In 1908, the Young Turk party took over Turkey. In 1914 they allied with Germany and the Central Powers in World War II, and they soon began a systematic genocide of the Armenian population. It began with the arrest and execution of Armenian intellectuals in 1915. Soon Armenian property and weapons were confiscated. From 1915-1917, death marches and executions occurred. Around 1.5 million Armenians were killed in those two years; during WWII, the Armenian population dropped from two million to fewer than 400,000.
Recommended Resources
Books
Grigoris Balakian - Armenian Golgotha: a memoir of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1918
Peter Balakian - The burning Tigris: the Armenian genocide and America's response
Yucel Guclu - The Holocaust and the Armenian case in comparative perspective
Richard G. Hovannisian - The Armenian genocide: cultural and ethical legacies
Laure Marchand - Turkey and the Armenian ghost: on the trail of the genocide
Donald E. Miller - Survivors: an oral history of the Armenian genocide
Ronald Grigor Suny - "They can live in the desert but nowhere else": a history of the Armenian genocide
Search Terms
Armenian massacres, 1915-1923
Armenian massacres survivors
Armenians -- Turkey -- History -- 20th century
Genocide -- Turkey
World politics -- 1900-1918
Online Resources
The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
Armenian National Institute: Frequently Asked Questions about the Armenian Genocide
Facing History and Ourselves: Introducing the Armenian Genocide
John Kifner: Armenian Genocide of 1915: An Overview
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The Armenian Genocide (1915-16): Overview