Ken Calvert: “the Holocaust Museum here in Washington serves as a reminder of one of the greatest tragedies in human history. While it…”

“the Holocaust Museum here in Washington serves as a reminder of one of the greatest tragedies in human history. While it specifically calls to our attention the horrors of the Jewish holocaust during the 1930s and 40s, it serves as well to remind us of other crimes of genocide and persecution. One of those unspeakable crimes was the persecution and elimination of millions of Armenians by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. This tragedy began 89 years ago with the exile and murder of more than one million Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders. Over a period of 8 years, the Armenian people were subjected to extreme cruelties. The young men were forced into the Ottoman army, disarmed and placed in forced labor battalions where they were either starved or executed. The women, children and elderly were marched for weeks into the Syrian desert and subjected to rape, torture and mutilation along the way. As a result of this genocide, the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was effectively eliminated. The Holocaust Museum serves to remind us of just how cruel man can be to his fellow man. From its grisly photographs and artifacts, we should learn the importance of tolerance among all racial and ethnic groups. Whether intolerance is aimed at Armenians, Jews or any other group of people, it is wrong. Let us learn from the tragedies of our past so we will not be condemned to repeat them.”