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Source: Dadrian, History of the Armenian Genocide
Major General Otto von Lossow, the acting military attaché and head of the German Military Plenipotentiary in Ottoman Empire attested in a conference held in Batum in 1918 to the intentions of the Ottoman government:
“ The Turks have embarked upon the "total extermination of the Armenians in Transcaucasia...The aim of Turkish policy is, as I have reiterated, the taking of possession of Armenian districts and the extermination of the Armenians. Talaat's government wants to destroy all Armenians, not just in Turkey but also outside Turkey. On the basis of all the reports and news coming to me here in Tiflis there hardly can be any doubt that the Turks systematically are aiming at the extermination of the few hundred thousand Armenians whom they left alive until now.[34] ”
Similarly, Major General Kress von Kressenstein noted that "The Turkish policy of causing starvation is an all too obvious proof...for the Turkish resolve to destroy the Armenians."[35] Another notable figure in the German military camp was Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter. Scheubner-Richter, who was serving as a vice-consul in the provinces of Erzerum and Bitlis, documented the numerous massacres by Turkish forces against Armenians in the regions and wrote a total of fifteen reports regarding "deportations and mass killings" to Germany's chancellor in Berlin. He noted in his final report that less than 100,000 Armenians were left alive in the Ottoman Empire; the rest had otherwise been exterminated (in German, ausgerottet).[36] Scheubner-Richter also detailed the methods used by the Ottoman government including its use of the Special Organization and other organised criminal groups.
In a genocide conference in 2001, professor Wolfgang Wipperman of Berlin's Free University introduced documents that showed numerous officers in the Germany's military High Command were aware of the mass killings but instead chose not to interfere nor condemn the Ottoman government.[37]
Germany's diplomatic mission was lead by Ambassador Count Paul von Wolff-Metternich. Like Morgenthau, Wolff-Metternich also began to receive tracts from consul officials in Ottoman Empire. From the province of Adana, Eugene Buge reported that the CUP chief had sworn to kill and massacre any Armenians who survived the deportation marches.[38] Wolff-Metternich himself stated, "The Committee [CUP] demands the extirpation of the last remnants of the Armenians and the government must yield....A Committee representative is assigned to each of the provincial administrations....Turkification means license to expel, to kill or destroy everything that is not Turkish." [39]
Major General Otto von Lossow, the acting military attaché and head of the German Military Plenipotentiary in Ottoman Empire attested in a conference held in Batum in 1918 to the intentions of the Ottoman government:
“ The Turks have embarked upon the "total extermination of the Armenians in Transcaucasia...The aim of Turkish policy is, as I have reiterated, the taking of possession of Armenian districts and the extermination of the Armenians. Talaat's government wants to destroy all Armenians, not just in Turkey but also outside Turkey. On the basis of all the reports and news coming to me here in Tiflis there hardly can be any doubt that the Turks systematically are aiming at the extermination of the few hundred thousand Armenians whom they left alive until now.[34] ”
Similarly, Major General Kress von Kressenstein noted that "The Turkish policy of causing starvation is an all too obvious proof...for the Turkish resolve to destroy the Armenians."[35] Another notable figure in the German military camp was Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter. Scheubner-Richter, who was serving as a vice-consul in the provinces of Erzerum and Bitlis, documented the numerous massacres by Turkish forces against Armenians in the regions and wrote a total of fifteen reports regarding "deportations and mass killings" to Germany's chancellor in Berlin. He noted in his final report that less than 100,000 Armenians were left alive in the Ottoman Empire; the rest had otherwise been exterminated (in German, ausgerottet).[36] Scheubner-Richter also detailed the methods used by the Ottoman government including its use of the Special Organization and other organised criminal groups.
In a genocide conference in 2001, professor Wolfgang Wipperman of Berlin's Free University introduced documents that showed numerous officers in the Germany's military High Command were aware of the mass killings but instead chose not to interfere nor condemn the Ottoman government.[37]
Germany's diplomatic mission was lead by Ambassador Count Paul von Wolff-Metternich. Like Morgenthau, Wolff-Metternich also began to receive tracts from consul officials in Ottoman Empire. From the province of Adana, Eugene Buge reported that the CUP chief had sworn to kill and massacre any Armenians who survived the deportation marches.[38] Wolff-Metternich himself stated, "The Committee [CUP] demands the extirpation of the last remnants of the Armenians and the government must yield....A Committee representative is assigned to each of the provincial administrations....Turkification means license to expel, to kill or destroy everything that is not Turkish." [39]