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PRESS RELEASE
ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
CONTACT: Patil Halajian
Tel: 416-250-9807
Fax: 416-512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
www.zoryaninstitute.org
DATE: March 19, 2012
Ragip Zarakolu, Human Rights Champion, and Zoryan Institute Collaborate in
Turkish Publication of German Foreign Office Archives
Toronto-Ragip Zarakolu, a publisher in Istanbul and a renowned champion of
human rights, has collaborated with the Zoryan Institute to lay one more
building block on the foundation of a common body of knowledge for Turks and
Armenians. Zarakolu, despite being in jail since October 2011 allegedly in
connection with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials, has not
stopped his efforts to bring out the historical truth about the "events of
1915" and thereafter.
On January 12, 2012, Belge Yayınları, Zarakolu's publishing house, released
Alman Belgeleri Ermeni Soykımı 1915-16: Alman Dışişleri Bakanlığı Siaysi
Arşiv Belgeleri, the Turkish edition of The Armenian Genocide 1915-16:
Documents from the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office, compiled
and edited by Wolfgang Gust and published originally in Germany. The
original book was the product of some ten years of devoted research, editing
and translating overseen by Wolfgang and Sigrid Gust. It is an extensive
selection of some 218 telegrams, letters and reports from German consular
officials in the Ottoman Empire to the Foreign Office in Berlin describing
the unfolding genocide of the Armenians.
In December 1915, as a response to the criticism and outrage of German
officials in the field over the inhuman treatment of the Armenians, German
Chancellor and Foreign Minister Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg wrote this:
"The proposed public reprimand of an ally in the course of a war would be an
act which is unprecedented in history. Our only aim is to keep Turkey on our
side until the end of the war, no matter whether as a result Armenians do
perish or not." Imperial Germany was the political and military ally of the
Ottoman Empire. The candor in these documents was possible because they were
marked "confidential," "very confidential," or "secret" and "very secret,"
being intended only for in-house use and never for public consumption.
During World War I, only German diplomats and military officials could enter
areas in which the genocide took place relatively unhindered and were able
to send uncensored reports out of the country. Apart from the Americans, who
remained neutral in the war until April 6, 1917, German diplomats and their
informants from the charitable missions or from among the employees of the
Baghdad Railway were the most important non-Armenian eyewitnesses of the
Genocide.
It is ironic to read the report of February 24, 1913, from Ambassador in
Constantinople (Wangenheim) to the Imperial Chancellor (Bethmann-Hollweg)
stating, "Here in Germany, we have become accustomed to viewing the
periodically repeated Armenian massacres as being merely a natural reaction
to the Armenian businessmen's system of draining others dry. The Armenians
were called the Jews of the Orient, and people forgot that in Anatolia there
is also a strong tribe of Armenian farmers which has all the good
characteristics of a healthy rural population and whose entire wrongdoing
consists of doggedly defending its religion, its language and its property
against the foreign peoples surrounding it."
This new book is part of the long-term project, "Creating a Common Body of
Knowledge." There is a need in Turkey at this time for authoritative
information on its suppressed history. The Zoryan Institute seeks to help
provide information to fill this need through systematic scholarly research,
the publication of incontestable information on the Armenian Genocide in
Turkish and other languages, and the distribution of it widely in Turkey and
other countries. Other documentary and analytical publications commissioned
by the Zoryan Institute as part of the "Common Body of Knowledge" include
Hitler and the Armenian Genocide (Belge Publishers) and Judgment at Istanbul
(Bilgi University Press).
The translation into Turkish and publication of the German documents was
very challenging and took seven years. Dealing with the diplomatic German
language and Sütterlin script of the World War I era was particularly
difficult, and the text of the forthcoming English language edition was
helpful in clarifying many passages.
Ragip Zarakolu has been persecuted by the Turkish state for many years for
his public positions on freedom of speech, human rights, and the rights of
Turkey's minorities. Outside Turkey, he has given lectures and participated
in conferences-including in April 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil at a conference
co-organized by Zoryan-and is highly respected by academic and human rights
organizations. Among his honors, he received the NOVIB/PEN Free Expression
Award in 2003 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the
Swedish Parliament in February 2012. As a result of his persecution and many
court indictments, he has been officially adopted by PEN.
Commenting on the philosophy behind the "Common Body of Knowledge" project,
K.M. Greg Sarkissian, president of the Zoryan Institute stated, "History is
a stumbling block for peace and stability in the region. True peace can be
achieved only if the nations in the region can talk to each other openly
about their past. Therefore, we see education through the Common Body of
Knowledge as one of the best ways to alleviate the tension between Turks and
Armenians, because it provides a basis of shared knowledge that can counter
generations of hostility and lead to mutual understanding and dialogue."
The Zoryan Institute is the parent organization of the International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, which runs an annual
university program on the subject in partnership with the University of
Toronto, and is co-publisher of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An
International Journal in partnership with the International Association of
Genocide Scholars and the University of Toronto Press. It is the first
non-profit, international center devoted to the research and documentation
of contemporary issues with a focus on Genocide, Diaspora and Armenia. For
more information please contact the Zoryan Institute by email
[email protected] or telephone 416-250-9807.
ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
CONTACT: Patil Halajian
Tel: 416-250-9807
Fax: 416-512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
www.zoryaninstitute.org
DATE: March 19, 2012
Ragip Zarakolu, Human Rights Champion, and Zoryan Institute Collaborate in
Turkish Publication of German Foreign Office Archives
Toronto-Ragip Zarakolu, a publisher in Istanbul and a renowned champion of
human rights, has collaborated with the Zoryan Institute to lay one more
building block on the foundation of a common body of knowledge for Turks and
Armenians. Zarakolu, despite being in jail since October 2011 allegedly in
connection with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials, has not
stopped his efforts to bring out the historical truth about the "events of
1915" and thereafter.
On January 12, 2012, Belge Yayınları, Zarakolu's publishing house, released
Alman Belgeleri Ermeni Soykımı 1915-16: Alman Dışişleri Bakanlığı Siaysi
Arşiv Belgeleri, the Turkish edition of The Armenian Genocide 1915-16:
Documents from the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office, compiled
and edited by Wolfgang Gust and published originally in Germany. The
original book was the product of some ten years of devoted research, editing
and translating overseen by Wolfgang and Sigrid Gust. It is an extensive
selection of some 218 telegrams, letters and reports from German consular
officials in the Ottoman Empire to the Foreign Office in Berlin describing
the unfolding genocide of the Armenians.
In December 1915, as a response to the criticism and outrage of German
officials in the field over the inhuman treatment of the Armenians, German
Chancellor and Foreign Minister Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg wrote this:
"The proposed public reprimand of an ally in the course of a war would be an
act which is unprecedented in history. Our only aim is to keep Turkey on our
side until the end of the war, no matter whether as a result Armenians do
perish or not." Imperial Germany was the political and military ally of the
Ottoman Empire. The candor in these documents was possible because they were
marked "confidential," "very confidential," or "secret" and "very secret,"
being intended only for in-house use and never for public consumption.
During World War I, only German diplomats and military officials could enter
areas in which the genocide took place relatively unhindered and were able
to send uncensored reports out of the country. Apart from the Americans, who
remained neutral in the war until April 6, 1917, German diplomats and their
informants from the charitable missions or from among the employees of the
Baghdad Railway were the most important non-Armenian eyewitnesses of the
Genocide.
It is ironic to read the report of February 24, 1913, from Ambassador in
Constantinople (Wangenheim) to the Imperial Chancellor (Bethmann-Hollweg)
stating, "Here in Germany, we have become accustomed to viewing the
periodically repeated Armenian massacres as being merely a natural reaction
to the Armenian businessmen's system of draining others dry. The Armenians
were called the Jews of the Orient, and people forgot that in Anatolia there
is also a strong tribe of Armenian farmers which has all the good
characteristics of a healthy rural population and whose entire wrongdoing
consists of doggedly defending its religion, its language and its property
against the foreign peoples surrounding it."
This new book is part of the long-term project, "Creating a Common Body of
Knowledge." There is a need in Turkey at this time for authoritative
information on its suppressed history. The Zoryan Institute seeks to help
provide information to fill this need through systematic scholarly research,
the publication of incontestable information on the Armenian Genocide in
Turkish and other languages, and the distribution of it widely in Turkey and
other countries. Other documentary and analytical publications commissioned
by the Zoryan Institute as part of the "Common Body of Knowledge" include
Hitler and the Armenian Genocide (Belge Publishers) and Judgment at Istanbul
(Bilgi University Press).
The translation into Turkish and publication of the German documents was
very challenging and took seven years. Dealing with the diplomatic German
language and Sütterlin script of the World War I era was particularly
difficult, and the text of the forthcoming English language edition was
helpful in clarifying many passages.
Ragip Zarakolu has been persecuted by the Turkish state for many years for
his public positions on freedom of speech, human rights, and the rights of
Turkey's minorities. Outside Turkey, he has given lectures and participated
in conferences-including in April 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil at a conference
co-organized by Zoryan-and is highly respected by academic and human rights
organizations. Among his honors, he received the NOVIB/PEN Free Expression
Award in 2003 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the
Swedish Parliament in February 2012. As a result of his persecution and many
court indictments, he has been officially adopted by PEN.
Commenting on the philosophy behind the "Common Body of Knowledge" project,
K.M. Greg Sarkissian, president of the Zoryan Institute stated, "History is
a stumbling block for peace and stability in the region. True peace can be
achieved only if the nations in the region can talk to each other openly
about their past. Therefore, we see education through the Common Body of
Knowledge as one of the best ways to alleviate the tension between Turks and
Armenians, because it provides a basis of shared knowledge that can counter
generations of hostility and lead to mutual understanding and dialogue."
The Zoryan Institute is the parent organization of the International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, which runs an annual
university program on the subject in partnership with the University of
Toronto, and is co-publisher of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An
International Journal in partnership with the International Association of
Genocide Scholars and the University of Toronto Press. It is the first
non-profit, international center devoted to the research and documentation
of contemporary issues with a focus on Genocide, Diaspora and Armenia. For
more information please contact the Zoryan Institute by email
[email protected] or telephone 416-250-9807.