ARMENIAN GOLGOTHA: A MEMOIR OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, 1915-1918
Review by Elizabeth R. Hayford
Library Journal Reviews
March 15, 2009
Balakian, Grigoris. Armenian Golgotha: A Memoir of the Armenian
Genocide, 1915-1918. Knopf . Apr. 2009. c.544p. tr. from Armenian by
Peter Balakian with Aris Sevag. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN
978-0-307-26288-2 . $35. HIST
Grigoris Balakian (1876-1934), a cultural and religious leader in
Istanbul’s Armenian community, was arrested in April 1914 with 250
other leaders and began almost four years of deportation, forced march
to the Syrian desert, and abusive treatment. Thus was launched the
Turkish government’s program to rid the country of Armenians. Hundreds
of thousands were viciously murdered or died of cold and starvation,
but Balakian’s fierce will to live and his encounters with a few
generous people allowed him to survive and tell the story. This
memoir, which Balakian published in Armenian in 1922, vividly portrays
Turkish brutality as it provides his and others’ stories along with
well-informed commentary on Turkey’s actions. Peter Balakian (English,
Colgate Univ.; The Burning Tigris ), the author’s grandnephew,
has translated this rich historical document and provided scholarly
support, making available a readable and moving account that will be
welcomed by both the English-speaking Armenian community and a broader
audience committed to witnessing and understanding the massive cruelty
and suffering that characterized widespread crimes against humanity in
the 20th century. Important for readers who want to judge whether or
not this was the first genocide in modern times.-Elizabeth R. Hayford,
President Emeritus, Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Evanston, IL