The genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Turks was well documented by both the "Letter from Turkey" by Mary L. Graffam, and the "Posthumous Memoirs" by Talaat Pasha. Both of these documents share a personal view of a situation that was experienced first hand. These two documents are basically testimonies for what happened at the time and they offer different points of view of the same events. Mary L. Graffams "Letter from Turkey" and the "Posthumous Memoirs" by Talaat Pasha are compatible with reference to the activities of the Ottoman Turks.
The two documents compliment each other by basically providing testimony for the events that occurred. First of all Mary L. Graffam's "Letter from Turkey" tells about the general deportation from Sivas. Also, her letter describes the way the Kurds attacked the Armenians while they were forced to travel. Finally, the letter describes the government's lack of interest to do anything to treat the Armenians with any kind of dignity or humanity. At the same time, Talaat's Memoirs speak of the same acts that were mentioned in Graffam's letter. In his memoirs he speaks of the deportation of Armenians, the lack of punishment for crimes against the Armenians, and most importantly he admits that the government did nothing to control the militia type action against the Armenians.
The first event that both documents proclaim is the fact that the Armenian people, as well as their missionary allies were forced to leave many different regions. In Graffam's letter it specifically states that they were forced to gather their things and leave Sivas. She states that the protestant townspeople were given horses and carts but the Armenians were given nothing, forced to provide for themselves. The letter then goes on to explain their first night while on their journey to find a new home. Talaat Pasha's memoirs declare that the deportation of the Armenian people did in fact occur in the eastern provinces.
