The Authenticity of Archival Materials in Reconstructing the Armenian Genocide
The extensive collection of historical documentation from various countries, including Britain, France, Russia, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Turkey,, and others, has made it possible to reconstruct the events that took place during the Armenian Genocide with exceptional accuracy. These archives contain a wealth of eyewitness accounts and photographs, diplomatic and military dispatches, and official correspondence, and their authenticity is well-established, despite claims from Turkish denialists that the documents and memoirs are forgeries produced by Armenians to advance their claims. While a small group of historians may represent the Turkish government’s denialist narrative, the overwhelming majority of scholars, historians, human rights lawyers, and academics specializing in genocide, Holocaust, and war crimes have confirmed the Armenian Genocide as a historical fact.
A word on the German Records
Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I and played a significant role in the events leading up to the Genocide. German officials were also witnesses to the atrocities committed against the Armenian population.
The German archives contain valuable information on the Armenian Genocide, including reports from German officials stationed in the Ottoman Empire, diplomatic correspondence, and military dispatches. These documents provide firsthand accounts of the events and shed light on the complicity of the Ottoman government in the Genocide. In addition to the sources mentioned earlier, the memoirs and publications of German military officers who were present in the Ottoman Empire during the genocide also provide valuable insight into what happened on the ground. These accounts provide personal testimonies of the atrocities committed against the Armenian population, as well as the complicity of Ottoman officials and the military in carrying out the genocide.
Similarly, the memoirs of Armin Wegner, a German soldier and photographer who witnessed the deportations and massacres, provide vivid descriptions of the suffering of the Armenian people. Wegner’s photographs, which he smuggled out of the country, are some of the few surviving visual records of the genocide.
Overall, the German archives, as well as the memoirs and publications of German military officers, provide crucial firsthand accounts of the Armenian Genocide, adding to the wealth of evidence that supports the fact that the Ottoman state was responsible for this horrific tragedy.
The German government recently released some of these archival records, making them available to scholars and researchers. The documents have been instrumental in confirming the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide and countering Turkish denialist claims.