Each year on April 24, Armenians around the world observe a solemn day of remembrance to honor the victims of one of the 20th century’s most harrowing atrocities—the Armenian Genocide. Between 1915 and 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were systematically exterminated by the Ottoman Turkish government in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that remains unrecognized by some governments, including Turkey’s.
But the Armenians were not the only group targeted during this dark chapter of history. The Ottoman Empire’s policies of extermination also claimed the lives of an estimated 750,000 Assyrians and over 950,000 Greeks, as part of a broader campaign to eliminate Christian minorities from the empire. Historians often refer to these interconnected atrocities collectively as the Christian genocides of the Ottoman Empire.
The genocide began on April 24, 1915, with the arrest of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, clergy, writers, and community leaders in Constantinople (modern-day occupied Istanbul). Most were executed or deported to remote prisons. It marked the start of a carefully orchestrated plan to dismantle the Armenian population by first targeting its cultural and intellectual backbone.
What followed was a brutal campaign of forced deportations, mass executions, and cultural destruction. Armenian families were driven from their homes, stripped of their possessions, and sent on death marches across the Syrian and Mesopotamian deserts. Deprived of food, water, and shelter, countless men, women, and children died of starvation, disease, and exposure. Many others were subjected to mass drownings, shootings, and other atrocities by Ottoman soldiers and local collaborators.
Entire communities were wiped out. In towns such as Der Zor and Zeytun, thousands of Armenians were massacred—burned alive, shot in masses or locked in buildings and set on fire. In Aintab, men were executed while women and children endured rape, torture, and forced conversions into Islam. Pregnant women were mutilated; children were sold into slavery. These acts were not incidental—they were central to a state-sponsored effort to erase the Armenian presence from the empire.
The genocide extended beyond the physical annihilation of a people. It also sought to destroy Armenian culture and history. Churches, schools, libraries, and monuments were reduced to rubble. Religious and historical texts were burned. By obliterating Armenian heritage, the Ottoman regime attempted to eliminate not only lives, but identity.
To this day, the Turkish government denies that what happened was genocide, a refusal that continues to inflict pain on the descendants of survivors. This denial has become a geopolitical issue, with some countries avoiding formal recognition due to diplomatic ties with Turkey. But the historical record is clear. Survivors’ testimonies, diplomatic dispatches, and mountains of evidence have been documented by historians, including Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide” in part based on the Armenian experience.
April 24 has thus become more than a day of mourning. It is a day of defiance. Across the globe, Armenians and allies gather at memorials, hold vigils, and speak out—not only to remember the past but to demand recognition and justice. These observances are acts of remembrance and resistance, affirming the enduring spirit of a people who refused to be erased.
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not only a matter of historical accuracy—it is a moral imperative. As the world continues to witness atrocities and mass violence, acknowledging past genocides is essential to preventing future ones. Silence and denial only embolden perpetrators.
In commemorating April 24, we do more than remember the dead—we amplify the voices of the living who carry forward the fight for truth. Their resilience is a testament to the enduring power of memory, and to the unyielding pursuit of justice in the face of denial.