The treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Documents presented to Viscount Grey of Fallodon
History
The treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Documents presented to Viscount Grey of Fallodon
Armenian question; Armenians; World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities; World War, 1914-1918 -- Refugees
In the summer of 1915 accounts, few and scanty at first, but increasing
in volume later, began to find their way out of Asiatic Turkey as to the
events that were happening there. These accounts described what seemed
to be an effort to exterminate a whole nation, without distinction of
age or sex, whose misfortune it was to be the subjects of a Government
devoid of scruples and of pity, and the policy they disclosed was one
without precedent even in the blood-stained annals of the East. It then
became the obvious duty of those who realised the gravity of these
events to try to collect and put together all the data available for the
purpose of presenting a full and authentic record of what had occurred.
This has been done in the present volume. It contains all the evidence
that could be obtained up till July 1916 as to the massacres and
deportations of the Armenian and other Eastern Christians dwelling in
Asia Minor, Armenia and that north-western corner of Persia which was
invaded by the Turkish troops. It is presented primarily as a
contribution to history, but partly also for the purpose of enabling the
civilised nations of Europe to comprehend the problems which will arise
at the end of this war, when it will become necessary to provide for the
future government of what are now the Turkish dominions. The compilation
has been made in the spirit proper to an historical enquiry, that is to
say, nothing has been omitted which could throw light on the facts,
whatever the political bearing of the accounts might be. In such an
enquiry, no racial or religious sympathies, no prejudices, not even the
natural horror raised by crimes, ought to distract the mind of the
enquirer from the duty of trying to ascertain the real facts.
As will be seen from the analysis which follows, the evidence here
collected comes from various sources.
A large, perhaps the largest, part has been drawn from neutral witnesses
who were living in or passing through Asiatic Turkey while these events
were happening, and had opportunities of observing them.
Another part comes from natives of the country, nearly all Christians,
who succeeded, despite the stringency of the Turkish censorship, in
getting letters into neutral countries, or who themselves escaped into
Greece, or Russia, or Egypt and were there able to write down what they
had seen.
A third but much smaller part comes from subjects of the now belligerent
Powers (mostly Germans) who were in Turkey when these events were
happening, and subsequently published in their own countries accounts
based on their personal knowledge.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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