This meticulously researched and well-documented study on Armenian Genocide era insurance policies breaks new grounds. It exposes for the first time, in a lucid and provocative way the insurers' deceptive attitudes and the perpetrators' sinister attempts to collect the life policy benefits of their victims for themselves. The book breathtakingly tracks the efforts of the heirs in Turkey from their initially ineffectual claims in Turkey more than 80 years ago and highlights the symbolic compensation of the victims' rights in a Los Angeles, California court system in 2004-2005. The book is a plea for human justice and a valuable addition to the collection of brilliant first books.
PREFACE
My examination of Genocide era Armenian life insurance policies was inspired by the discovery of a highly informative letter declassified in the 1980s and made public in the U.S. National Archives. Providing insight into the legal, moral, political and criminal overtones arising from a few life insurance policy claims following the Genocide, this letter-document exposes the cunning, yet spectacular, deceit on behalf of both the insurers and the perpetrators. This narrative constitutes the first account of life insurance policy claims in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. It traces the efforts of insurance beneficiaries, beginning with the futile attempts by the heirs of the victims over ninety years ago and ending with the symbolic compensation granted to the descendents of some of the insured victims only in 2004-2005. This book is a plea for human justice, perhaps a voice to counter the political control of knowledge. It is hoped that this book will help the development of more effective legal and political constructs to prevent exploitation of the victims of genocide.
