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and funny how some who proport to know of these matters pooh pooh Dadrian - only the most recognized legal expert on this subject who has researched in various national archives - etc
Prof. Vahakn Dadrian on April 24, 2006
From: Armenian News Network <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 00:22:35 -0700 (PDT)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROF. VAHAKN DADRIAN ON APRIL 24, 2005
Armenian News Network / Groong
April 24, 2005
Excerpts from an interview by Carissa Vanitzian
I have significant news to share on this day, the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide.
A remarkable book, The Armenian Genocide 1915/16: Selected Documents
from the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office, has just
been published in Germany. And, in just a few months, the English
version will be published in the U.S., through the support of Zoryan
Institute.
This book features 240 official German documents that demonstrate the
centrally organized mass murder of Armenians during World War I. I
wrote the introduction, supervised the English translation, and helped
compile the documents. I am very familiar with them, having visited
the German archives 14 times during a 15-year period.
Now, after decades of ignoring the Genocide, German media are in hot
pursuit of the topic. Just last week, 128 German newspapers and
journalists requested copies of The Armenian Genocide 1915/16. The
highly respected weekly Die Zeit published an expansive analysis of
the Genocide, and German Central Television has broadcast several
hourlong programs on the subject.
The Armenian Genocide 1915/16 explicitly confirms that Imperial
Germany was not only a political and military ally of the Ottoman
Empire during the war, but also had significant military control of
the Ottoman Army operations.
This massive volume provides meticulous, eyewitness documentation by a
network of German consuls and vice consuls deployed in the interior of
Turkey ' Erzrum, Trabzon, Adana, Aleppo, and Mosul ' all documenting
German complicity in the Genocide, with lurid details of what they
saw. One of them, Aleppo consul Dr. Walter RC6ssler, reportedly `wept
bitterly' over the gruesomeness of the genocidal operation.
German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg is quoted advising his
subordinate officials not to bother with the fate of the Armenians,
because Germany needs Turkey as a military ally during the war: `Our
sole aim is to hold Turkey on our side until the end of the war,
irrespective of the fact that Armenians may or may not perish as a
result' of German indifference.
The value of this type of firsthand information cannot be exaggerated.
As a result of the book's publication and Germany's intense interest
in the Genocide, the Turks are literally in a panic. Turkish newspapers,
Turkish television, and Turkish official circles in Ankara are all
obsessed with damage control. Even the Turkish parliament has
scheduled special sessions to deal with the problem. At no time in
modern Turkish history have the country's government and media been so
consumed.
Adding to Turkey's troubles is the news that Germany's parliament is
expected to pass a resolution later this year, holding itself
accountable for its role in the Genocide and also asking Turkey to
take `historic responsibility' for Turkey's actions against Armenians
during World War I. In addition, the resolution asks Turkey to ask
forgiveness from the descendants of Genocide victims.
While Germany and Turkey are allies, Turkey does have some leverage
over Germany: About two million Turkish laborers live in Germany, and
some are even German citizens.
In the history of human conflicts, including international conflicts
with outcomes involving capital crimes, one may rarely see a
perpetrator who, after escaping punishment for a variety of reasons,
voluntarily comes forward and admits guilt. More often than not, such
admissions are exacted by total defeat and surrender at the end of a
military conflict. Another possibility involves the onset of
circumstances affording a trial in a court of law, where the
availability of compelling evidence may preempt the possibility of
routine denial.
In the case of a capital crime of the type of genocide, power
relations are of dual import. One needs superior power to overwhelm
and decimate an impotent and vulnerable victim group, but perhaps
equally important, one may proceed to deny that crime in the aftermath
of it if one's power position continues to hold or even increases.
The persistent and often truculent denial of the Armenian Genocide,
for nearly nine decades by the Turks and their few partisan advocates,
is a function of this type of power leverage.
--
Prof. Vahakn Dadrian's collected works Volme I, the turkish translation,
is also generating attention in Turkey. It features major academic
articles about the Genocide and is being widely circulated in Istanbul,
Ankara, and Izmir. Volume II is due for release later this summer.
Volume III will be released in 2006.
© 2005 Armenian News Network / Groong
Prof. Vahakn Dadrian on April 24, 2006
From: Armenian News Network <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 00:22:35 -0700 (PDT)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROF. VAHAKN DADRIAN ON APRIL 24, 2005
Armenian News Network / Groong
April 24, 2005
Excerpts from an interview by Carissa Vanitzian
I have significant news to share on this day, the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide.
A remarkable book, The Armenian Genocide 1915/16: Selected Documents
from the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office, has just
been published in Germany. And, in just a few months, the English
version will be published in the U.S., through the support of Zoryan
Institute.
This book features 240 official German documents that demonstrate the
centrally organized mass murder of Armenians during World War I. I
wrote the introduction, supervised the English translation, and helped
compile the documents. I am very familiar with them, having visited
the German archives 14 times during a 15-year period.
Now, after decades of ignoring the Genocide, German media are in hot
pursuit of the topic. Just last week, 128 German newspapers and
journalists requested copies of The Armenian Genocide 1915/16. The
highly respected weekly Die Zeit published an expansive analysis of
the Genocide, and German Central Television has broadcast several
hourlong programs on the subject.
The Armenian Genocide 1915/16 explicitly confirms that Imperial
Germany was not only a political and military ally of the Ottoman
Empire during the war, but also had significant military control of
the Ottoman Army operations.
This massive volume provides meticulous, eyewitness documentation by a
network of German consuls and vice consuls deployed in the interior of
Turkey ' Erzrum, Trabzon, Adana, Aleppo, and Mosul ' all documenting
German complicity in the Genocide, with lurid details of what they
saw. One of them, Aleppo consul Dr. Walter RC6ssler, reportedly `wept
bitterly' over the gruesomeness of the genocidal operation.
German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg is quoted advising his
subordinate officials not to bother with the fate of the Armenians,
because Germany needs Turkey as a military ally during the war: `Our
sole aim is to hold Turkey on our side until the end of the war,
irrespective of the fact that Armenians may or may not perish as a
result' of German indifference.
The value of this type of firsthand information cannot be exaggerated.
As a result of the book's publication and Germany's intense interest
in the Genocide, the Turks are literally in a panic. Turkish newspapers,
Turkish television, and Turkish official circles in Ankara are all
obsessed with damage control. Even the Turkish parliament has
scheduled special sessions to deal with the problem. At no time in
modern Turkish history have the country's government and media been so
consumed.
Adding to Turkey's troubles is the news that Germany's parliament is
expected to pass a resolution later this year, holding itself
accountable for its role in the Genocide and also asking Turkey to
take `historic responsibility' for Turkey's actions against Armenians
during World War I. In addition, the resolution asks Turkey to ask
forgiveness from the descendants of Genocide victims.
While Germany and Turkey are allies, Turkey does have some leverage
over Germany: About two million Turkish laborers live in Germany, and
some are even German citizens.
In the history of human conflicts, including international conflicts
with outcomes involving capital crimes, one may rarely see a
perpetrator who, after escaping punishment for a variety of reasons,
voluntarily comes forward and admits guilt. More often than not, such
admissions are exacted by total defeat and surrender at the end of a
military conflict. Another possibility involves the onset of
circumstances affording a trial in a court of law, where the
availability of compelling evidence may preempt the possibility of
routine denial.
In the case of a capital crime of the type of genocide, power
relations are of dual import. One needs superior power to overwhelm
and decimate an impotent and vulnerable victim group, but perhaps
equally important, one may proceed to deny that crime in the aftermath
of it if one's power position continues to hold or even increases.
The persistent and often truculent denial of the Armenian Genocide,
for nearly nine decades by the Turks and their few partisan advocates,
is a function of this type of power leverage.
--
Prof. Vahakn Dadrian's collected works Volme I, the turkish translation,
is also generating attention in Turkey. It features major academic
articles about the Genocide and is being widely circulated in Istanbul,
Ankara, and Izmir. Volume II is due for release later this summer.
Volume III will be released in 2006.
© 2005 Armenian News Network / Groong