Luncheon Report
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 onward, was the Ottoman government's systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens of the Ottoman Empire.
Dr. Artinian noted that the term genocide was invented in 1944 to describe crimes against humanity. The Armenian genocide was carried out during and after World War
I, and was implemented in two phases: the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, fol- lowed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm, who were sent on death marches through the Syrian Desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to robbery, rape, and massacre.
Dr. Artinian compared the Armenian genocide to Hitler and the Holocaust; to the horror of a state which exterminates its own citizens. Armenians, a wealthy ethno-religious minority with their own traditional societies, were called the “Jews of the East.” Armenian commercial and financial success was perceived as a threat to the Otto- man culture. Through stereotyping and systematic dehumanization, Armenians became “enemies of the state.”
Dr. Artinian noted other systematic killings of civilians after the Second World War: Cambodia, 1970s (by the Khmer Rouge); Guatemala, 1970-80s (Maya/Quiche); Rwanda, 1994; Sudan, 2006-07 (Darfur). Due to these campaigns of crimes against humanity, and the striking resemblance of the Armenian genocide to the Holocaust, the 20th century has been declared the Century of Genocide. Dr. Artinian recommended Franz Werfel’s book, The Forty Days of Nusa Dagh, (1933) based on a real story of Armenian resistance and survival during the Genocide, a book avidly read by the Warsaw Ghetto fighters during their uprising against the Nazis in WWII.
On a positive note, Dr. Artinian reminded us of our human capacity to endure, to survive, and to remember. The Armenian diaspora has created large communities of Armenians all over the world. Countries with large Armenian populations today are, in order of population numbers: the U.S. (principally in the Greater Los Angeles area), Argentina, France, Libya, Syria, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and India.
Vice President Barbara Grünenfelder-Elliker presented Dr. Artinian with a photo by Masako Kano. The meeting was adjourned at 2:33 pm.
submitted by Willow Running Hawk
Luncheon Announcement
In his presentation Dr. Artinian will analyze, from a historical perspective, the Armenian genocide and the Jewish holocaust. Features common to these genocides of the twentieth century such as dehumanization, deportation and extermination will be explored to see their ramifications and significance for the twenty-first century. Dr. Artinian will also refer to some current cases of state violence for in- stance in Africa, showing the continued relevance of this problem today. The presentation will also deal with topics such as the gender dimension and violence against women involved in these atrocities - but also memory and education as forms of resistance against genocides.
Juan Pablo earned a BA in History, with honors from the University of Buenos Aires, after which he won a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree in History from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a PhD. He resided in New York and while earning his doctorate, taught courses in English on Latin-American history at Stony Brook. His dissertation examined the relationship between politics and visual culture in Argentina between 1950 and 1966. He is currently a visiting history professor at the Torcuato Di Tella University teach- ing a course on “Genocide and Human Rights in the 20th Century” as well as giving graduate seminars at the University of Buenos Aires.