Forced into Genocide: Memoirs of an Armenian Soldier in the Ottoman Turkish Army

by Adrienne G. Alexanian

Overview

This memoir recalls Yervant Alexanian’s death-defying experiences in the center of the Armenian Genocide. Like other Armenians of his generation, he was an eyewitness to the massacre and dislocation of his family and fellow countrymen in Ottoman Turkey during World War I. Alexanian was conscripted into the Turkish army—but unlike others so conscripted, he survived.

Alexanian was forced to become an onlooker while he watched the atrocities unfold. His story of resourceful action and fateful turns is a suspenseful “insider’s account” of a Genocide survivor. From his singular position, Alexanian was able to document the tragedy of his people in his journals and diaries, but he also offers us a behind-the-scenes look into the motivations and actions of Turkish military officials as they committed the atrocities. His story continues after the war as we follow the trail of his journey through Europe and finally to America, where he found solace and was able to start anew with fellow survivors.

No comparable account exists in the literature of the Armenian Genocide. This edition, translated from Alexanian’s hand-written Armenian-language chronicle, includes never-before-seen documents and photos that the author preserved. Through his eyes we relive the astonishing cruelty of the Genocide’s perpetrators—but also rare, unexpected acts of humanity between victim and oppressor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351294829
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/15/2019
Series:	Genocide Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	178
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Adrienne G. Alexanian is a 2010 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal, an educator, and the daughter of Yervant Alexanian. Sergio La Porta is Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno. Israel W. Charny is executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and past editor of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Genocide.

Table of Contents

Foreword Israel W. Charny

Introduction Sergio La Porta

Translator’s Preface Simon Beugekian

Memoirs of Yervant (Edward) Alexanian

Chapter 1: Childhood Early Life

Chapter 2: School Years

Chapter 3: Life in Sivas before Deportations

Chapter 4: Deportations and Genocide

Chapter 5: Life in the Army

Chapter 6: Istanbul

Chapter 7: America

Afterword

Final Thoughts (1953)

Appendix A: Reflections of Yervant Alexanian

Appendix B: Letters of Yervant Alexanian

Appendix C: Documents of Yervant Alexanian (Facsimile with English Transcript/Translation)

Timeline of Yervant N. Alexanian

Select Bibliography and Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

"One of the biggest hurdles to being able to truly understand history to create simple contrasts and simplify things that render everything in black and white. All of that living that occurs in the gray area get lost. The life story you have before you of Yervant (Edward) Alexanian belongs to that gray area that cannot be visible within this simplification but should not be neglected at all if you want to grasp the enourmity of human catastrophy. It is usually stated that the Armenians who were conscripted into military service were exterminated first but this causes us to forget the story of the hundreds of Armenians, like Yervant (Edward) Alexanian, who served in the Ottoman army battling through to the end of the war. Hundreds of other Armenians, like Yervant, served in the Ottoman army and fought until the end, even bestowed madals for their bravery during a period when their close friends, relatives, family members were exterminated. Reading about Yervant’s story is an inescapable part of understanding the another kind of suffering; suffering of survivors." —Dr. Taner Akçam, Clark University, author of A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, and The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire "Many accounts have been written about the Armenian Genocide, which marked its centennial last year and constitutes the darkest period in the history of the Armenian people. The story of Yervant Alexanian, originally of the city of Sivas, tells the unique and compelling tale of a boy whose conscription into the Ottoman Army ultimately saved him from the fate of 51 of his relatives, all of whom perished in the Genocide. Forced Into Genocide lovingly memorializes the fate of a family and a community, and adds yet another incredible chapter to the history of the Genocide. This book is moving, uplifting, and richly detailed, and is a gift to the Armenian community and, indeed, humanity." —Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President, The Carnegie Corporation "Yervant Alexanian’s story of survival offers a unique glimpse into the oft-forgotten lives and experiences of Armenians who were torn from their families and conscripted into the Ottoman Turkish Army during the Armenian Genocide. Alexanian’s first-person account sheds light on this tragic moment in history - the first genocide of the 20th century. This memoir serves as an important contribution to the body of historical accounts of the Armenian Genocide." —The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr.

"The story of Yervant Alexanian provides significant insight into not only the tragedy of the Armenians who lost their lives during the Genocide, but very importantly, it tells us the forgotten stories of Armenians who served in the World War I Ottoman Army. As disturbing as Alexanian's story is, it gives us a rare glimpse of another facet of the Genocide." —Eric Bogosian, author of Operation Nemesis "Yervant Alexanian has left us a much needed inside account of the Genocide period. As such a witness, he painstakingly works to debunk the alibis, myths, and outright falsehoods long promoted by Turkey to deny the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Unforgettable is the way Alexanian provides humanizing portraits — not only of the Armenian victims, but also those in Ottoman Empire who played roles as agents of mercy or death. His story is long overdue." —Andrew Goldberg, Executive Producer, The Armenian Genocide (PBS, 2006)

From the Publisher