THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE2The Armenian GenocideWar is a term that every individual has encountered in their life. As a human race, weunderstand that war can be filled with negative connotations: racism, prejudice, hatred,intolerance, crimes, and corruption. It has divided nations and turned allies into enemies. Notonly has war caused grief, but it has also caused genocide. “Mass atrocities and genocide areoften perpetrated within the context of war (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018).”One genocide that had a major impact during WWI was the Armenian Genocide. Manyhistorians argue that this tragedy inspired Hitler to commit his crimes against the Jewish people.In 1915, over a million Armenians that lived in lands of the Ottoman empire were massacredduring an exodus orchestrated by the Turkish government. The mass murder of the Armenianpeople has been recognized as “the first genocide of the 20thcentury”.For centuries, the Armenian lived as Christian minorities under Muslim rule in theOttoman empire, regardless Armenians adapted and submitted to the expectations of the Ottomanrule, but still grew successful and wealthy especially around urban centers (Suny, 2016).Tensions between Muslims and Armenians were always present, not only because of differingreligions but also because of the Armenians growing confidence and success, which was viewedas intolerable by religious Muslims since Armenians were often seen as an inferior race.
