Analyzing Documents on the Armenian Genocide

Analyzing Documents on the Armenian Genocide

11th Grade · Social Studies · 30 min

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Learning Objective

I can analyze primary source documents to understand different perspectives on the Armenian Genocide.

  • 1

    The term "genocide" was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, combining the Greek word "genos" meaning race or ethnicity with "cide" meaning murder.

  • 2

    Between 1915 and 1917, the Ottoman Empire targeted the Armenian people, who had lived relatively peacefully under their rule for centuries.

  • 3

    The American ambassador to Istanbul, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., described the events of 1915-1917 as "a campaign of race extermination", during which over one million Armenians died.