Armenian genocide If you were to overhear the words "extermination of about 50% of a population" in a conversation you would probably think that they were talking about "the" holocaust in Nazi Germany. You probably would not suspect that they were talking about Turkey and the Armenians. During the First World War, the Turks set out to annihilate the entire population of Armenians living within their borders (they almost did). An area known as Historic Armenia lies right in the middle of what is now modern day Turkey. This is where the Armenian's ancestors began one of the first civilizations thousands of years ago. Historic Armenia has proved to be an important strategical location for