History is Politics by Other Means: Turkish Manipulation of the Armenian Genocide in American Memory

The deliberate killing of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire in 1915, known as the Armenian Genocide, holds a highly contentious history, even within the United States. Despite evidence accounting for the systematic murder of nearly 1.5 million Armenians, many Turkish leaders, diplomats, and scholars argue that the event cannot be classified as “genocide.” Its controversy has led to alternate narratives of the events of 1915, and has compromised the recognition and commemoration of the atrocities committed against Armenians. America’s alliance with Turkey and emphasis on the Holocaust in American historical memory are factors which have prohibited the Armenian Genocide from receiving national recognition within the United States. Various legislative battles waged in Congress pushing for American acknowledgement of the crimes reveal that history and memory, despite serving as a reflection of the past, are highly politicized. These efforts also demonstrate that geopolitics often prevails over the protection of human rights.

Author

• Maggi, Megan

Language

• en

Keyword

• Turkish
• Congress
• Genocide
• Armenian
• American
• memory

Date created

• 2016

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• History

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Long, Charles T.

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/5999n3588