History of the Armenian Genocide Essay Example

The Armenian genocide happened over 100 years ago but the Turkish government still denies claims of genocide until this day. The Turkish committed horrible acts like starving and torturing them until death. The Turks made the Armenians go through long marches in deserts naked until they dropped dead or were shot. Others were put in concentration camps and massed killed in their villages. The Turks used WWI as an excuse to kill the Armenians because the Russians recruited them. The Armenian genocide is a result of the Ottoman’s desire to kill the Armenians with the claim of self-defense and the Ottoman’s desire to use the Armenians as scapegoats for the loss in the war and this will never change unless the Turkish government admits the fault of committing genocide.

The International Herald Tribune explains that “The roots of the Armenian genocide lie in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and date as far back as the Armenian uprising of 1895,” meaning that Armenian and Turkish tensions existed around twenty years before the genocide. During 1895, however, the Ottomans carried out something called the Hamidian Massacres; the Ottomans killed hundreds of thousands of Armenians inside of the empire. It didn’t help that in 1912-1913, the Ottomans suffered a humiliating loss in the First Balkan War, which increased the Turk's hatred for Christians. Ronald Suny explains that “Antipathy toward Christians increased when the Ottoman Empire suffered a humiliating defeat in the First Balkan War (1912–13), resulting in the loss of nearly all its remaining territory in Europe. Young Turk leaders blamed the defeat on the treachery of Balkan Christians.” This shows that the Turks already didn’t like the Armenians in 1896, and there was salt on the wound when the Ottomans experienced a humiliating defeat in the Balkan Wars. In 1908, when these new leaders called the “Young Turks” came into power, the Armenians were hopeful, but the editors of history.com talk about how “they soon learned that what the nationalistic Young Turks wanted most of all was to “Turkify” the empire. According to this way of thinking, non-Turks – and especially Christian non-Turks – were a grave threat to the new state.” In WWI, the Turks took advantage of the situation and took the opportunity to massacre them in the name of war.

One factor of the Armenian genocide was the Ottoman's obvious desire to kill the Armenians. The Ottomans not only had past hatred but also the humiliation from a war that led the Turks to try and destroy the Armenians. It was said that as WWI intensified, the Turks got suspicious of Armenian activity which “led the Turkish government to push for the “removal” of the Armenians from the war zones along the Eastern Front,” (editors of history.com). Suny also talks about how “The disarmed Armenian soldiers were then systematically murdered by Ottoman troops, the first victims of what would become genocide,” making the Turks responsible for unjust murder at the start of the genocide. The International Herald Tribune of the New York Times newspaper, says that “the Turks cut the throats of more than a thousand Armenians and threw their bodies into the river.” This shows the Turk's heart for the Armenians, wanting to kill them at every moment. Throwing bodies into rivers, making them go on death marches in the desert, mass killings, and more terrible things done to the Armenians show just how much the Ottomans wanted to kill them.

Another factor of the genocide was the Ottoman's use of the Armenians as scapegoats. The Turks shoved the blame onto the Armenians and decided to go into mass killings to “exterminate” them. For example, the Turkish military leaders argued that the Armenians were traitors and that “If they thought they could win independence if the Allies were victorious, this argument went, the Armenians would be eager to fight for the enemy,” (editors of history.com). This sentence makes no sense because both the Russians and Ottomans recruited Armenians to fight for their side, causing no betrayal to either side. After the Ottomans received the worst defeat in the war, Suny writes that “poor generalship and harsh conditions were the main reasons for the loss, the Young Turk government sought to shift the blame to Armenian treachery.” This is an obvious and blatant attempt of the Ottomans trying to cover their failure and take it out on the Armenians. Such blatant attempts of trying to commit genocide cannot just be passed on as “a few killings” but instead an attempt to wipe out the Armenians.

On the other hand of this conversation, there is the argument that the Turks did nothing wrong and that they’re being framed for the genocide they didn’t commit. The editors of history.com say that “the Turkish government has denied that a genocide took place. The Armenians were an enemy force, they argue, and their slaughter was a necessary war measure.” Not only does history.com talk about this but also the Herald Tribune talks about how “The Armenians are resisting, but owing to the lack of ammunition they are sure to be exterminated by the Turks.” While the Armenians did indeed fight with the Russians, they also fought for the Ottomans as well, causing this entire argument to be void. For example, during WWI when the Ottomans had fierce trench warfare with the Russians, both sides were recruited, “Armenians in the Ottoman Empire fought alongside the Ottomans, while Armenian volunteer units made up of Russian subjects fought on the Russian side. In the areas where Ottoman and Russian troops faced each other, there were massacres of both Christians and Muslims,” (Suny). Fighting in a war is definitely not an excuse to commit horrendous and atrocious actions like how the Turks “drowned people in rivers, threw them off cliffs, crucified them and burned them alive. In short order, the Turkish countryside was littered with Armenian corpses.” (editors of history.com). These are undeniable actions that lead to the conclusion of genocide, with there being no possible way to justify this massacre in any way. The main argument was that the Armenians were traitors but were actually faithful to the Ottomans instead. This shows that the Armenian genocide was genocide with absolutely no way of justifying any of their actions.

Even if the facts are undeniable, the Turkish government has still not admitted fault for genocide to this day. Suny writes that “Turkey has steadily refused to recognize that the events of 1915–16 constitute a genocide, even though most historians have concluded that the deportations and massacres do fit the definition of genocide—the intentional killing of an ethnic or religious group,” meaning that the Turkish government is denying information backed by historical evidence but they aren’t denying their actions towards the Armenians. To fix this issue, Turkey simply needs to admit fault. This may seem insignificant but is quite important by showing that the Turkish government is capable of growing and being able to admit its faults. By doing so, Turkey might even be able to mend its relationship with Armenia and the Armenian people who never forgot about the genocide to this day. Another reason why it's important for Turkey to admit fault is because feels like the world is letting Turkey get away with genocide. Even if it was over 100 years ago, it doesn’t matter because they are still denying claims of trying to wipe out the Armenians. The world hasn’t forgot about the genocide either because “On October 29, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide. And on April 24, 2021, President Biden issued a statement, saying, "The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today.” (editors of history.com). This shows that the world never forgot about the horrible actions that the Turks did to the Armenians. It also displays that some justice has been done by the US by calling the out the genocide, even if it meant harming a relationship with Turkey. 

The Ottomans wanted to kill the Armenians because of past humiliation and blamed them for losing in the war. Unless the Turks admit fault for committing genocide, justice for the Armenians will never be served. If the Turks don’t admit fault for genocide, it lets them get away for committing perhaps the worst crime ever. We can’t let someone get away with trying to wipe out an entire race because of hatred. A British historian named Arnold Toynbee said during 1915, “All these atrocities have been committed toward Armenians even though they have not done anything to invite them,” showing that even those during WWI know the horrendous crimes the Ottomans committed because they happened to see an opportunity.