REPORT OF WANGENHEIM, GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO THE REICHSKANZLER BEHTMANN-HOLLWEG
JUNE 17, 1915
Deportation of the Armenians from their homes in the vilayets of eastern Anatolia, and their resettlement in other regions is implemented cruelly…
… it becomes obvious that deportation of the Armenians arises not only from military necessity. The internal minister Talaat bey told about it honestly to doctor Mortsman, who is employed at the empire embassy now. Talaat said: “the Sublime Porte intends to make use of the world war for cleaning the whole country from internal enemies, the local Christians, so that foreign countries won’t hinder doing it by their diplomatic interference. This measure will serve to the interests of all allies of turkey, especially the Germans and so the latter will be able to consolidate”...
Politisches Archiv des Auswartigen Amts des Kaiserlichen Deutschlands (Politarchiv). A-19743, ia Turkei 183. nr. 7122, r 14086.
FROM THE AMBASSADOR IN CONSTANTINOPLE (WANGENHEIM) TO THE REICHSKANZLER (BETHMANN HOLLWEG)
Report pr. 07/12/1915 p.m. A-21257 Pera, 7 July 1915 1 Enclosure
The expulsion and relocation of the Armenian people was limited until 14 days ago to the provinces nearest to the eastern theatre of war and to certain areas in the province of Adana; since then the Porte has resolved to extend these measures also to the provinces of Trapezunt, Mamuret-ul-Aziz and Siwas and has begun with these measures even though these parts of the country are not threatened by any enemy invasion for the time being. This situation and the way in which the relocation is being carried out shows that the government is indeed pursuing its purpose of eradicating the Armenian race from the Turkish Empire. In this respect I would like to add the following to my previous reports: On 26 June, according to reports by the Imperial Consul in Trapezunt, the Armenians in that area were ordered to depart within five days; their possessions were to remain behind under the supervision of the authorities. Only the sick were excepted; later an exception was granted for widows, orphans, old people and children under the age of five years, also for the sick and for Catholic Armenians.
According to the latest reports, however, most of the exceptions were revoked once again and only children and those who were not transportable remained behind; the latter were brought into hospitals.
Altogether, this involved about 30000 people in the Vilayet Trapezunt alone who were to be deported via Erzindjan to Mesopotamia. A mass transportation of this kind to a destination many hundreds of kilometres away, without sufficient means of transport, through areas that offer neither accommodation nor food and which are infested with epidemic diseases, in particular by typhus fever, is bound to claim numerous victims, in particular amongst the women and children. Besides this, the route for the deportees led through the Kurd district of Dersim, and the Vali of Trapezunt made an open declaration to the Consul, who had pointed such observations out to him at my instructions, that he could only guarantee the safety of the transport as far as Erzindjan. From that point onwards, they are letting the deportees practically run the gauntlet through bands of Kurds and other highwaymen. For example, the Armenians who had been expelled from the plain of Erzerum were ambushed on the way to Charput whereby the men and children were butchered and the women carried away. The Imperial Consul in Erzerum claims the number of Armenians killed there to be 3000. In Trapezunt, masses of Armenians have converted to Islam in order to avoid the threatened deportation and to save themselves and their belongings. Apart from the material damage incurred by the Turkish state as a result of the deportation and expropriation of a hard-working and intelligent element of the population, for which the Kurds and Turks who are preliminarily taking their places do not constitute worthy substitutes, our trade interests and the interests of the German welfare institutions existing in those parts of the country are also being severely damaged. Furthermore, the Porte does not realise the effect that these and other enforced measures, such as the mass executions here and in the country's interior, are having on public opinion abroad and the further consequences for the treatment of the Armenian question in future peace talks. In order to effectively counteract any possible later invectives on the part of our enemies, as if we were jointly to blame for the rigorous Turkish actions, I have considered it my duty to point out to the Porte that we can only approve of the deportation of the Armenian people if it is carried out as a result of military considerations and serves as a security against revolts, but that in carrying out these measures one should provide protection for the deportees against plundering and butchery. In order to lend the necessary weight to these objections, I have summarised them in the form of a memorandum which I have personally handed to the Grand Vizier on 4th inst.; I later sent copies of this memorandum to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior.
Wangenheim DE/PA-AA/R14086
JUNE 17, 1915
Deportation of the Armenians from their homes in the vilayets of eastern Anatolia, and their resettlement in other regions is implemented cruelly…
… it becomes obvious that deportation of the Armenians arises not only from military necessity. The internal minister Talaat bey told about it honestly to doctor Mortsman, who is employed at the empire embassy now. Talaat said: “the Sublime Porte intends to make use of the world war for cleaning the whole country from internal enemies, the local Christians, so that foreign countries won’t hinder doing it by their diplomatic interference. This measure will serve to the interests of all allies of turkey, especially the Germans and so the latter will be able to consolidate”...
Politisches Archiv des Auswartigen Amts des Kaiserlichen Deutschlands (Politarchiv). A-19743, ia Turkei 183. nr. 7122, r 14086.
FROM THE AMBASSADOR IN CONSTANTINOPLE (WANGENHEIM) TO THE REICHSKANZLER (BETHMANN HOLLWEG)
Report pr. 07/12/1915 p.m. A-21257 Pera, 7 July 1915 1 Enclosure
The expulsion and relocation of the Armenian people was limited until 14 days ago to the provinces nearest to the eastern theatre of war and to certain areas in the province of Adana; since then the Porte has resolved to extend these measures also to the provinces of Trapezunt, Mamuret-ul-Aziz and Siwas and has begun with these measures even though these parts of the country are not threatened by any enemy invasion for the time being. This situation and the way in which the relocation is being carried out shows that the government is indeed pursuing its purpose of eradicating the Armenian race from the Turkish Empire. In this respect I would like to add the following to my previous reports: On 26 June, according to reports by the Imperial Consul in Trapezunt, the Armenians in that area were ordered to depart within five days; their possessions were to remain behind under the supervision of the authorities. Only the sick were excepted; later an exception was granted for widows, orphans, old people and children under the age of five years, also for the sick and for Catholic Armenians.
According to the latest reports, however, most of the exceptions were revoked once again and only children and those who were not transportable remained behind; the latter were brought into hospitals.
Altogether, this involved about 30000 people in the Vilayet Trapezunt alone who were to be deported via Erzindjan to Mesopotamia. A mass transportation of this kind to a destination many hundreds of kilometres away, without sufficient means of transport, through areas that offer neither accommodation nor food and which are infested with epidemic diseases, in particular by typhus fever, is bound to claim numerous victims, in particular amongst the women and children. Besides this, the route for the deportees led through the Kurd district of Dersim, and the Vali of Trapezunt made an open declaration to the Consul, who had pointed such observations out to him at my instructions, that he could only guarantee the safety of the transport as far as Erzindjan. From that point onwards, they are letting the deportees practically run the gauntlet through bands of Kurds and other highwaymen. For example, the Armenians who had been expelled from the plain of Erzerum were ambushed on the way to Charput whereby the men and children were butchered and the women carried away. The Imperial Consul in Erzerum claims the number of Armenians killed there to be 3000. In Trapezunt, masses of Armenians have converted to Islam in order to avoid the threatened deportation and to save themselves and their belongings. Apart from the material damage incurred by the Turkish state as a result of the deportation and expropriation of a hard-working and intelligent element of the population, for which the Kurds and Turks who are preliminarily taking their places do not constitute worthy substitutes, our trade interests and the interests of the German welfare institutions existing in those parts of the country are also being severely damaged. Furthermore, the Porte does not realise the effect that these and other enforced measures, such as the mass executions here and in the country's interior, are having on public opinion abroad and the further consequences for the treatment of the Armenian question in future peace talks. In order to effectively counteract any possible later invectives on the part of our enemies, as if we were jointly to blame for the rigorous Turkish actions, I have considered it my duty to point out to the Porte that we can only approve of the deportation of the Armenian people if it is carried out as a result of military considerations and serves as a security against revolts, but that in carrying out these measures one should provide protection for the deportees against plundering and butchery. In order to lend the necessary weight to these objections, I have summarised them in the form of a memorandum which I have personally handed to the Grand Vizier on 4th inst.; I later sent copies of this memorandum to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior.
Wangenheim DE/PA-AA/R14086
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