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Revolution and Genocide: On the Origins of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust

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In this intelligent work, Melson studies the role of revolution in the promulagtion of genocide. His theories cover political, historical, cultural, and psychological rationales, and lead to a concrete answer to a fluid question. The Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust are systematically disected, studied, and put back together, and a rational theory about revolution's role in genocide emerges. A definite requirement for anyone studying modern genocide.

Interesting book. Melson draws a number of parallels between Turkish and German societies in the years leading up to the respective genocides. Both societies contained a risng entrepreneurial middle class that was selectively demonized and treated as an external threat - the Armenians because half the population lived across the border of Turkey in Russia, and the Jews who also had a significant Russian population and were labeled as Bolshevik conspirators. Yet this perception ran counter to reality as German Jews considered themselves as German loyalists and non-German Jews saw liberal German values as symbolic of the Enlightenment; Armenian Turks were more favourable towards Turkey than Russia as were Armenians on the Russian side of the border.

The other major factor was that the NSDAP (National Socialist) and CUP (Turkish Committe of Union and Progress) were both revolutionary parties. Melson contends that the revolutionary aspect of both regimes enabled their societies to throw off the previous moral constraints of their pas - the Nazis it was Christianity's use of the Jews as a "Witness People", for the Turks it was the Pact that gave dhimmi minorities protected status. He characterizes previous attempts to realize political parties during Bismark's rule as fragmented and ultimately failing in the public imagination because these parties were in opposition to the State whereas Hitler purported to defend it. He juxtaposes this with attacks on Armenians during the reign of the last Sultan Hamid II during the years 1894-96, which, though terrible, did not lead to to mass murder. I don't agree with the author on this point. However he is convincing that until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire the Armenians were just another millet, but with a reduced size in empire the Armenians were numerous enough inside Turkey to be seen as a threat to the survival of the State.

Professor Melson's writing style is straightforward. He tells you what he's about to say, he says it and then he summarizes it again - possibly effective in the classroom but not quite as satisfying in a book. Melson's command of the Nazi ascent are quite impressive but more time could have been said about the details of the Armenian history.

As a note to where I am coming from and going to on this subject, about 3 years ago I went to a book launch of Barbara Coloroso's Extraordinary Evil: A Short Walk to Genocide, which I also recommend. Attending the launch was a representative group from the Armenian community. I knew very little about the subject but I talked to them and promised that I would find out more. I was side tracked in my reading but I saw Melson's book and saw it as a way to fulfill my promise, almost 3 years later.

I'm now reading Dadrian's Warrant for Genocide: Key Elements of Turko-Armenian Conflict which I should be able to review in couple of weeks. Thus far I am favorably impressed. I'm also interested in following up what happened to a particular group of Armenians afterwards. Melson made the intriguing comment that whereas Hitler would have pursued the Jews to the ends of the Earth, the Armenians who made it as far as Syria and Lebanon (admittedly few survived the forced marches through the desert) were not marked for extinction by the Turks. He also remarked that another difference is that whereas a Jew was always a Jew, a Turk was a Muslim who spoke Turkish so that Armenian Christians could convert and escape their fate. I'd like to examine that statement in more detail as well as find out about the fate and actions of others who were neither Muslim nor Armenian during that period.

The comparison of The Genocide and the Holocaust can be considered an important step towards the recoginition of this almost a century old crime against the Armenians. I felt this book analyzed the conditions of both of these events and came to conclusion that they were same. I commend Dr. Melson for this effort.

This 1996 paperback version is not a "New Ed" like the Product Detail says, and it is not 386 pages either. It is a 363 page reprint of the 1992 original. If you have the 1992 edition, do not buy this. There is nothing new in this printing.

It just astonished me as how certain discursive formations can actually lead people to believe as the 'real' reality. It does not matter whether for an event to 'really happen' or not. What matters is that you hear it on a radio or read it on a newspaper or website or even talk about it at the water-cooler. Those who have had the chance to watch 'Wag the Dog' might get the idea of how such 'reality' is constructed.

On a more advanced level 'discursivity', a la Foucault, is a building block of a discourse in which certain linkages, here and their, add to what ordinary people believe on the street.

Now obviously Hitler was one of the worst things that happened during the 20th century. This is commonsense. But to add certain 'material' so as to advance another claim by building upon Hitler, is something that should be carefully approached, at least for people who at least visit and read stuff through Amazon.
If a chain in a series of discursive formations can be shown to be weak or invalid than it would be proven that that chain of a discourse is on shaky grounds, and that most of what is known about it is likely to be false.
Unfortunately we see certain 'material' is attached to certain claims so as to resemble the Holocaust. Let us revisit a single claim on part of those would like to exploit the events during the early 20th century. A reviewer, for instance, obviously bought one claim and thus knows it to be the 'truth'

Adolf Hitler: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Now has anybody bothered to investigate it. No, of course. "It sounds like as if it is true, so why not believe it". Well fortunately there are still people who like investigating such stuff.
Read for example :
Heath W. Lowry
Washington, D.C.
Political Communication and Persuasion, Volume 3, Number 2 (1985)
Abstract This article traces the history of a purported Adolf Hitler quote which cites the perecent of the world's lack of reaction to the fate of Armenians during the First World War as a justification for his planned extermination of European Jewry in the course of the Second World War. By a detailed examination of the genesis of this quotation the author demonstrates that there is no historical basis for attributing such a statement to Hitler...
[...]
If one is serious about really getting into history, rather than believing simply what is out their in the popular press,
I would additionally suggest to take a tour of the documents of Ambassador Morgenthau. First let us not take any word for having a Godly truth 'Its ambassador so its gotta be true' mentality is ok if you're ok with it (respect of thought). But there are historical evidence that suggests that Morgenthau did not even know Ottoman scripture, and that this is proved throughout his letters when he attempts to translate 'words' and 'dates' of events. Do not hesitate to read...
[...]


For those who have CAREFULLY read what I have written so far, notice I am not either on one side of the argument between Armenian historians or historians of the Ottoman empire, but that I have just thrown out some thought provoking information so that one will at least ask some questions before believing what they read. Doubtless there will be those occasional pointless replies to this review, but again all I am saying is, think before you react. Now one could argue that I am saying is a postmodernist crituque and historical relativism. That would be false. I believe in historical analysis, as a scientific enterprise (and only the scientific version of it). But then again let us not forget that some American historians who were studying the case at hand were bombed by Armenians. Now if history is written by historians and that some historians (i.e. UCLA professor Stanford Shaw)are bullied so as not to investigate certain historical matters than, at least if you have a capacity to think critically than be suspicious about it. [...]
By the way absolutely nothing is mentioned about the equal ammount of civilian Turks that were slaugthered by Russian backed Armenian militia. Nor anything about the terrorism campaign of Armenians during the 1970's that left thousands of people dead and wounded. To say "denying genocide is a wrong thing" is one thing. But in doing so if one is denying the death of tens of thousands of innocent Turks, is called hypocrism and puts one in ethically shaky grounds.

The latest British governemeents acceptance that the "blue book", which Armenian claims are based upon, have been declared by the government itself to be a WW1 time propaganda material. Yes you heard it right!

Here's another eye opener: Often the claim is made there 1 million Armenians were murdered. What they do not say that the same material they indicate that a "genocide" happened says that
the ENTIRE Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire was 800 thousand (200 thousand difference!) MOREOVER Keep in mind that the Armenian diaspora, that builds its own desire to have a national identity, has a population of more than 9 million people across the world. HOW CAN this be??? Well thats how nationalism is formed: impossibile numbers, man on white horse, the evil "other" etc.... So this "genocide" attitude is more of identity building rather than real history.

Well I hope I contributed on an intellectual level and I hope 'thought thugs' would not misunderstand what I have suggested.