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.

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

List of Maps
Preface
1. Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the Nineteenth Century
2. The Armenian Revolutionary Movement
3. The Massacres of 1894-96
4. The Young Turks Take Power
5. The Armenian Case (1): Genocidal Plans
6. The Armenian Case (2): The Implementation of Genocide
7. The Turkish Position
8. The Sources
9. The Deportation Decision
10. The Course of the Deportations
11. Resettlement
12. Who Were the Perpetrators of the Massacres?
13. The Number of Victims
14. Conclusion: The Question of Premeditation
15. Epilogue: The Politicization of History
Abbreviations and Glossary
Notes
Works Cited
Index