April 24, 1915 marks the beginning of the genocide
of the Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. On the evening
on this day hundreds of Armenian intellectuals,
teachers, doctors and political leaders were
arrested and executed shortly after. This became
the beginning of the annihilation of 1,500,000
Armenians, i.e. 75% of the Armenian population in
the Ottoman Empire and almost 40% of the entire
Armenian world population.
A French diplomat, in 1920, has allegedly said:
"As long as the guilty parts of this criminal action
escape justice, others will assume that this horrible
crime pays off and these terrifying scenes will be
repeated." His misgivings were confirmed in less
than 20 years, in Hitler’s Europe.
"The solution of the Armenian Question is not only
connected to the decency of Europe, but also to its
security and its interests".
Ashot Yergath, September 7, 1896