The Armenian Genocide happened 106 years ago, from 1915-1923, and is commemorated annually on April 24 by Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora around the world. One does not hear much about it, but it should never be forgotten, by anyone. The victims must always be remembered. The massacres and starvation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire was a horrible crime against humanity, as was the Holocaust, whose victims are also remembered and honored annually in April. Hitler is said to have stated, “Who after all remembers the Armenians?” as an excuse to rally his swarm to invade Poland and annihilate all its people. The Nazis killed six million Jews, in addition to millions of Polish people, homosexuals, Roma, dissidents, and others. Most Americans know about the Holocaust, though deniers would atrociously try to erase it, but most do not know about the Armenian Genocide or others that have been perpetrated around the world. This is something that must not be allowed to fester in the dark.
Genocide against any group must never be tolerated, ignored or forgotten. Respect should always be practiced toward those of all religions, cultures, ethnicities, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and none should ever be judged as evil in their entirety, no matter what any individual does. It is not enough to fight prejudice publicly, we must all be sure not to propagate or tolerate any form of bigotry in our homes, as children unquestioningly absorb all they hear from the trusted adults in their lives, even just careless remarks or generalizations. To prevent any genocides ever being forgotten – and repeated – it should always be required in school curriculums to make very certain we do all we can to prevent such atrocities anywhere. Evil can only prevail if good people allow it.