International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies

From Deportation to Integration: Armenian Survivors and State Formation in Faisal ibn Hussein’s Syria (1918-1920)

Narine Margaryan — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the policies of Emir Faisal ibn Hussein toward Armenian Genocide survivors in post-Ottoman Syria between 1918 and 1920, focusing on the intersection of humanitarian assistance, minority protection, and state formation. Following the collapse of Ottoman rule, Syria became a principal refuge for tens of thousands of Armenian deportees who had survived the Armenian Genocide and remained in conditions of acute vulnerability due to famine, disease, displacement, and legal uncertainty. Against this backdrop, Faisal’s administration adopted a series of political, administrative, and humanitarian measures aimed at alleviating the suffering of Armenian survivors and incorporating them into the emerging socio-political framework of postwar Syria.
Drawing on archival sources, memoirs, contemporary press accounts, and official correspondence, the article analyzes Faisal’s personal engagement with Armenian communal leaders, institutional relief measures, decrees concerning food distribution, debt relief, and the protection and recovery of Armenian women and children subjected to forced assimilation. It further explores the tensions and limitations of these efforts, including the February 1919 anti-Armenian violence in Aleppo, local social frictions, and the broader geopolitical constraints imposed by British and French imperial competition.
The study argues that Faisal’s policies represented an important early attempt to transform humanitarian relief into a more structured framework of minority protection and civic inclusion, while simultaneously serving the political project of Arab state-building. Although ultimately constrained by regional instability and the collapse of Faisal’s Syrian rule, these initiatives contributed significantly to the stabilization, integration, and long-term institutional development of the Armenian community in Syria, laying part of the foundation for one of the most significant Armenian diaspora centers in the Middle East.

Ernst Jakob Christoffel in Malatia: “The Father of the Blind” as a Witness of the Armenian Genocide (April 1916 – February 1919)

Hayk Martirosyan — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In January 1909, Ernst Jakob Christoffel and his sister Hedwig settled in Malatia, where he founded a care facility named Bethesda for blind individuals and those with visual impairments. By the eve of WWI, Bethesda housed more than 80 residents, the majority of them Armenians. Christoffel’s two-year absence beginning in the spring of 1914 proved catastrophic, as during the Armenian Genocide nearly three-quarters of his Armenian wards were either deported or killed. His return in April 1916 marked a crucial turning point – he not only saved the last group of his wards from deportation but also transformed his institution into one of the rare sites of refuge amid the continuing violence.
This article examines Christoffel’s activities in Malatia between April 1916 and February 1919, situating him as a significant yet understudied German witness to the final stages of the Armenian Genocide. It investigates how Christoffel managed to protect his remaining Armenian wards after such a prolonged absence, the dynamics of his interactions with local Ottoman authorities, the strategies he employed to navigate constant threats to both his wards and himself, and the extent to which German diplomatic or missionary networks supported his efforts. Finally, it considers how Christoffel’s testimonies enrich our understanding of German humanitarian involvement and witnessing during the genocide.

Guardians of Memory: The Role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Post-Genocide Armenian Identity

Alek Barović — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the Armenian Apostolic Church’s role in preserving post-genocidal Armenian identity and memory within Armenia and the diaspora. It argues that the Church acts as a vital link connecting past traumas to present identity and future aspirations through rituals, narratives, and community institutions.
Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines theoretical analysis with survey data from Armenians in Armenia and the diaspora. The theoretical framework draws from theories of collective identity, memory, and religion in post-conflict societies. The survey explores perceptions of the Church’s role in preserving identity and genocide memory, noting differences between Armenians in Armenia and the diaspora. In the diaspora, higher religiosity correlates with more frequent interaction with the Church, especially its communal activities. The Church is seen as a place to connect with Armenian identity, holding traditions and fostering a sense of Armenian Christian unity. This article also indicates that some believe a clear Armenian culture or identity might not exist today without the Church.
The article emphasises the Church’s enduring significance as a pillar of Armenian resilience, particularly against assimilation in the diaspora, where communities are in constant fear of it. The findings contribute to understanding religion’s role in post-traumatic identity and memory, suggesting future research areas like engaging younger generations and impacting genocide recognition advocacy.

The “Turkish Ideology”: From Abdul Hamid II to Erdogan’s Turkey

Hamit Bozarslan — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the long-term continuity of what may be called the “Turkish ideology” from the Hamidian period to Erdogan’s Turkey, arguing that beyond changes in regimes, elites, and political vocabularies, a durable ideological and institutional matrix has structured state violence and perceptions of internal enemies. By tracing the internal transmissions between Hamidianism, Unionism, Kemalism, and contemporary nationalist-Islamism, the article highlights the persistence of a state-centered worldview shaped by social Darwinist assumptions, racialized conceptions of nationhood, and the logic of raison d’état. Through a comparative reading of 1914-1915 and 2014-2015, it demonstrates how similar mechanisms of exclusion, coercion, and enemy construction were mobilized against Armenians and later against Kurds. The study further questions the analytical adequacy of concepts such as “late Ottoman Empire” and “Neo-Ottomanism,” suggesting instead that the continuity lies less in imperial restoration than in the enduring ideological foundations of Turkish state praxis.

Visualizing Memory and Loss: French-Armenian Documentary Responses to the Genocide

Serafim Seppälä — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

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Haroutioun K. Atanassian, Ատաբազարէն Տէր Զօր [From Adapazar to Der Zor]. Editor, author of the preface and references Mihran A. Minassian, Yerevan: AGMI, 2025, 568 pages

Mihran Minassian — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

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Guleeg Haroian, née Toomasian, At Four O’Clock in the Afternoon, translated by Rose D. Guerin, edited by Gil Harootunian, and Eva Hightaian, née Haroian, Bones and Bodies, We Had to Walk Over Them, edited by Gil Harootunian (Fresno, CA: Tadem Press, 2023)

Barlow Der Mugrdechian — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

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