October 1st, 2020 | Written By - Ria Raj '21
"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"
Amongst historians, it’s widely believed that Adolf Hitler concluded his Obersalzberg Speech with this rhetorical question. Right as Hitler was to invade Poland, right as he was to begin committing heinous anti-semitic acts, attacks against humanity, he was reassured by the lack of remembrance for the Armenian atrocities. Denial didn’t just destroy the dignity of the Armenian survivors; it paved the way for the death of 6 million Jewish people, roughly 11 million deaths in total.
From April 24th, 1915 to the year 1917, millions of Armenian Christians of the Ottoman Empire were sent on death marches. Countless eyewitness accounts of exhaustion, drowning, assault, abuse, rape, murder, and famine merely scratch the surface of a harrowing Armenian history.
The term “Genocide” was officially coined by a Polish lawyer in 1944. It was first recognized as a crime under international law in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly. This was roughly a year after the Holocaust ended and 29 years after the genocide of the Armenian people came to a close. Some may argue that mass-killings which predate the terminology inherently go unnoticed; this simply doesn't justify forgetting the lives of 1.5 million people.
We often believe that Genocide ends when the death toll stops rising, when the war is over, when the treaties are signed. But the harsh reality is that the last victim of any genocide is truth. The Armenians have endured decades of being treated as second class citizens, years of merciless killings, and a century of outright denial. The Turkish government’s campaign of denial has been alarmingly successful because of all those complicit: the majority of the NATO allies, almost every single member nation of the European union, the one hundred and sixty-five nations that still don’t recognize the Armenian genocide, and the list goes on.
As a Facing History and Ourselves article titled, “The Politics of Denial,” notes: “interpretations of history have little to do with the event itself and everything to do with their nation’s economic, political and social concerns.” Over the years, the numbers have blurred, the pain has gone unacknowledged, and the thirst for justice has remained unquenched. Millions have died, millions have been ignored at the hands of a nation’s “best-interest.” Leaders have often tip-toed around the Armenian massacres, prioritizing “positive” relations with the Turkish government. This is unacceptable.
But there is hope; on December 12th, 2019, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide. This historic move may have infuriated Turkey and dealt a blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington, but it brings us one step closer to finally humanizing the victims. As a result, we are one step closer to ending the denial that remains rampant, one step closer to attaining justice for others still suffering, such as the Uighur and Rohingya Muslims, Kurdish Syrians, the Nuer in South Sudan, Iraqi Christians and Yazidis, Sudanese Darfuris, and so many more.
Remember the Armenians. Carry their struggle with you. Never forget the oppression and ethnic-cleansing. Advocate for the remembrance of their suffering. When we forget, we perpetuate denial; our ignorance ravages the humanity of the Armenian people. We mustn't reshape our past, for it defines our present and future in detrimental ways.
Image Published By The Guardian; Originally From The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
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