During the early 20th century, Denmark maintained diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire, and as a result, Danish officials and missionaries were present in the region during the Armenian Genocide. These officials and missionaries provided eyewitness accounts of the atrocities being committed against the Armenian population and attempted to provide aid to the survivors.
In recent years, Danish archival records from this period have been newly deciphered and analyzed by researchers seeking to understand the full scope of the Armenian Genocide. These records provide valuable insights into the experiences of Danish officials and missionaries in the region, as well as the diplomatic and political maneuvers taking place behind the scenes.
One notable figure whose work is documented in these archival records is Karen Jeppe, a Danish missionary who worked tirelessly to aid Armenian survivors during and after the genocide. Jeppe is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of Armenians and providing them with vital assistance and support.
The Danish archival records on the Armenian Genocide serve as a valuable resource for researchers seeking to understand the complex history of this tragic event. By incorporating a variety of sources, including archival records, eyewitness accounts, and academic research, we can gain a more nuanced understanding of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing impact on global history.
Carl Ellis Wandel (1874-1943) was a Danish diplomat and Orientalist who served as Denmark’s consul in Istanbul from 1914 to 1919. During his time in Turkey, he witnessed the Armenian Genocide and documented it in his dispatches to the Danish Foreign Ministry. Wandel was one of the few foreign diplomats who publicly condemned the Ottoman government’s policy of deportations and massacres against the Armenian population.
In addition to his diplomatic duties, Wandel was also a scholar of Ottoman history and culture. He wrote several books and articles on Ottoman art, architecture, and literature, and was a member of the Danish Society for Oriental Studies. Wandel’s interest in Ottoman culture is reflected in his dispatches from Istanbul, where he frequently commented on the cultural and social life of the Ottoman capital.
After leaving Istanbul in 1919, Wandel continued his diplomatic career in several other countries, including Greece, Romania, and Spain. He retired from the Danish Foreign Service in 1939 and died in 1943. Wandel’s dispatches on the Armenian Genocide have become an important source for historians studying this tragic event, and his legacy as a diplomat and scholar is still remembered in Denmark today
In early summer 1914, Carl Ellis Wandel became head of the Danish diplomatic representation in Constantinople. The Danish legation included Wandel, a secretary, a dragoman, and a kavas. Wandel sent hundreds of confidential reports analyzing Ottoman Empire developments to the Danish Foreign Ministry. As a neutral country, the Danish legation’s status enhanced trust from influential political players. However, Wandel and the Danish Foreign Minister did not suggest or expect action regarding the Armenian Genocide. Ottoman Armenian representatives did not seek diplomatic intervention from the Danish legation.
Wandel described how the Germanized-chauvinistic Turkish press frequently portrayed Armenians as “greedy exploiters” and participated in the xenophobic campaign against them. Danish diplomatic reports during the Armenian genocide reveal that Armenians belonging to the wealthier and more educated classes were being arrested and deported, while the lower class was left relatively undisturbed. The reports expressed little optimism for the situation, noting that the Armenians were being systematically targeted for extermination, as were other Ottoman groups such as Greeks, Jews, Arabs, and Kurds. The documents are being made accessible in their original Danish and English translations, with a focus on precision over style in translation.
A total of 80 documents authored by Carl Ellis Wandel and his colleagues are currently available on Armenocide‘s online platform, and additional documents will be added in the future. According to the website, these will include a section featuring archival materials from Scandinavian eyewitnesses of the Armenian genocide, such as Maria Jacobsen, Karen Jeppe, Bodil Biørn from Norway, and Alma Johansson from Sweden. Additionally, a more detailed introduction to the collection will be provided in the future.
Karen Jeppe (1876-1935): “Mother of Armenians”: was a Danish missionary and social worker who dedicated her life to helping the survivors of the Armenian Genocide. She first learned about the persecution of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1902 from a school headmaster who shared an article written by Aage Meyer Benedictsen, a Danish-Jewish-Icelandic linguist, writer, philologist, and anti-imperialist intellectual. Benedictsen had visited the German Orient Mission in Urfa, which had started a school orphanage for Armenian children. When Jeppe learned that Dr Johannes Lepsius, the mission’s leader, was looking for a woman teacher, she volunteered and travelled to Urfa in 1903.
Jeppe quickly learned Armenian, Arabic, and Turkish and began working at the school, introducing new teaching methods. After the Adana massacres in 1909, Jeppe continued providing food and shelter for the Armenians, building good relations with Kurds and Arabs, and adopting two Armenian orphans. During World War I, Jeppe tried to organize rescue efforts and helped Armenian refugees escape by disguising them as Kurds and Arabs.
After the war, Jeppe returned to Denmark and campaigned on behalf of Armenians. In 1921, she decided to return to Syria and found employment for Armenian widows by establishing orphanages, schools, medical clinics, and workrooms in Aleppo. She also worked to rescue Armenian women and children scattered in the area and helped establish six Armenian farming colonies in Raqqa.
Jeppe’s work was not without its challenges. The situation in Syria was deeply worsened in 1922 when new waves of Armenian refugees arrived in Aleppo, escaping from massacres in Cilicia. Jeppe secured land for Armenian settlers with the help of a Bedouin sheikh named Hadjim Pasha. Jeppe and Hadjim Pasha became close friends, and he helped her with practical matters and maintaining the security of the new Armenian settlers through his status and influence in the region.
Jeppe continued her work in Syria until she died in 1935. She suffered a severe attack of malaria during her stay at her white house in the agricultural colony and died in a hospital in Aleppo. Her legacy continues to inspire humanitarian work to this day.
Karen Jeppe died on July 7, 1935, in Aleppo, Syria.