International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies

Vartan Matiossian, The Politics of Naming the Armenian Genocide: Language, History, and “Medz Yeghern,” London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2021, 296 pages

Gevorg Vardanyan — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Institutions of Turkification and Assimilation in the Eyes of Armenian Orphans Who Fled Them

Rubina Peroomian — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Although Armenian orphans are the focus of this paper, taken in a broader context, the treatment of Greek, Assyrian, and Armenian orphans—with all commonalities and differences— is a signifier of intent to destroy targeted groups of people as the Genocide Convention defines.
This paper addresses the methods the Ottoman government undertook and the supplementary measures necessary in the implementation process of dealing with the myriad of children within the policy of total extermination. This involved setting up Turkish orphanages, some euphemistically called mektebs (religious schools)—with their brutal methods of forced conversion—pushing them into Muslim households—with all the torture and molestations that came with it but also serving the ulterior motive of improving the race—as institutions of Turkification, and in addition, the abhorring treatment of these children, torturing, raping, killing, along the roads of deportation. It will shed light on the experiences of these children in defined categories of victimization, those who lost their lives in this machination, those who survived and reached the outside world or continued living in Turkey as Muslims, true or pretending, as well as Christians upholding their faith against all odds. Based on interviews and first-person accounts of these orphans and newer studies on the state of mind of their offspring, this paper will outline the short-term effects, having turned this generation mostly into one that is socially dead unable to fully contribute to the perpetuation of the Armenian nation, as well as the long-term, that is the transgenerational effects of the genocide, a psychological burden upon the nation aggravating the situation and blocking the process of healing to begin.
The Genocide Convention does not project the effects of these genocidal treatments which the Armenian nation still struggles to overcome.

On the Armenian Death Toll and Demographic Impact of the 1909 Adana Massacres

Robert Tatoyan — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the Armenian death toll and the demographic impact of the 1909 Adana massacres. It analyzes statistics on the number of Armenians who perished in these massacres and the distribution of casualties across various regions of Cilicia, using primary source evidence. Additionally, the article explores discrepancies between Ottoman and Armenian statistical data on the number of victims, noting that the figures reported by the Ottoman government are approximately 4 to 5 times lower than those reported by Armenian ecclesiastical authorities.
The comparison of Ottoman and Armenian statistics before and after the massacres reveals that these killings did not result in a relative decrease in the permanent Armenian population within the Adana Vilayet—the region most severely affected by the massacres. This outcome can be attributed to the following factors:
1. Based on the most reliable data, it is estimated that approximately 15,000 to 18,000 Armenians were killed during the 1909 Adana massacres. Of these, at least one-third—between 5,000 and 7,000, though estimates may range from 8,000 to 10,000, constituting up to half of the total death toll—were labor migrants. Consequently, the demographic impact of the massacres affected both the Armenians of Cilicia and those who had migrated to Cilicia from Western Armenia and other regions of the Ottoman Empire.
2. Following the massacres, Adana and other regions of Cilicia quickly returned to a relatively normal economic activity, thanks to substantial foreign investments in infrastructure (notably the Berlin-Baghdad railway), industry, trade, and agriculture. The population loss in the city and Sanjak of Adana—the areas most affected by the massacres—was rapidly offset by a new influx of Armenian labor migrants.

The Nameless Crime: Reflections on the Origins and Development of the Concept of Genocide

Narek Poghosyan — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The term “genocide,” introduced by Raphael Lemkin, represents a groundbreaking milestone in the conceptualization and prevention of mass atrocities. Genocide is uniquely defined by the deliberate intent to annihilate specific human groups, earning its designation as the “crime of crimes” due to its profound legal and moral implications. Lemkin’s work unified disparate historical and linguistic precedents into a comprehensive legal framework, addressing the prior absence of a formal term for such heinous acts.
Although genocide was once referred to as “a crime without a name,” historical evidence reveals that many cultures and languages had long acknowledged and described this phenomenon using terms such as Völkermord, folkmord, and “the murder of a nation.” Lemkin’s true innovation lay in synthesizing these fragmented concepts into a single, cohesive definition, firmly rooted in international legal discourse to promote recognition and accountability.
This study explores the historical, linguistic, and legal evolution of the term “genocide,” emphasizing its enduring universal relevance and the challenges surrounding its classification in modern international debates.

Hasanchelebi: A Killing Station for Armenian Men on the Sebastia Deportation Routes

Robert Sukiasyan — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This article investigates Hasanchelebi, a key station on the Sebastia deportation routes, as the principal site for the systematic extermination of deported Armenian men from Sebastia and surrounding regions during the Armenian Genocide. Drawing on Armenian survivor testimonies and corroborating Ottoman documents, the study reconstructs the phases of atrocities, beginning with the plunder and abuse of women and culminating in the mass arrest and execution of men. It highlights the strategic role of Hasanchelebi in the genocidal machinery and demonstrates the unique opportunities provided by Armenian sources for documenting and understanding the Armenian Genocide.