Armenian Genocide Essay

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Hennesis Castillo Essay 2 Genocide is the deliberate killing of all or part of a racial, ethnic, or religious group. Genocide is carried out through ruthless acts of violence, and oppression. There have been many acts of genocide documented throughout history. In this essay I will focus on the Armenian genocide, specifically how it was carried out and how the Ottoman Empire rationalized their actions. The preservation and purity of one’s race were important factors that eventually led to the Armenian genocide. The concept of “race” is a classification system used to categorize humans into large groups by cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, linguistic, and/or religious affiliation. It was believed that only people of the same race make up what we consider to be a nation. However there is a sight difference between the two. In “A Century of Genocide” by Eric D. Weitz, he goes about depicting the differences between race and nation by using examples throughout history. “Race and nation, far from timeless concepts, represent modern ways of understanding and organizing human difference.” (Weitz, Page 17) The difference between race and nation is very permeable; therefore it is very easy to confuse the two. During the time in which the Armenian genocide took place, people shared the thought of Arthur De Gobineu, who believed that the mixing of races was bad for society. “Laws against intermarriage helped define racial boundaries and contributed to the meaning of “race” itself.” (Weitz, Page 25) The Ottoman Empire, ruled by the Young Turks, a Turkish nationalist reform party, supported reformation of the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Empire. That feeling of reformation meant the purification of Turkish nationali... ... middle of paper ... ... their sufferings were less well known….” (Balakin, Page 372) Attempts were made to play down the Armenian death toll and bribery from the Turkish government in form of large sums of money was also a tactic used to get people to support the Turkish side. In conclusion, the organized manner in which the Armenian genocide was carried out made it easy for the Ottoman Empire to rationalize their actions. Since an act of genocide is very calculated only a government has the resources to carry it out. In case of the Armenian genocide the Ottoman Empire’s strong military facilitated the murders that occurred. The actions of the Ottoman Empire were rationalized as the preservation and purification of Turkish nationalism. Majority of Armenian diaspora communities came as a result of the Armenian genocide. The denial of the Armenian Genocide is still an issue till this day.

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