008 - A Classic Instance of German Propaganda

Ambassador Morgenthau’s memoirs from his time serving the United States in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) serve as a vital primary historical source for understanding the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the harrowing events of the Armenian Genocide. During this tragic period, an estimated 1,500,000 Armenians living in Anatolia were systematically murdered in a concerted effort to eliminate Turkey’s non-Turkish populations. Morgenthau left Turkey feeling deeply frustrated, having exhausted every diplomatic avenue to stop the atrocities, yet witnessing the horrors unfold without intervention. Today, Turkey continues to deny that these actions constituted genocide. Notably, in 2010, the American House Foreign Relations Committee passed House Resolution 252, which officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Congressman Brad Sherman, a co-sponsor of the resolution, poignantly stated, “If we hope to stop future genocides, we need to acknowledge the horrific acts of the past. The last act of any genocide is denial, and the first step toward preventing the next one is recognizing what has already occurred.” (Introduction by Margaret Espaillat)