An Armenian woman kneeling beside a dead child in a fieldoutside Aleppo by American Committee for Relief in the
Near East / Library of Congress
The Armenian Question and the genocide – in contrast to the Greek Question of the Ottoman Empire and the genocide of the Greek populations – have been investigated to a satisfactory extent from a historiographical point of view. At the international level, the historical event was known since the years of World War I, both with the publication of the British Foreign Office edited by Arnold Toynbee, and from the reports of the German missionary Johannes Lepsius. However, the great historiographical production era will begin after 1970 and will be due to the concerted efforts of the Armenians of the diaspora.
The promotion of the issue in Greece will begin with Armenian organizations with the contribution of Armenian scholars, including Ohanes Sarkis Agabatian. The first relevant publication is considered to be the book "The Memoirs of Naim Bey"[1], published in 1965 by the Armenian Historical Research Association (AHRA). In the 1960s, works by genocide survivor Leon Zaven Surmelian were published. In 1972, the classic book "Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City" [2] by the American-Armenian educator Marjorie Housepian Dobkin was published and since then it has been reprinted several times.
Three years later, "Arménie 1915: Un génocide exemplaire"[3] by Jean-Marie Carzou was published. In the 1980s, the Greek public would come into contact with more works on the Armenians and the genocide. Some of these are indicative, such as the texts of Anzel Kourtian (1980), a first text on the Genocide from a sociological perspective by Vahakn Dadrian (1982), the work of the great Armenian historian Richard Hovannisian (1984) and the memoirs of Henry Morgenthau (1989). Of importance was the book "The Genocide of the Greeks and Armenians of Asia Minor" by Greek author Miltos Pagtziloglou (1988)[4], which referred jointly to the Genocide of Greeks and Armenians. In the same year, Ohanes Sarkis Agabatian's book on the Armenian Question was published in Greek[5].
During the 1990s, publishing activity continued in Greece. In 1990, the testimonies of eyewitnesses were translated around the world and published, as was Franz Werfel's three-volume work on the tragedy of Musa Dagh[6], and the classic book on the atrocities against the Armenians edited by Arnold Toynbee was republished (1999). The publishing activity in the following period began with the autobiographical approach to the Genocide by Peter Balakian (2000). Two years later, the Greek edition of the classic work on the "The History of the Armenian Genocide" by Vahakn Dadrian (2002) was published.
In 2007, the Greek public had access to the classic work of the Turkish historian Taner Akçam, "A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility."[7] In 2014, Turkish historian Fuat Dündar's epic thesis, "The code of modern Turkey – The Ethnic Engineering of the Committee of Union and Progress and the Turkification of Anatolia (1913–1918),” [8] was translated and published in Greek, where he makes a profound analysis of the psychological profile of the cadres of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), known as the Young Turks, who were the architects and perpetrators of the early stage of the genocides of the Christian Peoples of the Ottoman Empire until their downfall in 1918.
The genocide of the Christians - Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and others - of the Ottoman Empire in its systematic form occurred between 1914-1923. From May 1919 onward, Kemalist nationalists, headed by Mustafa Kemal, continued on with the genocidal policies of the previous CUP regime bringing to fruition the racist, ideological goal of a "Turkey for the Turks." More broadly, the precursor events that led to the genocide go as far back as the Hamidian Massacres of 1894.
To date, the concerted efforts of the highly-organized Armenian diaspora has resulted in over 30 countries formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide, including Canada, Greece and Cyprus. As an official government policy, both Turkey and Azerbaijan unabashedly promote genocide denial both domestically and internationally.
_____
HCRI
* Note: above links were active as of the date of publishing
The promotion of the issue in Greece will begin with Armenian organizations with the contribution of Armenian scholars, including Ohanes Sarkis Agabatian. The first relevant publication is considered to be the book "The Memoirs of Naim Bey"[1], published in 1965 by the Armenian Historical Research Association (AHRA). In the 1960s, works by genocide survivor Leon Zaven Surmelian were published. In 1972, the classic book "Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City" [2] by the American-Armenian educator Marjorie Housepian Dobkin was published and since then it has been reprinted several times.
Three years later, "Arménie 1915: Un génocide exemplaire"[3] by Jean-Marie Carzou was published. In the 1980s, the Greek public would come into contact with more works on the Armenians and the genocide. Some of these are indicative, such as the texts of Anzel Kourtian (1980), a first text on the Genocide from a sociological perspective by Vahakn Dadrian (1982), the work of the great Armenian historian Richard Hovannisian (1984) and the memoirs of Henry Morgenthau (1989). Of importance was the book "The Genocide of the Greeks and Armenians of Asia Minor" by Greek author Miltos Pagtziloglou (1988)[4], which referred jointly to the Genocide of Greeks and Armenians. In the same year, Ohanes Sarkis Agabatian's book on the Armenian Question was published in Greek[5].
During the 1990s, publishing activity continued in Greece. In 1990, the testimonies of eyewitnesses were translated around the world and published, as was Franz Werfel's three-volume work on the tragedy of Musa Dagh[6], and the classic book on the atrocities against the Armenians edited by Arnold Toynbee was republished (1999). The publishing activity in the following period began with the autobiographical approach to the Genocide by Peter Balakian (2000). Two years later, the Greek edition of the classic work on the "The History of the Armenian Genocide" by Vahakn Dadrian (2002) was published.
In 2007, the Greek public had access to the classic work of the Turkish historian Taner Akçam, "A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility."[7] In 2014, Turkish historian Fuat Dündar's epic thesis, "The code of modern Turkey – The Ethnic Engineering of the Committee of Union and Progress and the Turkification of Anatolia (1913–1918),” [8] was translated and published in Greek, where he makes a profound analysis of the psychological profile of the cadres of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), known as the Young Turks, who were the architects and perpetrators of the early stage of the genocides of the Christian Peoples of the Ottoman Empire until their downfall in 1918.
The genocide of the Christians - Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and others - of the Ottoman Empire in its systematic form occurred between 1914-1923. From May 1919 onward, Kemalist nationalists, headed by Mustafa Kemal, continued on with the genocidal policies of the previous CUP regime bringing to fruition the racist, ideological goal of a "Turkey for the Turks." More broadly, the precursor events that led to the genocide go as far back as the Hamidian Massacres of 1894.
To date, the concerted efforts of the highly-organized Armenian diaspora has resulted in over 30 countries formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide, including Canada, Greece and Cyprus. As an official government policy, both Turkey and Azerbaijan unabashedly promote genocide denial both domestically and internationally.
_____
HCRI
* Note: above links were active as of the date of publishing
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