Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Denise Altounian
Staff Writer
Photo: Barlow Der Mugrdechian
1.5 million. For every Armenian this number brings one thing to mind, the 1.5 million victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. We may have memorized the number, but when was the last time we took a moment to really think about what that number means. In his lecture, “Perpetrators, Bystanders and Rescuers vs. Victims, Survivors and Betrayers during the Genocide (Case of Armenian Genocide),” visiting scholar Dr. Dr. Suren A. Manukyan brought a new perspective, rarely seen in the study of genocides and the motives behind them.
This lecture took place on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 in the Alice Peters Auditorium at Fresno State and was supported by the Leon S. Peters Foundation. Dr. Manukyan, currently a Fulbright scholar, is conducting research on the sociology of the Armenian Genocide at Rutgers University.
Dr. Manukyan is Deputy Director at the Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute in Yerevan, Armenia. Through his lecture he shared some of the preliminary results of his research. The lecture focused on the questions, “Who were the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide?” and “Why Genocide? How do apparently normal people commit mass murder?”
Although the killing orders came from top government officials, Dr. Manukyan stressed that much of the implementation of the massacres and killings were done by faceless bureaucrats. It would have been impossible to implement Genocide without this mass participation. Through this collective mentality of intolerance towards the Armenians, the behavior of what were seemingly “normal” people was suddenly transformed. The social indoctrination by the Turkish government created a group of murderers. Although the Armenians in Turkey were a small group, their success made them a target of this political campaign.
This campaign created feelings of contempt and created the idea that the Armenians were subhuman. This systematic implementation was very well planned and had enthusiastic participants from all walks of life. Dr. Manukyan stated that the young, the old, the politically active, the educated and the uneducated committed horrific atrocities.
Dr. Manukyan’s lecture reminded those in attendance to step away from the political reasons for the Armenian Genocide and think about both the victims and perpetrators and hear their stories.