Armenian GenocideWhen you hear the word genocide, the thought of the Jewish holocaust is what usually comes to mind. Hitler's war against the Jewish population was well published and exposed to almost everyone's eyes. And what about the American and Cambodian genocide? These nations had fallen into the same hell on earth, but no one spoke of the horrors that lurked in their daily lives. Before the genocide of 1915 more than 2 million Americans lived in Türkiye, today only about 60,000 remain. Historic Armenia covered an area of ​​approximately 100,000 square miles, including parts of what are now the republics of Armenia, Azelbaijan, and Georgia. Not only was the population decimated, but thousands of Armenian churches, monasteries and monuments were also destroyed in eastern Türkiye. fight for their economic life. There had been problems between Turks and Armenians but a pattern of extermination had not yet been established. As the events of 1915 unfolded, most Armenians were unaware that a centralized plan of genocide was underway. But by the end of the decade only a handful of Armenians remained. Although the Turks continued to deny that there was a systematic plan to exterminate the Armenians in fulfillment of a pan-Turkish ideology, the events that transpired contradict their actions. “Three related actions of the Young Turk government diminished the possibility of Armenian resistance” (Donald & Lorna Tourgan Miller) Previously those most capable of defending their towns and villages had been conscripted and served as loyal soldiers of the Ottoman army.. .... middle of paper ......or of war with jobs such as building roads and packing war supplies. They were so poorly fed that many died of starvation and exhaustion. It soon became apparent that the goal was to work the Armenians until they collapsed. Almost without exception, those who did not die from exhaustion on the job were rounded up in groups of fifty or one hundred and shot. Even more horrible than that was that they were forced to dig their own graves, then shot and thrown in like old rag dolls discarded by a child who doesn't know what to do with the lifeless doll. A second step to ensure that Armenian resistance was reduced was the Turks took control of all weapons possessed by the Armenians. The confiscated weapons were then photographed and presented as evidence of the Armenian rebellion. These photographs created a political reason that legitimized the inhumane actions taken against the Armenians.