October 3rd, 2024
Below are the notes I took while watching the movie
1890’s- Christian minority and Muslim majority, Christians were thought less of and discriminated against. Living conditions worsened over time for minorities and people were taught to repress their beliefs
1885-one of the first massacres occurred majority of the casualties were women and children
1908- revolution began Christians wanted rights and to be treated equally
1909-there was a failed counter-revolution organized by the government, resulting in the deaths of 25,000 people. Turkey entered World War I as a part of the Axis powers. Great Britain and France attempted to capture the capital of Turkey and as a result, Turkey put a restriction on their borders.
1915 (lots happened)- If you were caught plotting against the Czar, you were imprisoned or executed. The Czar released a statement saying claiming that there were, “…crimes against humanity committed by Turkey.” The Czar worked with Germany to find a solution to permanently get rid of his enemies (otherwise known at this time to be the Turkish Christians. In June 1915, the women and children were deported and sent on a trail with police leading them to an unknown destination and would kill them if they were to disobey. On the journey, some were sold off to other countries and others died of exhaustion + starvation. The men who stayed in Turkey were tortured and killed, while the women were raped + slaughtered, some would commit suicide to avoid the torture.
1918-Turkey signed a peace treaty with France and Great Britain and a new government was formed to avoid further genocide in the country. In 1920, an official peace treaty within the country was created as well as new laws to ensure the security and safety of differentiating religions. In 1923, the old government was officially buried; however, refugees were denied the right to return to their home country.