Armenians

Armenians are a Christian people native to the Middle East. They claim that the kingdom which once ruled their hereditary homeland was the first government to make Christianity its official state religion in the world.

In the late 1910s and early 1920s, Armenia was occupied by the Turkish Empire, and Armenians were the victims of a systematic genocide perpetuated by the Turks. The United States, to which a number of Armenian immigrants had moved over the years, attempted to lead an international protest, but Turkey was supported by Germany and the United States, unable (or unwilling) to become involved in an antagonistic international relationship with a powerful foreign government, withdrew its protest. The genocide against the Armenians continued.