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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. How old was Aunt Gladys when the deportations began?
(a) Five.
(b) Two.
(c) Eight.
(d) Four.

2. When was the Umayyad Mosque built?
(a) Early eighth century.
(b) Early ninth century.
(c) Early seventh century.
(d) Late eighth century.

3. What job was Balakian working at when he began reading as much as he could about the Armenian genocide, in "Before the Nazis"?
(a) Mail runner.
(b) UPS deliver man.
(c) Cabbie.
(d) Bike messenger.

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

5. What did Talaat Pasha predict the economic loss of the Armenians would be when he spoke to Morgenthau?
(a) Five million pounds.
(b) Two million pounds.
(c) Seven million pounds.
(d) Ten million pounds.

Short Answer Questions

1. Approximately how many Armenian women were forced to dance in the Diarbekir square when Dovey saw them?

2. Whose assassination was gripping the people of Lebanon when Balakian arrived in Beirut in 2005?

3. How many katchkars were at the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Der Zor?

4. What movie was being played at the Times Square theater when Balakian spoke at the commemoration?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What was significant about Nafina's attempt to seek compensation from the Turkish government by filing documents in the United States?

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

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

6. Why were the orders for deportation of all Armenians into the Syrian desert the equivalent of a death sentence?

7. What was the deeper significance of the way in which Dovey's father was killed?

8. How did American Ambassador Morgenthau attempt to help the Armenians?

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

10. How does numbness help people who have endured great horrors?

(see the answer keys)

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