History

When Was the Decision to Annihilate the Armenians Taken?

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Bahaettin Şakir, the head of Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, wrote in a letter on 3 March 1915 that the Central Committee of Union and Progress had decided to exterminate the Armenians, giving the government wide authority to implement this plan. His letter has never been considered authentic and has been ignored by researchers in our field. Most scholars placed the possible date(s) for a final decision at the end of the March (or beginning of April). Based on some newly available Ottoman documents, I will revisit the question of the final decision and will also introduce several new documents related to earlier decisions and to the role of governors in the decision-making process.

Publication Title

Journal of Genocide Research

Publication Date

10-2-2019

Volume

21

Issue

4

First Page

457

Last Page

480

ISSN

1462-3528

DOI

10.1080/14623528.2019.1630893

Keywords

Bahaettin Şakir, Central Committee, Final decision, Governors, Special Organization, Talat Pasha, Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa

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