Armenian Genocide ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings - Donald Wilson Bush

Summary

This video from ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, features a detailed and emotional look at the Armenian Genocide, an atrocity often overshadowed by subsequent events. The transcript highlights the systematic extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, drawing parallels to ethnic cleansing in other regions and referencing key historical figures and events. The narrative details the plight of Armenians through personal stories and historical context, offering a somber reflection on one of history's first modern genocides. The program reflects on its historical significance and continued denial by some modern groups, emphasizing the importance of remembrance and acknowledgment.

Highlights

• An article from 84 years ago eerily resembles ethnic cleansing in modern times. 📜
• The massacre is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Holocaust, alluding to its scale and brutality. ⚰️
• During World War I, Armenians were wrongly seen as a threat due to their Christian faith and location. ✝️
• Horrifying methods such as mass burning and suffocation in caves were used against Armenians. 🔥
• Wegner's photographic evidence aimed to bring the hidden atrocities into international awareness. 🌍

Key Takeaways

• The Armenian Genocide was the first major genocide of the 20th century, with over a million and a half Armenians killed. 😢
• Talat Pasha, sometimes referred to as the 'Turkish Hitler', played a central role in orchestrating these atrocities. 😡
• Despite promises of freedom and equality, the 'Young Turks' regime escalated violence against Armenians. 🤥
• The genocide tactics included massacres, deportations, and primitive gas chambers, leaving Armenian culture decimated. 💔
• Armand Wegner, a German medic, captured photographs as evidence, aiming to reveal the truth to the world. 📸

Overview

The broadcast by ABC World News Tonight provides an extensive recount of the Armenian Genocide, placing it within a broader historical and humanitarian context. The narrative begins by comparing the genocide with ethnic cleansing events in other modern times, immediately drawing viewer attention to ongoing global issues. The report meticulously guides the viewer through the causes, key figures, and consequences of this tragic chapter in history, focusing on the harrowing experiences of the Armenian population.

The transcript unveils the calculated plans by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate Armenians, driven by a mix of political strategy and racial ideology. Promised reforms and equality by the 'Young Turks' quickly devolved into relentless violence and systematic genocide. This dark period was marked by forced deportations, widespread murder, and a drive towards ethnic homogeneity under the guise of military and national security concerns, painfully narrated through survivor accounts.

One of the pivotal elements highlighted is the effort by individuals like Armand Wegner who documented these atrocities. His photographs served as harrowing evidence of the crimes committed, reflecting the global imperative to remember and acknowledge past horrors. The coverage underscores the lasting impact of denial and the vital importance of historical transparency and education in preventing future genocides.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Historical Context The chapter 'Introduction and Historical Context' delves into historical events, drawing parallels between past and present atrocities. It references a New York Times article from 84 years ago that describes a population suffering from sickness, deprivation, and violence - a narrative reminiscent of more recent ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. This segment is used to illustrate the recurring nature of such tragedies across different eras.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Perpetrators and Proclamation of Genocide The chapter titled 'Perpetrators and Proclamation of Genocide' delves into the Armenian massacre. It reflects on the profound questions and emotional turmoil faced by those who endured such atrocities. The text captures the essence of questioning divine justice, as highlighted by a poignant query directed to God, contemplating the reasons behind their suffering and what they might have done to deserve such a fate.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Methods and Immediate Justification for Genocide The chapter discusses the Armenian Genocide, referred to as the Armenian Holocaust, drawing parallels with the actions of Talat Pasha, who is compared to Adolf Hitler by Armenians. The transcript suggests a connection between the events happening to ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and the near-annihilation of the Turkish Armenians in 1915, describing it as the first genocide of the 20th century.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Young Turks' Promise and Subsequent Threat Perception This chapter discusses the actions of the ruling elite in Turkey who were responsible for the destruction of the Armenian population, totaling two million people, through brutal means such as massacre, deportation, rape, plunder, and murder. With the onset of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire was faltering. During this period, the Muslim Turks were being expelled from the Balkans, an area where their Christian subjects were revolting.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Turkey's World War I Involvement and Genocide Initiation The chapter highlights Turkey's involvement in World War I and its initiation of genocide against Christian Armenians. Initially, around two million Armenians in Turkey were demanding better treatment and reforms, facing increasing violence as they agitated for change. The situation seemed hopeful when the Young Turks, a revolutionary movement, took power in 1908 with promises of freedom and equality for all ethnic minorities. However, these promises were broken. In pursuit of a new Turkish empire, the regime aggressively targeted Armenians, echoing ideologies similar to Hitler’s vision of an Aryan society.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Atrocities and Eyewitness Accounts The chapter discusses the deep-rooted tensions between the Turkish Muslim population and the Armenian community, highlighting how Armenians were perceived as a significant threat to the Turkish vision of a pan-Turkic state. With the onset of World War I and Turkey aligning with Germany, this perception intensified. The Turkish authorities feared that Armenians might ally with Russian Orthodox Christians to fight against them, which further fueled their determination to eliminate the Armenian presence.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Impact of Eyewitness Accounts and Denial The chapter discusses the onset of the systematic plan to annihilate the Armenian population, which began 84 years ago. It highlights how this genocidal plan started with the deportation and eventual murder of the Armenian cultural elite.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Looking Forward: Historical Memory and Denial The chapter titled 'Looking Forward: Historical Memory and Denial' discusses the atrocities faced by the civilian population, highlighting instances of starvation, burning, and particularly the struggles faced by Armenian women to avoid rape by burying themselves up to their necks in sand. It goes on to describe the brutal tactics used, such as the herding of people into caves followed by lighting brush fires at the entrances, creating primitive gas chambers that led to mass asphyxiation. The narrative includes the perspective of Armand Wegner, a German army medic, who was so appalled by the scenes he witnessed that he risked capturing the images secretly.

Armenian Genocide ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings - Donald Wilson Bush Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 finally tonight the century on friday listen to this from the new york times a considerable population is in danger ravaged by sickness and privations of every kind by outrages including murder refugees robbed of everything they possessed does it sound like the ethnic cleansing in kosovo actually it's from an article 84 years ago about the forgotten genocide
• 00:30 - 01:00 tonight the armenian massacre mary or martian has a question for god if there is there is god in heaven someday people ask questions to him why what did we do that you caused the whole trouble
• 01:00 - 01:30 it is sometimes called the armenian holocaust and one of its perpetrators talat pasha is known to armenians as the turkish hitler [Applause] look at what is happening now to the ethnic albanians in kosovo and you can follow a line that leads finally here to the near annihilation of the turkish armenians in 1915 it was quite simply the first genocide of the 20th century
• 01:30 - 02:00 the turkish ruling elite proceeded to destroy the armenian population two million people this was done by massacre it was done by deportation it was done by rape plunder murder of the most appalling kinds as the century began the ottoman empire was collapsing the turks who were muslims were being pushed out of the balkans where their christian subjects were in open rebellion
• 02:00 - 02:30 and inside turkey two million christian armenians were demanding better treatment as armenians continue to agitate for change they were met with more and more violence there was some hope when a new regime called the young turks took power in 1908 promising freedom and equality for all ethnic minorities but they broke their promises and in the name of a new turkish empire they moved viciously against the armenians a little bit like hitler's idea of an aryan society so that turkey would be a
• 02:30 - 03:00 place only possible for turkish muslim people and the armenians represented the biggest threat in the turkish mind to this pan-turkic ideal when turkey became involved in the first world war on the side of the germans the turkish leadership arrived at yet another reason to be rid of the armenians they feared the armenians would fight against them with their christian orthodox russian neighbors to the east
• 03:00 - 03:30 the plan to destroy the armenian population began 84 years ago this week with the deportation and eventual murder of the armenian cultural elite [Music] i was only 12 years old and they took all my school teachers away they never came back the turkish authorities then turned to
• 03:30 - 04:00 the remainder of the civilian population starving some burning others armenian women tried to avoid rape by burying themselves up to their necks in sand the turks herded people into caves and then set brush fires at the mouth of the caves primitive gas chambers that way hundreds of people could be asphyxiated in one fell swoop armand wegner a german army medic was so sickened by what he saw that he secretly photographed what was going on
• 04:00 - 04:30 so it could not be hidden from the world hunger death despair shouted me from all sides the desert has devoured them wegner's pictures were one of the reasons the victors of world war one gave armenians a state of their own the turks deny genocide and they deny it still now follow the line forward in the 1930s when the nazis began their reign of terror wegner wrote to hitler imploring him to
• 04:30 - 05:00 leave the jews alone already planning genocide of his own hitler declared who remembers what happened to the armenians now more than a million and a half armenians died and there is much more information about this on our website the century dot com including all of the photographs taken by armand wegner more than eighty years ago that is our report on world news tonight i'm peter jennings good night