The genocide officially began after the Turkish government ordered the arrest of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals on the night of April 23rd 1915. Over a thousand leaders, writers, poets and politicians were deported. Almost all were massacred.

One of the reasons behind the genocide was political. World War I was underway and there was a fear the Armenians would form an alliance with the Russian enemy.

That’s when the interior minister, Mechmet Talat Pasha, passed the law that would deport Armenians and would forced them to abandon their homes and were transferred to the periphery of the Ottaman empire. The majority died on the way.

That’s how the genocide that killed 1.2 million people began.

Along side the Armenians, Christians were also killed.

Haik Demoyan
Director, Armenian Genocide Museum
“Of course the government decided to target the Armenian as a political decision, but Greek and Assyrians Christians were also targeted by the overall ottoman genocide policies and subsequently attacks policies of elimination of minorities, so here we clearly see the fact that Christian subjects were targeted.”

The survivors say their faith gave them the strength to move forward and say Muslims opposed the massacre.

The genocide museum remembers cities that no longer exists, cemeteries that aren’t on any map, and places exterminated forever. But it hopes the sorrow helps future generations.

Although Turkey has not officially recognized the genocide more and more, the internatinal community is increasingly calling for Turkey to do so. In fact the government has formed an independent commission to investigate the tragedy. But some say if the truth is never uncovered these two nations may never turn the page and live in peace.

JMB/MC
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