MU LECTURE SPURS CONVERSATION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Miami Student, FL
March 25 2015

By Krista Savage, The Miami Student

The remains of thousands of Armenians lay forgotten in the Syrian
Desert in a place called Deir-ez-Zor, also referred to as the
“Armenian Auschwitz.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the
first genocide of the 20th century. In the spring of 1915, the Ottoman
Empire expelled Armenians living in eastern Turkey from their homes,
forcing them on death marches into the Syrian Desert.

Somewhere between 600,000 and one million Armenians were killed.

Author and expert on the Armenian Genocide, Ronald Suny, shared his
research with Miami University at an on-campus lecture March 18. Suny
is also the Director for the Eisenberg Institute for Historical
Studies at the University of Michigan.

Erik Jensen is a professor at Miami and a member of the Genocide
and Holocaust Education committee. He invited Dr. Suny to speak on
the Armenian genocide. The Center for American and World Cultures
at Miami will host more events throughout April dedicated educating
students about tragedies throughout world history.

In 1915, the leaders of the Ottoman Empire began to question
the loyalty of Armenians living in eastern Turkey; they claim the
Armenians were rebels aiding the Russians against them. This led the
Turkish Government to take authoritative actions. First, they disarmed
Armenian soldiers fighting in the Turkish army. Then, they rounded up
Armenian politicians, journalists and professors, and slaughtered them.

“With the muscle and the brains gone, left were women, children and
elderly who were then sent on death marches through the Syrian Desert,”
Suny said.

Today, the Turkish government does not recognize this genocide. In
fact, the word “genocide” is forbidden when speaking of the Armenians.

Several other nations, including the U.S. and Germany, speak cautiously
of the event, and avoid the term “genocide” in order to preserve ties
with Turkey.

Even though there is substantial evidence and many survivors and
witnesses of the genocide, the Turks refuse to take blame, often
trying to provide alternative reasons for the deaths. Turks put blame
on the Armenians, claiming they were the victims. In fact, there is
a museum in Turkey acknowledging Turks killed by Armenians.

“…Armenians were actually loyal to the Turks, and hundreds of
thousands of them joined the army. Then, they were demobilized and
killed,” Suny said. “If any Turks were killed it was purely out of
self defense by the Armenians who were getting their families torn
apart or were starving to death.”

Today, the Armenian Genocide isn’t covered in many history classes.

It’s often overlooked, partly due to the events of WWI and the Jewish
Holocaust. Some historians even claim that Hitler was inspired by
the massacres of the Armenians.

“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

Hitler said during his dictatorship in 1939.

Caroline Schube, a junior history and political science double major
at Miami, didn’t know anything about the Armenian Genocide until her
professor mentioned Suny’s lecture.

“I am shocked more people do not pay respect to this tragedy,” Schube
said. “There is a forest of bones that lies forgotten.”

However, present-day Armenians don’t take the subject lightly. Sadie
Zazian, from Allen Park, Michigan, is the mother to a staff member
at Miami. She remembers in detail her mother’s stories from the
Armenian Genocide.

Her mother was one of the few survivors.

Zazian’s parents lived in a city called Govdooun, in Sepastia, Turkey.

They married in 1914 when her mother was 18 years old. Shortly after,
Zazian’s father escaped in hopes of avoiding serving in the Turkish
army. However, her mother and aunt remained in Govdooun.

“My mother and her sister were forced out of their homes by the Turkish
government,” Zazian said. “They were tortured, starved and they had
to endure many tragic experiences. They were tortured. Plain and
simple. My grandparents were murdered and thrown into the Black Sea.”

Zazian accredits her mother’s survival to the Syrians, who fed large
groups of the survivors in the desert. Eventually, through efforts
made by the American Red Cross Association, the survivors were rescued
and brought to the United States.

“My mother told me stories of her travels every day. I always wondered
why she never got sick of talking about it and she would say, ‘When
you wake up next to your nephew, and realize that he had starved to
death overnight, it’s hard to forget,'” Zazian said. “At that point,
I realized that you can’t ever move on from something like this.”

For the last 100 years, Armenians have struggled to raise awareness
of the murders of their people. April 24 is recognized as Armenian
Genocide Awareness Day. This year, Istanbul will host a large memorial
service.