During World War II, the Soviet Union initiated a policy of population transfer of ethnic minorities. Tens of thousands of Armenians were deported to Siberia in the process, followed by the further deportation of Armenians and Hamshenis to Central Asia. Meanwhile, an estimated 300–500,000 Armenians were sent to fight on the Eastern Front, almost half of whom did not return. To revitalize the country's population, members of the Armenian diaspora were invited to repatriate the Armenian SSR, resulting in the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of Armenian immigrants throughout the country. These immigrants soon fell victim to discrimination by the native population as well as the Soviet government, which targeted many for deportation to Siberia and Central Asia. This went on until the Khrushchev Thaw, following the death of Stalin, during which the Armenian national identity was reaffirmed and the country went through a period of de-Stalinization. On April 24, 1965, demonstrations in Yerevan marked the 50th anniversary since the beginning of the Armenian genocide, beginning the first steps in the recognition of the Armenian genocide. The Armenian soviet government responded with the construction of a memorial complex on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd.