Hidden Armenians

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Hidden Armenians (Armenian: թաքնված հայեր, romanized: t’ak’nvats hayer; Turkish: Gizli Ermeniler) or crypto-Armenians (Kripto Ermeniler)[1] is an umbrella term to describe Turkish citizens hiding their full or partial Armenian ancestry from the larger Turkish society.[2] They are mostly descendants of Ottoman Armenians who, at least outwardly, were Islamized (and Turkified or Kurdified) "under the threat of physical extermination" during the Armenian genocide.[3][4]

Turkish journalist Erhan Başyurt[a] describes hidden Armenians as "families (and in some cases, entire villages or neighbourhoods) [...] who converted to Islam to escape the deportations and death marches [of 1915], but continued their hidden lives as Armenians, marrying among themselves and, in some cases, clandestinely reverting to Christianity."[5] According to the 2012 European Commission report on Turkey, a "number of crypto-Armenians have started to use their original names and religion."[6] The Economist suggests that the number of Turks who reveal their Armenian background is growing.[7] Some radicals within Turkey referred to them by the derogatory term "leftovers of the sword" (Turkish: kılıç artıkları).[8][9]

  1. ^ Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (24 June 2011). "Hidden Armenians in Turkey expose their identities". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  2. ^ Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (19 June 2012). "Elective courses may be ice-breaker for all". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  3. ^ Khanlaryan, Karen (29 September 2005). "The Armenian ethnoreligious elements in the Western Armenia". Noravank Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  4. ^ Altınay, Ayşe Gül; Çetin, Fethiye (2014). The Grandchildren: The Hidden Legacy of 'Lost' Armenians in Turkey. Transaction Publishers. p. xxxi. ISBN 978-1412853910.
  5. ^ Altınay & Turkyilmaz 2011, p. 41.
  6. ^ "Commission Working Document Turkey 2012 Progress Report" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2012. p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  7. ^ "The cost of reconstruction". The Economist. 11 March 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013. Although today's inhabitants of Geben hesitate to call themselves Armenians, a growing number of "crypto-Armenians" (people forced to change identity) do just that.
  8. ^ Hadjian, Avedis (30 April 2018). Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. viii. ISBN 978-1-78673-371-9.
  9. ^ Watenpaugh, Keith David (2013). ""Are There Any Children for Sale?": Genocide and the Transfer of Armenian Children (1915–1922)". Journal of Human Rights. 12 (3): 283–295. doi:10.1080/14754835.2013.812410. S2CID 144771307.


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