Vahe Tachjian uses the diaries of two families to get an indepth look at the impact of the genocidal process on the Armenian population of Cilicia (Western Syria today). As he explains, the diaries capture the experiences of the victims in their day to day struggle for survival. Such sources reveal how the struggle for survival in extreme conditions can cause victims to use any means for survival—moral decline often occurs and at times these desperate efforts for survival can cause humans to act as animals. Tachjian argues that scholars often ignore diaries in their study of genocide but these microhistories deepen understanding of the impact of genocide.
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