Vatican archives reveal Turkish plot to kill 1.5 million Armenians – German historian
The historical archives in the Holy See of Vatican stand as clear evidence of the fact that the Armenian Genocide was thoroughly planned and perpetrated by the Young Turks’ Government, says Michael Hesemann, a German historian and publicist who has studied the documents.
According to him, the documented proofs in the archives leave no room for doubt that the Ottoman rulers sought to exterminate the Armenians in the World War I era (as opposed to the present-day Turkish authorities’ repeated allegations that they displaced the Armenians in an attempt to ensure their safety and keep them out of danger).
Mr Hesemann, Vatican is opening its archives including materials on the Armenian Genocide. Do you think the move is in any way linked to Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Armenia?
The Vatican archives are already open, and any Armenian PhD professor is welcome in Rome to study the documents. And I located about 3,000 pages on both the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the massacres of 1894-1986, and the published six volumes of documents. This was done by Professor Willson, a Jesuit holy father of Pope Francis. So the Vatican archives are open, and we welcome and invite all the Armenian researchers and historians to study the documents themselves.
You are aware that those archives were expected to open back in 2011; but they never did. Do you think the records available there will boost the international Genocide recognition process?
The remark by the prefect of the Vatican Secretariat of 2011 referred to the ongoing publication, not the opening of the archives, and even the last material, the archive by the apostolic delegation, was opened upon my request in 2014. so everything is open. And what we have here are very moving: the part from the eye-witness accounts but also the background information that it was a planned genocide, and it was a genocide of not only the Armenians but of all the Christian minorities. It was a process of ethnic and religious homogenization going on following the proto-fascist ideology of the Young Turk regime. So we have lots of evidence that it was a planned genocide, and that indeed 1.5 million Armenians were murdered. And we have very drastic reports, very moving reports which caused the Pope to use the term “genocide” in 2015.
Mr Hesemann, what do you think about the Pope’s visit? Is it important for Armenia?
Of course, it is important. It is important both for the Catholic Church to re-strengthen the diplomatic relationship with Armenia, and the ecumenical dialogue, as the Armenian Apostolic Church has a great respect in Rome, and we love your church and your patriarch, [Catholicos of All Armenians] Garegin II. And of course, it is important for Armenia, as your country is in a kind of difficult situation because of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, for example, and also the pressure from your Western neighbor [Turkey]. But this country gets the support from the Holy Father, the head of more than 1 billion Christians in the world. So he shows his respect for the oldest Christian nation but also comes as a message of peace and reconciliation.
So are you visiting the holy Masses Gyumri or St Echmiadzin?
Of course, I am here to follow the people, and to participate in the most important events. For me, every visit to Armenia is like a visit to the cradle of our faith, because this is where Noah came from Mount Ararat and started the new era (as we know from the Old Testament). Of course, for Christians it is very moving to experience 17,000 years of tradition of what I said before the oldest nation of earth, which has preserved so many original traditions of early Christianity. It is very impressive.
I see you are wearing the forget-me-not flower, which is the symbol of the Armenian Genocide.
I know, and that’s why I am wearing it. I wear it as a sign of solidarity. And I always supported the historical research in my country, Germany, and also in Vatican. I will support the use of the term ‘genocide’, because this is the only realistic description of what happened; it was the planned extermination of the Christian minority.
Videos
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Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
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Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
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There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
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