On The Nihilism Of The Turкish Authorities Regarding The “Van Rebellion” In 1915

The article discusses the traditional statement of Turkish official historiography according to which the self-defense struggle of Western Armenians and especially the heroic battle of April 1915 in Van, as “rebellion”, i.e. a treason of Armenians, that was one of the main motives for the implementation of the Armenian Genocide. Based upon numerous primary sources, the author concludes that contrary to the Turkish government’s official self-justification attempt, the struggle of Van Armenians for existence started only when the Turks had already started their extermination policy and began to massacre all Armenians of Van province. Armenians resorted to arms only to defend themselves against the Turkish perception that any kind of organized rebellion against the ruling order was synonymous with rebellion against the state.