Armenian Genocide Vs Holocaust

The German Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide: two interconnected examples of crimes against humanityHistory contains many examples of glorious and memorable events that remind one of the greatness of the human mind and inspire him or her to pursue his or her own dreams. Nevertheless, it is also full of horrific events and monstrous doings such as genocides that reflect the darkest corners of human nature. As postulated by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, "a genocide is any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members
In the Ottoman Empire, Armenians had some freedoms, but nevertheless were treated as second class ("Turkey"). In the middle of the 19th century, under the pressure by Russia, France, and Britain, the Ottoman government started passing the Tanzimat reforms, which were supposed to improve the conditions for minorities, but turned out ineffective ("Facts about the Armenian Genocide"); nevertheless, Armenians remained passive during this time ("Facts about the Armenian Genocide"). During the 1860, however, they began to ask for better treatment; when Russia vanquished Turkey in the Russo-Turkish war of 1878, they started relying on Tsarist Russia for acquiring this better treatment ("Facts about the Armenian
Five days later, many Armenian soldiers were publicly executed with the purpose of terror; on the next day, Young Turk officials distributed weapons to the Turkish population in Mush after falsely causing panic with stories of Armenian revolts ("Armenian Genocide 1914, Chronology"). These, however, were isolated cases ("Armenian Genocide 1914, Chronology"). On the 25th of February the next year, War Minister Enver Pasha ordered that all Armenian soldiers in the active Turkish army be demobilized and sent to an unarmed amele taburları (Labour battalion) ("Armenian Genocide 1915, Chronology"). This was justified "out of fear that they would collaborate with the Russians" and signaled the subsequent genocide as Armenians were left defenseless ("Armenian Genocide 1915, Chronology"). In May, Talat Pasha requested a permission to relocate Armenians, ("Frequently Asked Questions") out of fear of the alleged "Armenian riots and massacres, which had arisen in a number of places in the country. ("Armenian Genocide")" Naturally, this permission came: on the 29th of May 1915, the Tehcir Law (Temporary Law of Deportation) was enacted, allowing him to deport anyone suspected of being deleterious to the national security ("Turkey"). A new law followed in September: the "Temporary Law of Expropriation and Confiscation", which