The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide (Utah Series in Turkish and Islamic Stud) - Hardcover

Lewy, Guenter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874808499 ISBN 13: 9780874808490

Publisher: University of Utah Press, 2005

Synopsis

Utah Series in Middle East Studies

In 1915, the Ottoman government, then run by the Young Turks, deported most of its Armenian citizens from their eastern Anatolian lands. According to reliable estimates, close to forty percent of the prewar population perished, many in brutal massacres. Armenians call it the first genocide of the twentieth century. Turks speak of an instance of intercommunal warfare and wartime relocation made necessary by the treasonous conduct of their Armenian minority.

The voluminous literature on this tragic episode of World War I is characterized by acrimony and distortion in which both sides have simplified a complex historical reality and have resorted to partisan special pleading.

The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey examines the rich historical evidence without political preconceptions. Relying on archival materials as well as eye-witness testimony, Guenter Lewy avoids the sterile “was-it-genocide-or-not” debate and presents a detailed account of what actually happened. The result is a book that will open a new chapter in this contentious controversy and may help achieve a long-overdue reconciliation of Armenians and Turks.

About this title

About the Author

Guenter Lewy is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Utah Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874808499
• ISBN 13: 9780874808490
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384