... Remembers the Armenians?"
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(The Armenian Genocide From 1914-1915)
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The lack of an international outcry against the Turkish slaughter of unarmed Armenians led Adolf Hitler to say the quote above. This was his justification for the slaughter of an estimated 6 million Jews (the number is most likely much higher). The horrific events that became the hallmarks of the Holocaust were inspired by the lack of condemnation for the Ottomans' genocidal slaughtering of Christians.
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On February 21St of 1914 the Ottomans began their planned attacks on the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. This initial assault came not with arms or ammunition but the forced boycott of Armenian businesses. Economics, just as Hitler would do to Germany's Jews, became the initial bulwark of Turkish frustrations with the helpless Armenians.
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On August 18Th of 1914 however the public humiliation and economic boycotts would take the next step toward the goals of the Young Turk's planned genocide. In the provinces of Sivas and Diyarbekir looting and vandalism are used to destroy the remaining Armenian businesses. Violence against Armenians is reported and yet goes unpunished. 1,080 shops and businesses owned by Armenians in Diyarbekir are burnt to the ground by the end of the day.
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As the war in Europe gets underway the Turkish Army conscripts all Armenian men between the ages of 20 and 45. These young men will not however be sent to battle. These men are to be used as forced labor in the initial killing phase of the Armenian Genocide. The date of their conscription is August 22Nd of 1914.
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By the end of 1914 the Young Turks will have done everything Hitler did in Germany in the 1930s. However the Young Turks will have gone much farther. In September of 1914 the Young Turks had already denied the commercial and legal rights of Europeans and Americans in the Ottoman Empire. That same month the Young Turks close the Dardanelles Straits to foreign shipping and commerce. By October the Ottomans had cut off all foreign mail services within their empire. That same month the Young Turks would arrest as many Armenian teachers, politicians, religious leaders, and philosophers. These steps would set the Young Turks up for a genocide that even Hitler could not replicate.
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As the year came to a close the Young Turks began using chete forces (irregular soldiers given 'freedoms' the regular soldiers are not) to carry out attacks against Armenian villages along the borders of the Ottoman Empire. These attacks were carried out against towns and villages that were claimed to be "conspiring with our Russian enemies". It is important to note that these are villagers who had already be stripped of any weapons (including cooking knives) and were unable to flee due to a lack of transportation. It is also important to recall that the Armenian men in these villages had already been taken off to be used as forced labor. So those left were often raped and then killed by the chete forces.
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These chete forces in November would get a boost from Halil Pasha who decided it would be useful to release prisoners to inflate their numbers. These "Special Organizations" were then provided arms from the Ottoman War Ministry. They were now ready to step up their attacks against the Armenians.
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On November 30Th the commands come down from Constantinople to provide the "Special Organizations" or chete bands with vehicles, money, and other military equipment... mainly more expensive arms than just the standard rifles.
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By the end of the year the Young Turks would even be able to drive the foreign missionaries out of the heart of the Ottoman Empire. They outside world was now watching as their enemy's (Germany's) ally continued to carry out a campaign aimed at the destruction of Armenian society in Turkish territories.
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On the very first day of the new year, 1915, the Turkish Army in Van Provence were given orders to kill all Armenian "soldiers" (slaves) in the Turkish Army. The orders are taken a little less seriously as "reports" are received by the Turkish Army in Sivas that the Armenian bakers in their ranks are "poisoning the bread". These bakers are beaten and some killed. But unlike the slaves in the Van Provence army not all are killed.
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The goal of the lies circulating in the Turkish Army are proof that at the very least the Young Turks were attempting to amp up the attacks on Armenians by inciting massacres of Armenians by the regular army. This goal was achieved by January of 1915 to an extent due to the fact that the regular soldiers had already helped force Armenian civilians into slavery to the Turkish Army. During the previous winter they had forced Armenian civilians to be "porters" during the worst part of the winter with the soul purpose of causing death due to exposure.
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On January 8Th the chetes (Turkish and Kurdish) descend upon Assyrian and Armenian villages in Northwest Persia. Attacking Tavriz and Urmia the chete forces maintain their assault from the 8Th till the 29Th of January. In Urmia the Turkish forces are able to drive out 18,000 Armenians. These 18,000 Armenians are forced to flee into the Caucasus.
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On January 12Th the Young Turks order the destruction of Tavra-Koy and other villages around Sivas. They then take over strategic buildings within Sivas. These attacks are used to turn the strategic village of Sivas into a virtual concentration camp.
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On January 19Th of 1915 the Young Turks actively begin to strip the Germans of their right (granted by the Ottomans' pledge of allegiance to the German Army) to give orders to the Turkish regular army. This move now gives the Young Turks the ability to actively use the actual Turkish Army to attack the Armenian population. The Minister of War, Enver, gave the order first in Sivas.
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On January 22Nd Enver would arrive in Constantinople to give a speech congratulating the Armenians still remaining in the Turkish Army. This speech however was obvious to the Turks as a ploy to appease the large number of Europeans still remaining in the city. By the next day Enver had given the order to shoot "all those still opposing my orders".
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As January 1915 came to a close the German-Turkish tensions began to mount. The German ambassadors to the Ottoman Empire were now sending messages back to Germany about the "crimes against humanity" being committed and carried out by the orders of Talaat (the Ottoman leader). Americans in Constantinople were doing the same, but they weren't allied with the Ottomans.
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On February 2Nd of 1915 Talaat reveals his own Final Solution to the German Ambassador Count Hans von Wangenheim. Talaat puts it rather bluntly. In Talaat's opinion the war was the only opportune moment to finally deal with the "Armenian Question". This was the same sort of phrase that Hitler would use for Germany's Jews.
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The reassurances of Talaat would go in one ear and out the other due to the blatant murder of Pasdermadjian (February 10Th 1915) directly in front of German Major-General Posseldt. The German General reported that no investigation was ever done to find the guilty party. Nor was the obvious murder even apprehended.
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February 14Th 1915, Tahir Jevdet claims that the Turkish Army (now liberated from German command) should do anything it can to "cleanse Van Provence" of all remaining Armenians. This outcry from provincial leaders is quickly becoming a regular thing as February of 1915 drags on and on.
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On February 19Th 1915, the Turks begin to realize the war with the allies could slow their slaughter of the Armenians down. Talaat orders the distribution of kerosene and explosives to all the police forces in Constantinople. The orders given are to "burn the city to the ground" in the event that allied warships press their way up the Dardanelles. All Christian inhabitants and European citizens are to be "butchered" at once if the city must be razed.
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On the 27Th of February 1915 the Turkish army steps up its attacks in Sivas Provence. The attacks are marked by rapes, pillaging, and the murdering of entire villages. At the same time the village of Chomaklu, in the Kayseri Provence, is stripped of its remaining weapons (even kitchen knives) ahead of the coming massacres.
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March 1St, the Armenians in the Turkish Army in Marash are stripped of their weapons and uniforms. These are some of the last Armenians still serving their nation.
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By March 5Th of 1915 the chetes are reported to be attacking villages in Van Provence once again. This time however the rate of killing is stepped up as the chetes are reinforced by Turkish regulars. The attacks are the most "efficient" thus far in the genocide.
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On March 9Th the chetes and Turkish regulars attack Zeitun. The Armenians there are able to fight back for a short time before the village is overrun. The bloodbath that followed as once again carried out by chetes forces.
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On March 12Th of 1915 the chetes begin more advanced attacks on Armenian villages in Alashkert District. Rapes, robberies, and mass executions are carried out in the targeted villages. These Armenians are unable to defend themselves due to the fact that the Young Turks had already "repossessed" their privately owned weapons. Meanwhile in Dortyol the Young Turks carry out mass arrest of Armenians, mainly men they consider to be "able bodied". These Armenians are sent out to the wasteland near Aleppo and are never heard from again.
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By the end of March the Armenian population in Sivas Province was declared "unarmed". As a result the chete attacks were stepped up and Turkish regulars began mass executions on a regular schedule. The fear of resistance was now completely gone in Sivas.
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On March 18Th the allied forces begin to attack the Dardanelles. Constantinople is not razed.
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As April of 1915 approached the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire had already been stripped of their arms, suffered regular beatings and torture at the hands of chete forces, been forced into death marches, and had their homes burned or bombed out in; Zeitun, Aleppo, Papert, Terchan, and Adana.
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On March 31St the deportations of Armenians in Zeitun began. These Armenians would still be marching into the Konia Desert on April 1St. Their march into the wasteland would lead to most of their deaths. Rape, beatings, and beheading would kill even more of them. This was the Final Solution for the Armenian Question being carried out at the direct orders of the Young Turk leadership.
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As of April Fools Day 1915 the bad joke handed down to the Armenians was the sudden mass arrest in Sivas Provence. These arrest would allow the Ottomans to bring the majority of Armenians to a central location. It allowed the Turks to build concentration camps for their new "prisoners".
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On April 2Nd of 1915 mass arrest in Bitlis and Erzerum Provinces would step up the collection of Armenians in those regions. At the same time Turkish soldiers in Sivas were helping chete forces to destroy Armenian villages that had either been left untouched thus far or suffered "less harassment" than the others. The brutality unleashed in these targeted villages showed the increasing hatred for Armenians amongst Turks.
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On April 3Rd (the beginning of Easter week) the Turkish Army began its attempts to collect all weapons from Armenians in Marash and Hadjin. Brutal rapes were reported even by Turkish soldiers during the attacks.
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On April 5Th the Turkish Army "claimed" 5,000 mules from Armenians in Marash. Part of this was to make a gesture of symbolism to Jesus and the fact that the Turks believed the Armenians would need these mules for food.
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On April 8Th the famous monastery in Zeitun is burnt to the ground by Turkish regulars.
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On April 11Th Talaat tells Armenians in Parliament that there will be no massacres (no further massacres).
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April 12Th, widespread massacres of Armenians are reported from Bitlis and Erzerum Provinces.
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April 15Th of 1915, Armenian refugees arrive in the city of Van. They inform the Armenian inhabitants there that around 80 Armenian villages around Van had already been razed. They claim that around 24,000 Armenians had been killed in just the last three days alone.
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On April 17Th the Armenians of Van city mount an advanced defense of their city. The attack by Turkish regulars (with support of artillery units) begins. The Armenian civilians of Van are able to hold out till May 23Rd of 1915 when a Russian Army unit (composed of Armenian volunteers) arrives to save them.
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On April 19Th the Armenians in Diyarbekir suffer as the Turkish regulars search and destroy their homes. An unknown number of Armenians are killed and raped.
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By April 20Th of 1915 the deportations of Armenians in Zeitun is completed. It is believed that most had been sent into the desert to die. Meanwhile in Diyarbekir the first mass arrest are carried out by the Turkish Army. At the same time in Constantinople the remaining Armenian politicians are brought to the Central Prison for a mock trial... they will be hanged on June 2Nd of 1915.
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On April 24Th 250 Armenian community leaders and intellectuals are gathered up in Constantinople are gathered up and then slain.
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April 26Th three Armenians are hanged in Mush without trial. This marks the public will to follow and help the Young Turks in their goal of "purging the enemy within" or the destruction of the Armenian society.
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On April 29Th Armenian citizens in Constantinople who are of Russian origin are arrested and beaten to death.
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May 1St of 1915 the Armenian professors of the American Euphrates College are arrested in Kharput. This even marks the ending of Armenian intellectual presence in the Ottoman Empire.
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On May 2Nd the Turkish Army suffers massive defeats against the Russian forces in the Caucasus and Northern Iran. The Turkish regulars retreated to Van, Bitlis, and Mush where they retaliated for their humiliating defeats by slaughtering the local Armenian populations.
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That same day 3,000 Engish and French citizens are arrested in Constantinople.
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On May 3Rd the mass deportations of Armenians in Erzerum begins. These Armenians are once again being sent to areas where no water or food can be found. No shelter is provided and death by starvation or exposure to the elements is intended.
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The next day, May 4Th of 1915 200 Armenian leaders in Erzerum are arrested.
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On May 5Th the arrest and killings of Armenians in Kharput begins.
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The next day allied nationals in Beyrut are deported to Damascus where they will be sent to their home countries from there. That same day, on May 6Th, the New York Times reports that the Turks have adopted a campaign of annihilation against the Armenians... nobody back home in the United States really cares.
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On May 10Th of 1915 950 Armenians in Diyarbekir are arrested. Most will never be heard from again. Meanwhile in Marash the Armenian refugees from Zeitun are deported to the Syrian Desert. The aim is once again to let the natural surrounding kill the Armenians and to preserve bullets for the invading Russian Army.
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May 14Th, 38 Armenian community leaders in Chomaklu are arrested and then killed. That same day the English and French prisoners are deported.
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May 15Th of 1915, Armenian community leaders in Bayburt are arrested and then murdered. Meanwhile Armenians in Erzerum Provence are deported with the intent of letting them die in the wilderness.
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On May 19Th the Russian Army (an advance unit of it consisting of Armenian volunteers) reach Van city in the Van Provence. They are able to lift the siege of the town and defeat the chete forces who are still harassing the city.
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On May 21St the Regular Russian Army arrives in Van. The cremations of the dead begin as the Russians identify the 55,000 dead as being Armenians.
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May 24Th of 1915, the Allied forces finally send a letter to the Turks that holds the Young Turks responsible for the slaughtering of the Armenians. However this letter is not perceived to be of any legal concern.
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May 27Th, The Temporary Law of Deopration is enacted officially. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians have already been deported by this time. Yet that same day 2,000 Armenians are deported from Marash and are forced to march into the nearby desert. At the same time 300 Armenians that had been arrested in Diyarbekir are killed.
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On May 29Th 630 Armenians who had been arrested in Diyarbekir are slain in village of Bisheri. Their corpses are thrown into the Tigris River.
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On May 31St the German Ambassador to Turkey advises Germany not to get in the way of the Turkish deportations of Armenians. His is oddly silent on the massacres of the Armenians still trapped inside the Ottoman Empire.
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June 7Th of 1915, the first forced march of Armenians from Erzinjan leave on their way into the Syrian Desert. That same day the Armenians who had been arrested in Sivas on April 1St are marched into the woods of Meshedler-Yeri, they are all murdered there.
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On June 8Th the second group of Armenians leave Erzinjan for the Syrian Desert.
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The next day, June 9Th, the third Armenian death march leaves Erzinjan for the Syrian Desert.
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From June 10Th to June 13Th Armenians from Erzerum Provence are butchered at Kematch. These massacres are so large that they take four days to complete. Turkish regulars and chete are used to complete this massive campaign.
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On June 13Th the War Commission demands that all animals (and other food sources) be taken from all remaining Armenians in the Ottoman empire. This same day (the fourth day of the slaughter at Kematch) 25,000 Armenians die at the hands of the 86Th Cavalry Brigade and the 2Nd Reserve Cavalry Division.
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On June 14Th another 300 Armenian community leaders are arrested in Shabin-Karahisar. They are to be killed just like other Armenian community leaders captured by the Young Turks.
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The next day, June 15Th, 12 Armenian leaders are publicly hung in Sivas.
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By June 17Th Talaat is publicly proclaiming that he and his Young Turks are on a mission to "uproot" and destroy the "enemy within"
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On June 18Th 160 Armenian families are deported from Erzinjan.
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On June 19Th 300 Armenian families are deported from Erzinjan.
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June 23Rd the first mass execution of Armenian men takes place in Kharput. That same day the remaining Armenians around Bitlis are gathered up for execution.
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On June 25Th the Armenians gathered up around Bitlis are massacred.
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June 26Th the remaining Armenian men in Sivas are arrested so as to be executed.
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On June 25Th and 26Th Armenians in Trebizond, Erzerum, and Samsun are ordered to leave within 5 days.
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June 28Th, Armenian teachers and educators in Kharput are sent to the central prison and executed.
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On June 30Th of 1915, 3,000 Armenians are killed while being deported from Erzerum. At the same time 6,000 Armenians arrived in the Konia Desert where they will starve or die from malaria.
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As the summer of 1915 dragged on the deaths continued to stack up. On July 1St 2,000 Armenian soldiers in the Turkish army who had been used as forced labor were killed outside the city of Kharput. That same day the first convoy of Armenian deportees leaves Trebizond.
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As of July 2Nd of 1915 the chete forces around Erzinjan begin attacking the Armenian deportees being forced to march into the Southern wastelands. That same day the deportations in the city of Mush begin.
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On July 4Th the Turkish Army leaves Sivas with three regiments of artillery to subdue the Armenians resisting arrest and deportation in Shabin-Karahiser.
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On July 5Th the first convoys of Armenians are forced into the Syrian Desert from Sivas. 400 families are forced out on the first day. A total of 48,000 Armenians will be deported from Sivas by July 20Th. The majority will be killed on their way into the Syrian Desert.
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July 6Th, a 1,000 families of Armenians have left Trebizond for the south.
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July 7Th 1915, 800 Armenian men are slaughtered in Kharput. Their families are left defenseless.
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July 10Th, 2,700 Armenians are massacred in Mardin. This is the second massacre in Mardin.
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July 11Th, this is the first day of a four day massacre in the city of Mush. This same day the Ministry or the Interior orders that any remaining Armenian villages be settled with Muslims and the remaining Armenians vacate the areas.
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July 12Th, the Ottoman Empire orders that Armenian orphans be given to Muslim families to be raised as Muslims instead of Christians like their parents.
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July 13Th, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins. During this holy month the massacres and deprotations are increased both by the passion the holy month brought with it and the government's exploitation of it.
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July 13Th, the last of the Armenians in Kharput leave for the Syrian Desert.
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July 14Th, the leader of the Turkish district of Aleppo's Fourth Army Corps protest that the dead bodies of Armenians are choking the Euphrates River. During the period of June 22Nd to July 17Th of 1915 the Euphrates River is clogged with dead Armenians bodies.
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July 16Th, German officers in Jerablus identify the bodies of dead Armenians from the Ottoman cities of Kharput and Erzerum... the bodies arrive in Jerablus by floating down the Euphrates.
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On July 18Th the Turkish Army massacres 3,000 Armenians in the Dersim region. The Kurdish population there refuses to participate in the slaughter. Many even shelter fleeing Armenians. For this the Turkish Army retaliates against all "enemies within".
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July 21St, the Turkish Army begins its attack on Musa Dagh.
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On July 23Rd an Italian consulet reports the attacks he has witnessed thus far in Trebizond. This is the same day the restoration of the Ottoman Constitution is celebrated.
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As of July 24Th Talaat decides to give the order to bury the Armenians who have "died while being deported" or have been slain along the roadside. This order is given to help stop the tainting of the water and clogging the ditches and rivers.
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From July 24Th to August 1St the Armenians in Sivas are rounded up and classified with the central authorities. This is done in preperation of the coming massacres and deportations.
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July 28Th, deportations begin in the Turkish cities of Aintab, Kilis, and Adiaman.
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On July 30Th the mass arrest of Armenians in the city of Angora is carried out. An unknown number of Armenians are then marched out of the city and massacred six hours from Angora. At the same time the Russian Army begins to withdraw from the Turkish city of Van.
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July 31St, the mass murder of Armenian community leaders is carried out in Constantinople, Ayash, and Chankri.
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August 1St 1915, 25,000 Armenians are deported from the city of Adabazar (near Constantinople. 20,000 deported Armenians arrive in Aleppo, from there they will be sent into the Syrian Desert to die. Meanwhile the mass torture is inflicted upon the 500 Armenians being held in Adabazar prisons.
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August 2Nd, from this night on for six nights Armenian community leaders and intellectuals are taken out of the prisons in Sivas and murdered.
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On August 3Rd of 1915, 150,000 Armenians arrive in Aleppo from unknown regions of the Ottoman Empire. That same day 4,500 Armenians arrive in Aleppo from Seghert and an additional 2,000 arrive from Mezre.
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August 3Rd, 15,000 Armenians arrive in Der-el-Zor.
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Late August 3Rd, 60,000 more Armenians arrive in Aleppo from unknown regions of the empire.
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On August 6Th of 1915, 18 Armenians are publicly hung in the Turkish city of Everek.
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August 7Th, all the Armenians in Mersin are deported.
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August 8Th through the 12Th, Armenian intellectuals are taken out of the prisons of Sivas and murdered. There are now 36 execution centers in and around Sivas. 5,000 Armenians are taken to these killing zones and massacred in these five days alone.
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August 11Th, any Armenian women married to Turkish men are now officially deprived the right to inheritance.
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August 12Th, the three day holiday of Bairam begins. No massacres are supposed to be carried out during this time. That same day 200,000 Armenians are sent out of Aleppo into the Syrian Desert. These Armenians are harrased and killed on their way into the desert. Those who survive are meant to die from exposure to the elements and lack of water.
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August 13Th, deportations of Armenians begin in Izmid, Baghchejik, Bursa, and Adabazar. Those deported are harrased and killed on the highways despite Talaats orders to "rape and kill" victims in the bush and not in sight of the roadways.
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From August 13Th to the 17Th 15,000 Armenians are massacred in Siva's 36 killing zones. The 13Th and 14Th are still considered part of Bairam (so is the morning of the 15Th... till sunrise... if you are really picky).
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August 16Th, 50,000 Armenian deportees are harrased on the road from Bozanti to Aleppo.
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On August 18Th the New York Times reports that the Ottomans plan to destroy the entire Armenian Nation (or population). Not many Americans seem to be concerned.
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August 19Th, the Turkish army kills 250 Armenians in the city of Urfa. The locals and the Armenians in Urfa begin the defense of their city from Turkish Army attacks.
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On August 23Rd a second massacre in the city of Urfa is organized. Nobody knows how many were killed in the second attempt to "uproot" the Armenians in Urfa.
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August 26Th, 60,000 Armenians in Aleppo (a Turkish area of modern day Syria) are ordered to leave for the Hawran district. Hawran is an Arab district in modern day Jordan. That same day the Armeians in Angora are arrested.
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September 2Nd 1915, 4,750 Armenians are murdered in Jezire.
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September 3Rd, 10,000 survivors of the Armenian deportations of Bursa and Izmid arrive in Konia. 15,000 deported Armenians are reported at Eskishehir, 5,000 at Alayund, and 2,000 at Chai.
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September 7Th, massacres of Armenians are carried out in Yozgat.
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September 8Th, 5,000 Armenian deportees reported from Bozanti.
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September 10Th, on the 53Rd day of the Armenian defense of the city of Musa Dagh a recorded 4,058 Armenians are rescued by three English and one French warships. They are taken to the Egyptian port of Said.
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September 11Th, 6,000 Armenians are forced to leave Adana and head for Der-el-Zor Desert.
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September 16Th, Talaat sends out a letter explaining that the reason for sending Armenians into the Der-el-Zor Desert is to let them die from exposure and lack of water.
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September 23Rd, 300 Armenians are massacred in Urfa. That same day 11,000 Armenians are deported to Afiyon-Karahisar.
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On September 25Th the Sanitation Department of the War Ministry take all medical supplies away from the Armenians. That same day 24 Armenian schools in Kayseri are requisitioned.
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By September 29Th of 1915 the deportees at Afiyon-Karahisar number 10,000 Armenians, 50,000 had arrived at Konia, 10,000 had arrived at Intille, and 150,000 at Katma.
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On September 30Th of 1915 the deportees from Yalova, Angora, and Kastomuni number as high as 250,000.
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October of 1915, on the first day of October 600 orphaned Armenian boys are considered to be "Turkified" in the Ottoman city of Herek.
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By October 7Th the number of Armenian deportees still in the Ottoman Empire is estimated to be around 360,000. The number of Armenians dead is estimated to be around 800,000... this number is a low estimate.
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Under political pressure Talaat orders that all Turkish governors deliver documents proving "Armenian treason" so as to justify the massacres. This demand goes out on October 8Th.
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October 10Th, 46 Armenians are arrested in Edirne. A total of 1,600 would be deported.
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October 12Th, the Ottomans pass a law that officially forbids the marriages with Armenian women. This means that any Turk still married to an Armenian is now free to turn her in so that she might be deported.
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October 15Th a remaining 16,000 Armenians are reported at Afiyon-Karahisar and 80,000 at Konia.
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On October 15Th a group of 6,000 Turkish soldier stage their last attack on Urfa. 400 of the Turkish soldiers are killed in the attack. The Armenians in Urfa defend to the very last man.
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October 16Th, Talaat assures all those committing attacks and massacres of Armenians in Der-el-Zoir that they will not be brought to justice.
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October 16Th, 20,000 deportees are murdered while passing Urfa.
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October 27Th, 20,000 deportees are reported in Konia.
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October 31St of 1915, orders are handed down to arrest and prosecute any Armenian who is caught discussing the deportations or massacres with outsiders (or the "West").
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November 3Rd, German Doctor Schacht reports to his military commander that he had counted around 7,000 Armenians heads in the Sebgha District. Many were just the skulls.
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November 5Th, 10,000 Armenians deportees are reported in Bozanti, 20,000 deportees in Tarsus, 40,000 deportees in Islahiye, and 50,000 Armenians in Katma. While 150,000 Armenians are reported crossing the Amanos Mountain Range near Adana and Aleppo. With a remaining 20,000 Armenians remaining in Adana alone.
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On November 8Th the Turkish Government begins to deport 200,000 Armenians from Constantinople.
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On November 13Th a reported 20,000 Armenian deportees are reported in Hawran. Of these only about 450 will be alive by November 15Th.
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On November 16Th a report arives in Constantinople that thousands of Armenian bodies are littering the fields in the Bakche District.
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By November 25Th and estimated 500,000 Armenian deportees are estimated to have passed through the villages northwest of Adana.
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November 26Th, 1,010 Armenians are deported from the village of Mamure (in the Adana district).
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December 1St of 1915, the fields north of Mamure are reported to be filled with thousands of Armenian bodies.
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December 4Th, 10,000 Armenian men are deported from Constantinople. A list of 70,000 more Armenians is prepared, all are to be deported.
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December 9Th, 400 Armenian orphans are deported from Aleppo. Their parents have already been murdered or deported.
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December 12Th, 180,000 Armenians arrive in Tbilisi. All are reported to be starved or diseased.
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December 14Th, orders are given to the chete forces and Turkish Regulars to kill any remaining Armenian priest.
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December 16Th, orders are given to keep up the deportations and massacres despite the coming winter.
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December 25Th, the Ottoman Empire gives Armenian children (many orphans) a Christmas gift... they are all to be deported or killed unless they "forget" their parents.
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December 29Th of 1915, of the 210,000 Armenians who had reached the Caucasus only an estimated 173,000 are reported to still be alive. An estimated 40,000 have been reported to have died from starvation and disease alone. Of those still alive 105,000
were from Van, 48,000 were from Bayazid, and 20,038 were known to be from Mush.
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On the last day of 1915 a letter went out to all Armenians that declared that if they wished to convert to Islam they would have to convert from their "final destination". This letter put it rather bluntly that they would have to die before being permitted to enter into the common faith of the Ottoman Empire. The Young Turks were ready to kill the "infidels" before allowing the to practice Islam.
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Much of this post has been taken from the website www.armenian-genocide.org . This post only covers the first two years of the Armenian Genocide. We will be exploring the rest of the genocide in peices so that those interested can read and study the Armenian Genocide in more digestable pieces.
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