The Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey – Map of Extermination Areas

Foreign diplomats received evidence of large-scale extermination of Armenians almost at the very beginning of the Genocide. In the joint declaration of May 24, 1915, of the Entente countries (the UK, France, and Russia), the mass murder of Armenians for the first time in history was recognized as a crime against humanity.

However, the powers involved in the big war were not able to stop the mass extermination of people.

Although the peak of the genocide occurred in 1915, the massacre of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire continued until the end of WWI.

The total number of victims of the Armenian Genocide to this day has not been finally determined. The most frequently heard data is that in the period from 1915 to 1918, between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire. Those who managed to survive the slaughter would leave their native lands in large numbers.

According to various estimates, by 1915, between 2 and 4 million Armenians had lived in the Ottoman Empire. Now, only 40 to 70 thousand Armenians live in Turkey. Most of the Armenian churches and historical monuments associated with the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire have been destroyed or turned into mosques or other facilities.

Only at the end of the 20th century, under the pressure of the world community, the restoration of some historical monuments began in Turkey, in particular, of the Church of the Holy Cross on Lake Van.