Journal of Genocide Studies

Calculations of the Armenian Death Toll during the Main Phase of the Armenian Genocide (1915–1916): Sources, Data, and Methods, 1915–1923

2025-12-14T19:33:48+00:00

Data on the number of victims of the Armenian Genocide began to emerge as early as late 1915 to early 1916, while the extermination campaign against the Armenians was still underway. At the time, estimates of victim numbers served both practical political and humanitarian purposes—raising international awareness of the Ottoman government’s crimes by illustrating the scale of the catastrophe, seeking to halt the persecution of Armenians, and organizing relief efforts to support the survivors.

The question of the number of Armenian victims remained a subject of discussion immediately after World War I, particularly in the context of diplomatic negotiations surrounding the Armenian Question. During this period, it gained importance primarily in relation to efforts to establish reparations for the human and material losses suffered by the Armenian people.

According to calculations made between 1915 and 1923, the most widely accepted estimate for the number of Armenians who perished during the main phase of the genocide (1915–1916) is approximately one million. Based on sources containing more detailed estimates—such as those by Arnold Toynbee, Johannes Lepsius, and others derived from them—of this total, around 600,000 died in 1915 as a result of deportations and massacres, and approximately 400,000 perished in 1916 in concentration camps in Syria and Mesopotamia due to starvation, disease, and subsequent actions following the dissolution of the camps.

Formulation and Use of the Concept of “Resistance” in the Context of Genocides

2025-12-14T19:42:20+00:00

Recognizing the multiplicity of contexts and interpretations surrounding the notion of resistance, this article examines the evolution of the concept, its diverse modalities, and its particular manifestations within the framework of genocidal processes.

Focusing on the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Rwandan Genocide, the study highlights a wide spectrum of resistance strategies, ranging from organized armed defense to individual and collective acts of nonviolent opposition, as well as spiritual, cultural, and intellectual efforts aimed at preserving identity and humanity. It further considers the ongoing struggle against denial as a continuation of resistance beyond the temporal boundaries of the genocides themselves.

The analysis emphasizes that, depending on one’s capacity to maintain composure under extreme conditions, regulate emotions, react decisively, and display ingenuity, victims could transform into active agents through acts of defiance, self-protection, or other expressions of resistance.

Drawing on examples identified across the three case studies, the article concludes that every attempt to survive and safeguard life was inherently individual and situational, shaped by the available means of opposition and protection, and encompassing both physical and non-physical dimensions.

Not Only Franz Werfel: The Lesser-Known Works of Foreign Writers on the Armenian Genocide

2025-12-14T19:47:59+00:00

This paper introduces little-known works of literature of 28 countries around the world that fully or partially address the subject of the Armenian Genocide. It encompasses all types of literature—poetry, prose, drama—and nearly all genres, including historical, psychological, adventure, fantasy, horror, and children’s literature, thus raising awareness of the issue among a wide range of readers.

The paper does not mention works by authors of Armenian origin in international literature (with a few exceptions of authors with one-quarter Armenian ancestry).

A wealth of factual material on this topic can be found in the Armenian Question encyclopedia published in 1996 (in Armenian), as well as in monographs addressing the theme of the Genocide in the literature of specific countries. Therefore, the paper mainly presents literary works that are not mentioned in these sources, as well as those that appeared after 1996—without claiming to be exhaustive.

The paper primarily focuses on the 1915 Armenian Genocide, although it also includes individual references to the deportations and massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1894 to 1923, as well as the massacres of Armenians in Baku (1905, 1918, 1988, 1990).

Foreign authors writing about the Armenian Genocide have mostly based their works on sources in various languages, primarily on testimonies by non-Armenian eyewitnesses and contemporaries of the Genocide. Many have portrayed the Genocide through the fate of survivors (often using the perspective of a woman or a child), or through emotionally charged romantic plots (often involving a romance between an Armenian woman and a Turk). Some have created fictional characters, while others have made historical figures into protagonists. Various works contain passing references to aspects of the Genocide (Armenian refugees, orphans, Turkish hatred of Armenians).

Among the mentioned authors are both relatively minor writers from various national literatures and prominent figures such as Giosuè Carducci, Ernests Birznieks-Upītis, John Galsworthy, John Cheever, Aldous Huxley, Fazil Iskander, Sam Lundwall, Lee Harwood, John Updike, Richard Kalinoski, Gonzalo Guarch, Yiorgos Moleskis. Also noteworthy are references to the massacres of Armenians in works by Turkish and Azerbaijani authors.