The year 2015 has come to an end, and in both East and West the centenary of the genocide, often denied, has been commemorated.
And I recall an evening in the Turm (Tower) Theater in Cologne, Germany, in January 2013, when I, a German author, found myself among Armenians for the first time. Emotionally shaken by the play, “Anne‘s Silence” by the Turkish author Dogan Akhanli, I took part in the round table discussion after the performance, and heard Muriel Mirak-Weissbach say: “We have two years to 2015, a lot can still happen.” – And a lot has happened.
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Tag: Bochum, Germany, Armenian-German Friendship Garden, Azat Ordukhanyan, Heide Rieck

BRUSSELS (A.W.)—On March 3, the European People’s Party (EPP) adopted a resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. According to the press service of the European Friends of Armenia, the resolution calls on Turkey to recognize and condemn the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire as a basis for the complete normalization and Europeanization of its relationship along with its international commitments and European aspirations.Read further...

Tag: European People’s Party (EPP)

In Gedenken an den armenischen Journalisten Hrant Dink (1956-2007) laden die Deutsch-Armenischen Gesellschaft, das Hrant Dink Forum Köln und das KulturForum TürkeiDeutschland auch in diesem Jahr zu einer interkulturellen Veranstaltung zur Stärkung des Dialogs und der Verständigung ein.Read further...

Tag: Hrant Dink, Deutsch-Armenischen Gesellschaft

Among the numerous initiatives launched to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide is a reading of Armenian literary works on a grand scale. Organized by two cultural institutions in Germany, the initiative will honor the memory of Armenian intellectuals rounded up and killed on April 24, 1915, by presenting public readings of their works and those of later writers. On November 20, at the Bundespressekonferenz in Berlin, Dr. Rolf Hosfeld, director of the Lepsiushaus, and Ulrich Schreiber of the International Literature Festival Berlin, presented the initiative to representatives of the international press. Read further...

Tag: Dr. Rolf Hosfeld, Lepsiushaus, Ulrich Schreiber , International Literature Festival Berlin, Worldwide Reading

German-Turkish director Fatih Akin's latest film,
'The Cut' raises furor in Turkey, draws threats from nationalists.

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In response to a December 2013 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Switzerland, a group of prominent genocide scholars has issued a letter to the Court. The ECHR had ruled in favor of those denying the fact that the Ottoman massacres of the Armenians in 1915 constituted genocide. The scholars write that the decision was political, not legal, and based on faulty information. Read further...

Tag: ECHR, European Court of Human Rights, CONCERNED GENOCIDE SCHOLARS, Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden

 The well-known genocide researcher Prof. Taner Akçam from Clark Univeristy (Worcester, Massachusetts) was on a lecture tour in Germany from November 26-29. He spoke at the Free University Berlin (26.11), the Potsdam University (27.11) and the Lepsiushaus-Potsdam (28.11) on the genocide aginst the Armenians. On 29.11 Prof. Akçam was joined by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach for a workshop with two classes of high school students from Potsdam and Berlin.


 Der bekannte Genozidforscher Prof. Taner Akçam von der Clark University (Worcester, Massachusetts) war vom 26. bis 29. November zu Gast in Deutschland. Er hielt Vorträge an der Freien Universität Berlin (26.11.), der Universität Potsdam (27.11.) und dem Lepsiushaus-Potsdam (28.11.) über den Völkermord an den Armeniern. Am 29.11. leitete Akçam zusammen mit Muriel Mirak-Weißbach einen Workshop für zwei Klassen aus Gymnasien in Potsdam und Berlin. Read further...

Tag: Prof. Taner Akçam , Clark University, Freien Universität Berlin, Universität Potsdam, Lepsiushaus-Potsdam

Am 17 Oktober organisierte der Kulturverein Spree-Athen eine Veranstaltung über die Literatur des Genozids. Unter dem Titel "Im Brennpunkt der Erinnerung": Texte zu dem 1915 in der Türkei verübten Völkermord...Read further...

Tag: Kulturverein Spree-Athen, Dogan Akhanlı , ea Ehlers Kerbekian, Muriel Mirak-Weißbach, Anton Peisakhov

During a ceremony inaugurating the Monument of Common Conscience in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Kurdish leaders issued an apology for the genocide against Armenians and Assyrians, and called on Turkish authorities to follow suit.Read further...

Tag: Armenians, Assirians, Kurds, Turkey

BERLIN — In Germany, where the largest Turkish community outside of Turkey lives, there were two special events commemorating the life and work of Hrant Dink on the sixth anniversary of his death. Along with cultural events, like the performance of the play “Anne’s Silence,” there were presentations of a new book by a Turkish intellectual. Read further...

Tag: Hasan Çemal, Çemal Pasha, KulturForum TürkeiDeutschland

Cemal (Djemel) Pasha was one of the three Young Turk leaders responsible for organizing the 1915 genocide against the Armenians. His grandson, Hasan Cemal, published a book on the topic in September. See http://armenpress.am/eng/news/692511/cemal-pasha-grandson-publishes-a-book-about-armenian-genocide.html
Buch von Hasan Cemal über den Massenmord an den Armeniern 1915:
http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/andruck/1920047/

Tag: Hasan Cemal

The grandson of Cemal Pasha, one of the three Ottoman Young Turk leaders who organized and implemented the genocide against the Armenians in 1915, has spoken out publicly against the massacres. Now he has issued a book which bears the unequivocal title, “1915. Armenian Genocide.”
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/692511/cemal-pasha-grandson-publishes-a-book-about-armenian-genocide.html

Tag: Cemal Pasha, Hasan Cemal, “1915. Armenian Genocide.”

  Potsdam University and Lepsius House Cooperate to Promote Genocide Studies
The University of Potsdam and the Lepsius House signed an agreement on June 6, 2012 to enhance their cooperation in the field of genocide studies. The Lepsius House is a museum and research center located in the former home of Dr. Johannes Lepsius, the renowned theologian and scholar who documented the 1915 Armenian genocide.
Professor Dr. Johann Hafner, Dean of the Philosophy Department, explained that students will be able to make use of the Lepsius House’s facilities, including rooms, archives, and library. In addition they “will be able to complete scientific internships there, receive assistance in their dissertations, and participate in research projects, conferences and publications.” The University, for its part, will lend institutional support to the work of the Lepsius House and cooperate on projects and conferences. http://asbarez.com/103549/potsdam-university-and-‘house-of-lepsius’-to-advance-genocide-studies/

Potsdam Universität kooperiert mit dem Lepsiushaus
Stellungnahme zur Erklärung des Kölner Arbeitskreises Israel-Palästina zur Ausstellung „Die Nakba – Flucht und Vertreibung der Palästinenser 1948“ im Allerweltshaus in Köln.
Siehe auch
http://www.pnn.de/campus/653967
und
http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/12339503/63369/Lepsiushaus-kooperiert-mit-der-Universitaet-Potsdam-Eingebunden.html

Tag: Potsdam University, Lepsiuhaus, Die Nakba

Neue Unterlagen aus dem AA Veröffentlicht: „Die deutsche Orient-Politik un der Erste Weltkrieg“
The website www.armenocide.net has published a new series of documents from the German Foreign Ministry archives related to the genocide against the Armenians. The documents are in German, but a Foreword and Introduction are also in English. See: http://www.armenocide.net

Tag: German Foreign Ministry, Armenocide.net

The well-known and respected Turkish publisher, Ragip Zarakolu, has received an award in recognition of his commitment to freedom of the press. Zarakolu was recently freed from detention after an international campaign called for his release. His publishing company Belge has issued studies by Armenian, Kurdish, and Greek authors, often on taboo subjects, like the 1915 genocide against the Armenians. See. http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/05/17/turkish-publisher-ragip-zarakolu-honored-by-pen/#more-6844

Tag: Ragip Zarakolu

The stenographic report of the proceedings of the trial held in Berlin on June 2-3, 1921 against Salomon Teilirian is available in German at
https://sites.google.com/site/nichtichbindermoerder/literatur-tip-1/pressespiegel1921.
 Teilirian was the Armenian student who shot Young Turk leader Talaat Pasha whom he held responsible for the genocide against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The same location on the Internet gives the link to the volume Pressespiegel: “Der Mord an Talaat Pascha 1921,” a collection of press reports on the event, as compiled and published by Heinz Böke. See also
http://www.voelkermord-armenien.de.
Im Internet: Stenographischer Bericht über die Verhandlung gegen den des Mordes Talaat Pascha angeklagten armenischen Studenten Salomon Teilirian vor dem Schwurgericht des Landgerichts III zu Berlin, Aktenzeichen: CJ. 22/21, am 2. und 3. Juni 1921:
https://sites.google.com/site/nichtichbindermoerder/literatur-tip-1/pressespiegel1921Read further...

Tag: Salomon Teilirian, Talaat Pasha, Heinz Böke

 Vortrag im Lepsiushaus: “Meine armenische Großmutter: die Türkei und ihre Identität”
Am 10. Februar hat das Lepsiushaus in Potsdam (http://lespiushaus.wordpress.com) mich eingeladen, einen Vortrag über meine Familiengeschichte und die „Großmutter-Debatte“ in der heutigen Türkei zu halten.
Am 13 Februar hat das DeutschlandradioKultur ein Interview mit mir über das gleiche Thema gesendet:
http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendungen/thema/1676486/

  Presentation at Lepsius House
„My Armenian Grandmother: Turkey and Its Identity“
On February 10, I was invited to present a talk at the Lepsius House on her family history and the “grandmother debate” in today’s Turkey. The Lepsius House is a documentation center and meeting place for Germans, Turks and Armenians, located in the villa where Dr. Johannes Lepsius lived and worked (http://lepsiushaus.wordpress.com). On February 13, the cultural program on German national radio, DeustchlandradioKultur, broadcast an interview with me on the same theme: http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendungen/thema/16764867
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Tag: Lepsiushaus Vortrag, Dr. Rolf Hosfeld, Roy Knocke, „Großmutter-Debatte“

An important international conference took place at the Potsdam University on November 5 on the controversial subject of the Armenian genocide.Read further...

Tag: Ragib Zarakolu, Potsdam University, Fetye Cetin, Elke Hartmann

The European Court of Human Rights handed down a groundbreaking ruling on October 25, declaring that Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which considers “insulting Turkishness” to be a crime, constitutes a violation of freedom of expression. The case examined was that of Turkish historian Prof. Taner Akcam, who had been the subject of an investigation and harassment in Turkey, due to his scholarly research into the 1915 genocide against the Armenians.
http://www.huliq.com/10061/taner-akcam-turkish-journalist-vindicated-armenian-genocide-caseRead further...

Tag: Turkey, Taner Akcam, European Court of Human Rights

Prof. Taner Akcam, the leading Turkish scholar of the Armenian genocide, made headlines when he revealed that he had received information from reliable sources in Istanbul, according to which the Turkish government was mounting an effort to counter Armenian claims of genocide in 1915, by fabricating historical studies that not only deny the genocide, but go so far as to assert that those historians who have documented the genocide, have simply invented the entire story. Prof. Akcam received the information from a private source who had access to Turkish Foreign Ministry circles. The latter reported that an American professor had proposed to ministry officials that they launch a campaign promoting and financing "scholarly research" by American researchers, to counter the widely accepted claim that it was genocide. The proposal was accepted and since then (2005) some American scholars have received payment to conduct such research.
http://asbarez.com/96992/prof-akcam-reveals-turkish-plan-to-pay-scholars-to-deny-the-armenian-genocide/

Tag: Turkey, Taner Akcam

A documentary prepared by the Vatican will present the 1915 genocide against the Armenians as a historical fact. Among the records made available are documents showing that Pope Benedict XV back in 1915 issued a letter to the Sultan Mehmet V, urging him to stop the killings.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/74320/

The rector of the Stuttgart University cancelled a room for a meeting on May 28 during which a lecture and discussion of the 1915 Armenian genocide were to be presented. In motivating his decision, the rector told organizers that there had been protests by Turks “in Berlin” and that he thought one should maintain “neutrality” on the subject. The Central Council of Armenians in Germany, among others, condemned the move.
http://www.zentralrat.org/de/node/869

Tag: Stuttgart University, Turks In Berlin, Central Council of Armenians in Germany

The Turkish government has announced it will take part in events observing the Armenian genocide, traditonally organized on April 24, the anniversary of the mass arrests of Armenian intellectuals and leaders in 1915.
1) http://www.huliq.com/8738/turkey-may-send-minister-armenian-genocide-observance
2) http://www.panarmenian.net/

Tag: Armenian genocide

Am 5. Februar hat die Arbeitsgruppe Genozid und Trauma in Frankfurt Muriel Mirak-Weißbach eingeladen, einen Vortrag zu halten über den Völkermord an den Armeniern aus der Sicht der Familiengeschichte. Auszüge aus der Rede, wurden in der Online-Zeitschrift HAY Society abgedruckt.
http://www.hay-society.de/haysociety/essay-a-analyse.html

Tag: HAY Society, Muriel Mirak-Weissbach

Briefe von Muriel Mirak-Weissbach an die Herausgeber. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 19.04.2010Read further...

Tag: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Aghet