Dark History by Bailey Sarian

Episode 188: The Mass Murders That Set the Stage for Hitler
Date: November 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal and unflinchingly honest episode of Dark History, Bailey Sarian tells the agonizing story of the Armenian Genocide—how it unfolded in the late Ottoman Empire, the factors that led to the mass extermination of Armenians, the world’s reactions, and why this atrocity is still denied by some nations today. Bailey, herself Armenian, explores not just the facts, but also the intergenerational trauma of genocide and its chilling role as a blueprint for future mass murders, notably inspiring Hitler. The episode combines historical narrative, survivor testimonies, and reflections on denialism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Talk About the Armenian Genocide?

• Bailey opens with the personal relevance of the episode as an Armenian and the long hesitation about telling this story.
• Quote:

  "I've been wanting to do this episode for a very long time... but it only feels right to talk about this." (03:05)

• Emphasis on why it matters to keep these memories alive, especially as many still deny it happened.

2. Background: Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

[02:00 – 07:00]

• Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s, ruled by a majority Muslim government.
• Armenians (majority Christian) faced discrimination: higher taxes, fewer legal rights, banned from testifying in court, and frequent attacks from Kurdish tribes.
• Quote:

  "Compared to Muslim Ottomans, Christian Armenians were treated like second class citizens..." (04:10)

3. Longstanding Persecution & The Hamidian Massacres

[07:00 – 14:00]

• Armenian activists fought for equality, leading to slight progress with the Treaty of Berlin (1878)—but reforms were sabotaged by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
• Turkish nationalists and the Sultan escalated violence as Armenians resisted oppression.
• In 1894-1897, the Hamidian Massacres killed between 100,000 and 300,000 Armenians.
• Quote (Sultan Abdul Hamid II):

  "I will soon settle those Armenians. I will give them a box on the ear which will make them relinquish their revolutionary ambitions." (11:18)

• First international relief by the American Red Cross was sent during this time.

4. A Fleeting Hope, Quashed by Nationalism

[14:00 – 20:00]

• After initial massacres, Armenians, with other groups, overthrew the Sultan and established equality for a short period.
• Turkish nationalist movement "Turkey for the Turks" regained power, leading to new waves of hostility just as World War I broke out.

5. World War I as Cover for Genocide

[20:00 – 26:00]

• Ottoman defeat by Russia in WWI led to scapegoating of Armenians, despite many fighting for the Ottoman side.
• Leaders (the Three Pashas) launched the systematic eradication of Armenians using war as a smokescreen.
• Quote:

  "It was like, 'Why not start another massacre?' But this time, they were determined to get rid of all Armenians once and for all." (26:40)

6. The Genocide Machine: Arrests, Massacres, and Death Marches

[26:20 – 38:30]

• April 24, 1915: Mass arrest of Armenian intellectuals—community leaders, doctors, artists.
• Systematic killing of able-bodied men, forced labor battalions (essentially death camps).
• Women, children, and elders forced on death marches with little/no food, water, or clothing.
• Testimony:

  "Of the 10,000 people who started on that march with Edward, only around 300 survived." (38:10)

• Extreme suffering: dehydration, starvation, exposure, rampant criminal violence along marches.

7. Camps, Further Deportations, and Total Erasure

[40:21 – 47:00]

• Survivors who reached camps mostly faced death from starvation, disease, and violence.
• Description of Aleppo camps, designed by genocidal leader Mehmet Talat, and later the infamous Deir ez-Zor concentration camp in Syria.
• Testimony (Survivor RPR Misichian):

  "60,000 Armenians had been buried under the sand there... Bones, bones, bones were everywhere then wherever you looked..." (41:50)

• Turkish government aimed for total annihilation, even forcibly assimilating children and women via conversion, forced marriage, or placing them in Turkish households.

8. International Response & Operation Nemesis

[47:00 – 54:40]

• Limited global intervention during the war, but journalists, missionaries, and diplomats documented atrocities post-war.
• Istanbul Trials led to no real justice—the main perpetrators escaped and were never held accountable.
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) launched Operation Nemesis, assassinating Talat Pasha in Berlin.
• Quote:

  "They wanted this assassination to make the news so the whole world would be reminded of what happened to the Armenian people." (54:30)

• Soghomon Tehlirian, assassin of Talat Pasha, is acquitted after trial reveals grisly details and Talat's own documented orders to "remove" Armenian children.

9. Legacy and Denialism

[55:00 – 1:01:00]

• Over 1.5 million Armenians killed—more than half the pre-genocide population.
• The term "genocide" itself was coined by Raphael Lemkin, inspired in part by the Armenian experience.
• Many nations (including Turkey and until 2021, the U.S.) refused to call it "genocide" for political reasons.
• Quote (President Biden, 2021):

  "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman era Armenian genocide, and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring." (59:30)

• Reflection on intergenerational trauma, lost family records, and the importance of remembrance and truth-telling.
• Quote (Bailey Sarian):

  "People are never defined solely by what's been done to them. You can try to bury people, but like seeds, they rise." (1:01:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | 03:05 | "I've been wanting to do this episode for a very long time... but it only feels right to talk about this." | Bailey Sarian | | 04:10 | "Compared to Muslim Ottomans, Christian Armenians were treated like second class citizens..." | Bailey Sarian | | 11:18 | "I will soon settle those Armenians. I will give them a box on the ear which will make them relinquish their revolutionary ambitions." | Sultan Abdul Hamid II (quoted by Bailey) | | 41:50 | "60,000 Armenians had been buried under the sand there... Bones, bones, bones were everywhere then wherever you looked..." | RPR Misichian (survivor, quoted) | | 54:30 | "They wanted this assassination to make the news so the whole world would be reminded of what happened to the Armenian people." | Bailey Sarian | | 59:30 | "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman era Armenian genocide..." | President Biden (quoted) | | 1:01:55 | "People are never defined solely by what's been done to them. You can try to bury people, but like seeds, they rise." | Bailey Sarian |

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:05] — Bailey discusses the importance and personal weight of telling the Armenian Genocide story.
• [07:00] — Discrimination against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire explained.
• [11:18] — Start of the Hamidian Massacres, Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s quote.
• [20:00] — Emergence of Turkish ultranationalism and the march toward genocide.
• [26:40] — World War I as the context/excuse for mass extermination plans.
• [38:10] — Testimony of Edward Rakuppian on survival of the death marches.
• [41:50] — Testimony of RPR Misichian, mass graves exposed by sandstorms.
• [47:00] — Operation Nemesis: Armenian vigilante justice.
• [54:30] — Soghomon Tehlirian’s trial and its impact on global awareness.
• [59:30] — U.S. government finally recognizes the genocide.
• [1:01:55] — Bailey’s emotional reflection on survival and legacy.

Tone and Delivery

• Bailey maintains a conversational, frank, and at times darkly humorous tone (“Genocides are lame. Put that on a shirt…” 1:01:30).
• The episode is both informative and emotionally resonant, reflecting her passion for telling difficult truths, her Armenian heritage, and the ongoing need to combat denialism.

Conclusion/Lesson

• The Armenian Genocide set a pattern for future atrocities—most notably serving as a precedent for the Holocaust.
• Remembrance and truth are the most powerful tools against historical erasure and ongoing denial.
• Bailey closes with a call to action:

  "Remembering matters. Telling the truth matters. Because when we give power to truth, we not only honor those who came before us, but... protect those who are coming after us." (1:01:55)

Special thanks to expert Umit Kurt, cited throughout for historical context.

For more resources and survivor testimonies, Bailey mentions further reading in the episode description.