genocide) than to the Ottoman Empire. Then when the Ottoman Empire began to fall in the nineteenth century, the Turks blamed the Armenians for being responsible for this downfall. This eventually led to Abdul Hamid II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire at the time, to order military operations that involved the murdering of many Armenians and their villages. In 1908, a group known as the ‘Young Turks’ overthrew the Sultan to establish “a more modern constitutional government.” (The Rise of the Young Turks) When the Young Turks came to power, the Armenians were hopeful that there life would improve, when in reality the Young Turks only had worse plans for them. Later, in 1914, the turks joined World War 1, fighting for the Central Powers. Meanwhile, the Armenians had formed volunteer battalions to fight alongside with the Russians. This caused the Turkish to remove all Armenians from their war zones, and so the Armenian Genocide began.
On April 24, 1915, the Turks began to capture and execute several Armenians. Soon after, they organized different ‘killing squads’ that set out to murder Armenians or force them through death marches, which consisted of them walking through the desert without anything to eat or drink until they died. This genocide went on for many years, causing many Armenians to flee in search of refugee, and killing even more. The Turks hoped that the eradication of Armenians would benefit them, yet after the genocide, the Ottoman Empire continued to fall apart. The massacres also resulted in the displacement of thousands of Armenians, taking them from their home and their heritage.The mass murder has had lasting effects that we still experience now. For example, of the 9 million Armenians in the world today, only about a third of them live in Armenia. Also, only 15% of Armenia remains, most of which was lost during the genocide and the war. All of these consequences derived from the large scale killing of a group of people that just believed in a different religion than the Turkish people. The Turks only attempted to exterminate them because they did not agree on the same things. This genocide is very similar to the Holocaust because both involved leaders of a country attempting to get rid of a certain group because they thought that group weighed down the country and did not deserve to be alive. In conclusion, Armenian Genocide was a terrible and uncalled for event that affected millions of people, whether that be getting killed, knowing someone who was killed, or being forced to relocate. The Armenians did nothing wrong, they just lived a different life than the Turks, but in the Turks’ eyes, that was not okay. The near 1.5 million people who lost their lives deserved to be alive and live a full life like each and every one person, but weren’t able to because of a selfish series of attacks that the Turkish government committed in the early 20th century.