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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At what age were young boys forcibly conscripted as Janissaries for the Ottoman Empire?
(a) Between 11 and 13.
(b) Between 12 and 14.
(c) Between 10 and 12.
(d) Between 13 and 15.

2. In what year was the construction of the Der Zor memorial completed?
(a) 1995.
(b) 1999.
(c) 1997.
(d) 2001.

3. What is the traditional day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide?
(a) May 24.
(b) April 18.
(c) April 24.
(d) April 30.

4. Until what year were Christians forbidden to serve in the Ottoman army?
(a) 1915.
(b) 1908.
(c) 1910.
(d) 1914.

5. What is bakshish?
(a) An army.
(b) A salesperson.
(c) A legal document.
(d) A bribe.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the compensation claim document, how old was Nafina's father when he was killed?

2. What is a hamal?

3. Where were the Roman ruins visited by Balakian in Syria, after his visit to Der Zor?

4. Who did the Armenian refugee, Soghomon Tehlirian, assassinate in 1921?

5. What kind of business did Dovey's family run in the United States?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has Turkey's denial of the genocide affected its development as a modern nation?

2. Why did Balakian question his failure to ask questions as a child when he saw the names of the dead listed on his grandmother's compensation documents?

3. What was the deeper significance of the 500 pairs of shoes stolen by the Turks from Balakian's grandfather?

4. Why was Balakian surprised the Syrian government suppressed published works about the Armenian genocide?

5. How did writing the poem, "The History of Armenia," help Balakian process his new knowledge of his people's history?

6. According to Aunt Gladys, why did the Armenians in America never talk about the genocide?

7. How does genocide denial affect the survivors and their descendants?

8. What was Nafina's reaction to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor?

9. Why did Balakian eventually come to see his family's silence about the genocide as a gift?

10. Why is Der Zor considered the Armenian equivalent of Auschwitz?

(see the answer keys)

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