04/27/2015
Turkey denies genocide in deaths of Armenians 100 years ago
Armenia marked the centenary of a mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks with a simple flower-laying ceremony attended by foreign leaders as Germany became the latest country to respond to its calls for recognition that it was genocide. Turkey denies the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 constitutes genocide. U.S. officials do not call the mass killings genocide, but two dozen other governments do.
■Class discussion: What is the definition of genocide? What are some modern examples of genocide? Why don't U.S. officials call the Armenian deaths genocide?? Most of the Armenians who died suffered starvation and exposure when they forced to leave their homes migrate to another region. Has this ever happened in the Americas? What killed most native Americans after the arrival of Europeans? What genocide inspired H.G. Wells to write “War of the Worlds”?