Memory Denied
Photography by Kathryn Cook, 2008
“Memory Denied” Lesson Plan
Resources for this lesson:
The images selected express what photographer Kathryn Cook describes as “the remains and traces of an ambiguous dark history." She believes that the definition of that history "is still being fought over.” As you view these images, consider the implications of the legacy of silence over the century and how this particular story can be told through images of present-day life in this region.
The shadow of a train that runs from Adana to Istanbul, Turkey, is seen projected on land between the cities of Konya and Adana, Turkey. A German company won concessions to build part of the railway back in the early 1900s, then called the Baghdad Railway, and in 1915 the Turkish government began to use it to deport thousands of Armenians to Syria...
A woman holds a small Armenian Bible during a church service in Vakifli, Turkey. About 30 Armenian families populate the small town, located near the Turkish border with Syria. Although Armenians are allowed to celebrate their traditions in Turkey, many fear asserting their ethnic origins, which means living in near silence to avoid trouble.
A photo of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is reflected on the hearse carrying his flower-covered coffin during a funeral procession in Istanbul in 2007. Dink, a defender of his Armenian past, was charged with breaking a law which makes it illegal to “insult” the Republic or being a Turk. His killer admitted he shot Hrant because he had “insulted Turks.”
A young girl stands on the ruin of an Armenian church in Diyarbakir, Turkey. A significant Armenian community once flourished in this southeastern city.
Snow blankets the countryside in eastern Turkey, where the largest population of Turkey’s Armenians had lived. The region was hit hard by violence between Armenians and Turks in the late 1800s-early 1900s, and during WWI. After the deportation decrees in 1915, almost all Armenian communities in the area were wiped out.