{"id":891,"date":"2016-06-02T18:53:56","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T14:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/?p=891"},"modified":"2016-06-06T19:29:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T15:29:32","slug":"germanys-bundestag-recognises-armenian-genocide-admits-german-empires-partial-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/?p=891","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s Bundestag Recognises Armenian Genocide; Admits German Empire’s Partial Responsibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

German Parliament Recognizes Armenian Genocide, Angering Turkey
\n<\/strong>
\n(NEW YORK TIMES<\/a>) BERLIN \u2014 The German Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a symbolic but fraught resolution on Thursday declaring the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a genocide, escalating tensions with Turkey at a diplomatically delicate juncture.<\/p>\n

The Turkish government angrily denounced the vote as \u201cnull and void,\u201d and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his ambassador in Germany back to Ankara for consultations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way to close the dark pages of your own history is not by defaming the histories of other countries with irresponsible and baseless decisions,\u201d Turkey\u2019s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, wrote on Twitter. In Ankara, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, \u201cThere is no shameful incident in our past that would make us bow our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Germany needs Turkey\u2019s help in following through on a deal with the European Union to manage the refugee crisis attributed in large part to the Syrian civil war. At the same time, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has been under pressure not to be seen as caving to pressure from Ankara to compromise on Western values, particularly after a recent dust-up over freedom of speech set off by a German comedian\u2019s satire that outraged Mr. Erdogan.<\/p>\n

For Turkey, there is scarcely a more delicate topic than what historians say was the murder of more than a million Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915-16. In April, Mr. Erdogan visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey and, in a carefully worded statement, extended condolences to the families of those who had died, but the Turkish government has long rejected the term genocide.<\/p>\n

Ankara has noted that thousands of people, many of them Turks, died in the civil war that destroyed the Ottoman Empire, and argued that the estimates of the number of Armenian deaths have been exaggerated.<\/p>\n

The issue is also fraught for Germany. At the time of the killings, Germany, led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, was allied with the Ottomans, fighting alongside the Austro-Hungarian Empire against Britain, France and Russia in World War I. Acceptance of German responsibility for the atrocities of World War II has become an established part of the nation\u2019s culture, and historians and activists have said that the Armenian resolution was an important step in acknowledging Germany\u2019s indirect involvement in the 1915 killings.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis called the killings a genocide last year, but the United States has long skirted the issue. President Obama stopped short of using the word \u2014 most recently in a statement marking Armenian Remembrance Day on April 24 \u2014 though he used the term before becoming president.<\/p>\n

Ms. Merkel\u2019s Christian Democratic Union and its coalition partners supported the resolution, which was originally proposed for last year, to mark the centennial of the start of the killings. But it was repeatedly delayed, most recently in February, over concerns about angering Ankara.<\/p>\n

As the vote approached, debate intensified in Germany, which is home to an estimated three million people of Turkish descent, many of whom have dual citizenship. About 2,000 Turks demonstrated last weekend in Berlin, rallying to say that Parliament is not a court and therefore should not pass judgment.<\/p>\n

Ms. Merkel was in a tough spot. When she visited Istanbul last week, she spent time with Turkish intellectuals and lawyers critical of Mr. Erdogan before meeting the president, who warned her not to move forward with the resolution.<\/p>\n

Her decision to do so, despite those objections, may have been influenced by an episode in March, when a German comic, Jan B\u00f6hmermann, lampooned Mr. Erdogan with a crude poem. Ms. Merkel initially criticized the verses, giving the impression \u2014 which she later said was a mistake \u2014 that she advocated restrictions on freedom of expression in Germany. Critics portrayed her as weak.<\/p>\n

Cem Ozdemir, the co-chairman of the opposition Greens and a driving force behind the resolution, accused Ms. Merkel of paying little heed to Turkey for most of her decade in power, until circumstances forced her to engage with Mr. Erdogan.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Mr. Ozdemir said there was \u201cnever a favorable time to speak about something as dreadful as genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ozdemir read century-old statements by officials of the German Empire showing they knew that up to 90 percent of Armenians had been killed. \u201cWorking through the Shoah is the basis of democracy in Germany,\u201d Mr. Ozdemir said, referring to the Holocaust. \u201cThis genocide is also waiting to be worked through.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that there were Turks who had saved Armenians. \u201cBefore them, we bow down with highest respect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ozdemir said he had received threats because of his support for the vote, but that it was even more dangerous for people in Turkey to acknowledge the genocide.<\/p>\n

The vote in the Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament, was nearly unanimous, with one lawmaker voting against and another abstaining. (Ms. Merkel and the two most senior Social Democrat ministers \u2014 Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier \u2014 were not present.)<\/p>\n

Norbert Lammert, the president of the Bundestag, kicked off the debate with a clear message. \u201cParliament is not a historians\u2019 commission, and certainly not a court,\u201d he said. He added that the current Turkish government \u201cis not responsible for what happened 100 years ago, but it does have responsibility for what becomes of this\u201d in present times.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lammert, a Christian Democrat, labeled the Ottomans\u2019 killing of Armenians as genocide last year. Particularly because of \u201cour own chapters of dark history,\u201d Germans know that only by working through past events can one achieve reconciliation and cooperation, Mr. Lammert said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Including Germany, 12 of the European Union\u2019s 28 members have recognized the Armenian killings as genocide. Despite initial protests, Turkey has maintained good relations with several of those countries.<\/p>\n

When France approved legislation in 2011 recognizing the genocide, Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassador and halted bilateral military cooperation. Such steps by Ankara would be more complicated today and potentially more damaging, as Germany and Turkey are engaged in a NATO operation to stop migrant boats crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.<\/p>\n

Aydan Ozoguz, the German commissioner for integration, who \u2014 like Mr. Ozdemir \u2014 is of Turkish descent, said before the vote that while she intended to vote for the resolution, \u201cI still think it is the wrong path.\u201d She added that she thought it would backfire.<\/p>\n

Mr. Erdogan and ultranationalist Turks \u201cwill get a huge boost,\u201d Ms. Ozoguz said. \u201cThey will use the resolution as proof of a further attack by the West on Turkey. Reasonable, considered voices will be isolated and will have no chance to be heard for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

By ALISON SMALE and MELISSA EDDY<\/p>\n

Alison Smale reported from Berlin, and Melissa Eddy from Weimar, Germany. Sewell Chan contributed reporting from London, Katarina Johannsen from Berlin, and Safak Timur from Istanbul.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n


\nThe resolution<\/a> in German<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drucksache 18\/8613
\n18. Wahlperiode
\n31.05.2016
\nAntrag<\/strong>
\nder Fraktionen CDU\/CSU, SPD und B\u00dcNDNIS 90\/DIE GR\u00dcNEN<\/strong>
\nErinnerung und Gedenken an den V\u00f6lkermord an den Armeniern und anderen christlichen Minderheiten in den Jahren 1915 und 1916
\nDer Bundestag wolle beschlie\u00dfen:<\/strong>
\nI. Der Deutsche Bundestag stellt fest:
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag verneigt sich vor den Opfern der Vertreibungen und Massaker an den Armeniern und anderen christlichen Minderheiten des Osmani-schen Reichs, die vor \u00fcber hundert Jahren ihren Anfang nahmen. Er beklagt die Taten der damaligen jungt\u00fcrkischen Regierung, die zur fast vollst\u00e4ndigen Ver-nichtung der Armenier im Osmanischen Reich gef\u00fchrt haben. Ebenso waren An-geh\u00f6rige anderer christlicher Volksgruppen, insbesondere aram\u00e4isch\/assyrische und chald\u00e4ische Christen von Deportationen und Massakern betroffen.
\nIm Auftrag des damaligen jungt\u00fcrkischen Regimes begann am 24. April 1915 im osmanischen Konstantinopel die planm\u00e4\u00dfige Vertreibung und Vernichtung von \u00fcber einer Million ethnischer Armenier. Ihr Schicksal steht beispielhaft f\u00fcr die Geschichte der Massenvernichtungen, der ethnischen S\u00e4uberungen, der Vertrei-bungen, ja der V\u00f6lkermorde, von denen das 20. Jahrhundert auf so schreckliche Weise gezeichnet ist. Dabei wissen wir um die Einzigartigkeit des Holocaust, f\u00fcr den Deutschland Schuld und Verantwortung tr\u00e4gt.
\nDer Bundestag bedauert die unr\u00fchmliche Rolle des Deutschen Reiches, das als milit\u00e4rischer Hauptverb\u00fcndeter des Osmanischen Reichs trotz eindeutiger Infor-mationen auch von Seiten deutscher Diplomaten und Missionare \u00fcber die organi-sierte Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Armenier nicht versucht hat, diese Ver-brechen gegen die Menschlichkeit zu stoppen. Das Gedenken des Deutschen Bun-destages ist auch Ausdruck besonderen Respektes vor der wohl \u00e4ltesten christli-chen Nation der Erde.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag bekr\u00e4ftigt seinen Beschluss aus dem Jahr 2005 (Drs. 15\/5689), der dem Gedenken der Opfer wie auch der historischen Aufarbei-tung der Geschehnisse gewidmet war und das Ziel verfolgte, zur Vers\u00f6hnung zwi-schen T\u00fcrken und Armeniern beizutragen. Rednerinnen und Redner aller Frakti-onen haben am einhundertsten Gedenktag, dem 24. April 2015, bei der Debatte im Deutschen Bundestag und insbesondere der Bundespr\u00e4sident am Vorabend der Debatte den V\u00f6lkermord an den Armeniern verurteilt, der Opfer gedacht sowie zur Vers\u00f6hnung aufgerufen. Das Deutsche Reich tr\u00e4gt eine Mitschuld an den Er-eignissen.
\nDer Bundestag bekennt sich zur besonderen historischen Verantwortung Deutschlands.
\nDazu geh\u00f6rt, T\u00fcrken und Armenier dabei zu unterst\u00fctzen, \u00fcber die Gr\u00e4ben
\nder Vergangenheit hinweg nach Wegen der Vers\u00f6hnung und Verst\u00e4ndigung zu suchen. Dieser Vers\u00f6hnungsprozess ist in den vergangenen Jahren ins Stocken geraten und bedarf dringend neuer Impulse.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag ehrt mit seinem Gedenken an die unvorstellbar grausamen Verbrechen nicht nur deren Opfer, sondern auch all diejenigen im Osmanischen Reich und im Deutschen Reich, die sich vor \u00fcber hundert Jahren unter schwierigen Umst\u00e4nden und gegen den Widerstand ihrer jeweiligen Regierung in
\nvielf\u00e4ltiger Weise f\u00fcr die Rettung von armenischen Frauen, Kindern und M\u00e4nnern
\neingesetzt haben.
\nHeute kommt schulischer, universit\u00e4rer und politischer Bildung in Deutschland
\ndie Aufgabe zu, die Aufarbeitung der Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Armenier
\nals Teil der Aufarbeitung der Geschichte ethnischer Konflikte im 20. Jahrhundert
\nin den Lehrpl\u00e4nen und -materialien aufzugreifen und nachfolgenden Generationen
\nzu vermitteln. Dabei kommt insbesondere den Bundesl\u00e4ndern eine wichtige
\nRolle zu.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag ist der Ansicht, dass das Gedenken an die Opfer der
\nMassaker und Vertreibungen der Armenier unter Ber\u00fccksichtigung der deutschen
\nRolle einschlie\u00dflich seiner Vermittlung an Mitb\u00fcrgerinnen und Mitb\u00fcrger t\u00fcrkischer
\nund armenischer Herkunft auch einen Beitrag zur Integration und zum friedlichen
\nMiteinander darstellt.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag begr\u00fc\u00dft die Zunahme von Initiativen und Beitr\u00e4gen in
\nden Bereichen von Wissenschaft, Zivilgesellschaft, Kunst und Kultur auch in der
\nT\u00fcrkei, welche die Aufarbeitung der Verbrechen an den Armeniern und die Vers\u00f6hnung
\nzwischen Armeniern und T\u00fcrken zum Ziel haben.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag ermutigt die Bundesregierung weiterhin, dem Gedenken
\nund der Aufarbeitung der Vertreibungen und Massaker an den Armeniern von
\n1915 Aufmerksamkeit zu widmen. Auch begr\u00fc\u00dft der Deutsche Bundestag jede
\nInitiative, die diesem Anliegen Anschub und Unterst\u00fctzung zu verleihen.
\nDie eigene historische Erfahrung Deutschlands zeigt, wie schwierig es f\u00fcr eine
\nGesellschaft ist, die dunklen Kapitel der eigenen Vergangenheit aufzuarbeiten.
\nDennoch ist eine ehrliche Aufarbeitung der Geschichte die wohl wichtigste
\nGrundlage f\u00fcr Vers\u00f6hnung sowohl innerhalb der Gesellschaft als auch mit anderen.
\nEs ist dabei zu unterscheiden zwischen der Schuld der T\u00e4ter und der Verantwortung
\nder heute Lebenden. Das Gedenken an die Vergangenheit mahnt uns au\u00dferdem,
\nwachsam zu bleiben und zu verhindern, dass Hass und Vernichtung immer
\nwieder Menschen und V\u00f6lker bedrohen.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag nimmt die seit 2005 unternommenen Versuche von Vertretern
\nArmeniens und der T\u00fcrkei wahr, in Fragen des Erinnerns und der Normalisierung
\nder zwischenstaatlichen Beziehungen aufeinander zuzugehen. Das Verh\u00e4ltnis
\nbeider Staaten ist jedoch weiterhin spannungsreich und von gegenseitigem
\nMisstrauen gepr\u00e4gt. Deutschland sollte T\u00fcrken und Armenier dabei unterst\u00fctzen,
\nsich anzun\u00e4hern. Eine konstruktive Aufarbeitung der Geschichte ist dabei als Basis
\nf\u00fcr eine Verst\u00e4ndigung in Gegenwart und Zukunft unerl\u00e4sslich.
\nEine Entspannung und Normalisierung der Beziehungen zwischen der Republik
\nT\u00fcrkei und der Republik Armenien ist auch f\u00fcr die Stabilisierung der Region des
\nKaukasus wichtig. Deutschland sieht sich dabei im Rahmen der EU-Nachbarschaftspolitik
\naufgrund seiner geschichtlichen Rolle in den deutsch-armenischt\u00fcrkischen
\nBeziehungen in einer besonderen Verantwortung.
\nVorabfassung – wird durch die lektorierte Fassung ersetzt.
\nDeutscher Bundestag \u2013 18. Wahlperiode \u2013 3 \u2013 Drucksache 18\/8613
\nII. Der Deutsche Bundestag fordert die Bundesregierung auf:
\n– im Geiste der Debatte des Deutschen Bundestags vom 24. April 2015 zum 100.
\nJahrestag weiterhin zu einer breiten \u00f6ffentlichen Auseinandersetzung mit der
\nVertreibung und fast vollst\u00e4ndigen Vernichtung der Armenier 1915\/1916 sowie
\nder Rolle des Deutschen Reiches beizutragen,
\n– die t\u00fcrkische Seite zu ermutigen, sich mit den damaligen Vertreibungen und
\nMassakern offen auseinanderzusetzen, um damit den notwendigen Grundstein
\nzu einer Vers\u00f6hnung mit dem armenischen Volk zu legen,
\n– sich weiterhin daf\u00fcr einzusetzen, dass zwischen T\u00fcrken und Armeniern durch
\ndie Aufarbeitung von Vergangenheit Ann\u00e4herung, Vers\u00f6hnung und Verzeihen
\nhistorischer Schuld erreicht wird,
\n– weiterhin wissenschaftliche, zivilgesellschaftliche und kulturelle Aktivit\u00e4ten in
\nder T\u00fcrkei und in Armenien zu unterst\u00fctzen und im Rahmen verf\u00fcgbarer Haushaltsmittel
\nzu f\u00f6rdern, die dem Austausch und der Ann\u00e4herung sowie der Aufarbeitung
\nder Geschichte zwischen T\u00fcrken und Armeniern dienen,
\n– eine Aufarbeitung der historischen Ereignisse durch die T\u00fcrkei und Armenien
\nals ersten Schritt zur Vers\u00f6hnung und zur l\u00e4ngst \u00fcberf\u00e4lligen Verbesserung der
\nt\u00fcrkisch-armenischen Beziehungen aktiv zu unterst\u00fctzen, z.B. durch Stipendien
\nf\u00fcr Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler oder Unterst\u00fctzung zivilgesellschaftlicher
\nKr\u00e4fte aus beiden L\u00e4ndern, die sich f\u00fcr Aufarbeitung und Vers\u00f6hnung
\nengagieren,
\n– t\u00fcrkische und armenische Regierungsvertreter zu ermutigen, den derzeit stagnierenden
\nNormalisierungsprozess der zwischenstaatlichen Beziehungen beider
\nL\u00e4nder fortzuf\u00fchren,
\n– sich gegen\u00fcber der t\u00fcrkischen und der armenischen Regierung f\u00fcr die Ratifizierung
\nder 2009 unterzeichneten Z\u00fcrcher Protokolle einzusetzen, die eine Kommission
\nzur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung der Geschichte, die Wiederaufnahme
\ndiplomatischer Beziehungen und die \u00d6ffnung der gemeinsamen Grenze
\nvorsehen,
\n– daf\u00fcr einzutreten, dass die in j\u00fcngster Zeit begonnene Pflege des armenischen
\nKulturerbes in der Republik T\u00fcrkei fortgesetzt und intensiviert wird,
\n– im Rahmen finanzieller M\u00f6glichkeiten auch weiterhin innerhalb Deutschlands
\nInitiativen und Projekte in Wissenschaft, Zivilgesellschaft und Kultur zu f\u00f6rdern,
\ndie eine Auseinandersetzung mit den Geschehnissen von 1915\/1916 zum
\nThema haben.<\/p>\n

Berlin, den 31. Mai 2016
\nVolker Kauder, Gerda Hasselfeldt und Fraktion
\nThomas Oppermann und Fraktion
\nKatrin G\u00f6ring-Eckardt, Dr. Anton Hofreiter und Fraktion<\/p>\n

Begr\u00fcndung<\/strong>
\nDie Vernichtung der Armenier im Osmanischen Reich w\u00e4hrend des Ersten Weltkrieges war die gr\u00f6\u00dfte und folgenschwerste
\nKatastrophe in der mehrtausendj\u00e4hrigen Geschichte des armenischen Volkes. Den Deportationen
\nund Massenmorden fielen nach unabh\u00e4ngigen Berechnungen \u00fcber einer Million Armenier zum Opfer. Zahlreiche
\nunabh\u00e4ngige Historiker, Parlamente und internationale Organisationen bezeichnen die Vertreibung und Vernichtung
\nder Armenier als V\u00f6lkermord. Das Gedenken an diese Vertreibungen und Massaker ist deshalb neben Religion
\nund Sprache von zentraler Bedeutung f\u00fcr die Identit\u00e4t dieses Volkes.
\nDer Deutsche Bundestag gedenkt der Ereignisse auch im Zusammenhang des aktuellen Erinnerns an den Ersten
\nWeltkrieg. Das Deutsche Reich war milit\u00e4rischer Hauptverb\u00fcndeter des Osmanischen Reiches. Die damalige
\ndeutsche Reichsregierung, die \u00fcber die Verfolgung und Ermordung der Armenier informiert war, blieb dennoch
\nunt\u00e4tig. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland sieht sich in der Verantwortung, die Aufarbeitung dieses Verbrechens
\nzu f\u00f6rdern und die Erinnerung daran wach zu halten.
\nBis heute bestreitet die T\u00fcrkei entgegen der Faktenlage, dass der Vertreibung, Verfolgung und Ermordung der
\nArmenier eine Planm\u00e4\u00dfigkeit zugrunde gelegen h\u00e4tte bzw. dass das Massensterben w\u00e4hrend der Umsiedlungstrecks
\nund die ver\u00fcbten Massaker von der osmanischen Regierung gewollt waren.
\nInsgesamt wird das Ausma\u00df der Massaker und Deportationen in der T\u00fcrkei immer noch angezweifelt. Allerdings
\ngibt es auch gegenl\u00e4ufige Tendenzen. Im Jahre 2008 gab es Anlass zur Hoffnung auf eine t\u00fcrkisch-armenische
\nAnn\u00e4herung, als die Staatspr\u00e4sidenten beider L\u00e4nder gemeinsam ein Fu\u00dfballl\u00e4nderspiel besuchten und damit ihren
\nWillen f\u00fcr weitere Gespr\u00e4che demonstriert hatten. 2009 wurde zwischen den Au\u00dfenministern beider L\u00e4nder
\nein gemeinsames Protokoll unterzeichnet, in dem u.a. die Gr\u00fcndung einer Kommission vorgesehen war, welche
\ndie Geschichte wissenschaftlich untersuchen sollten. Dieses Protokoll wurde aber bis heute in keinem der Parlamente
\nbeider L\u00e4nder verabschiedet.
\nEine Vers\u00f6hnung der beiden V\u00f6lker ist nur dann denkbar, wenn die Ereignisse vor 100 Jahren grundlegend aufgekl\u00e4rt
\nund die Fakten nicht weiter bestritten werden. Dazu ist es erforderlich, dass Wissenschaftler und Journalisten
\nin der T\u00fcrkei bei der Aufarbeitung der Geschichte der Vertreibung und Ermordung von Armeniern frei und
\nohne Angst vor Repressionen arbeiten k\u00f6nnen. Es gibt bereits zahlreiche Initiativen in der T\u00fcrkei, die die Aufarbeitung
\nder Massaker zum Thema haben. Das Thema wird seit einigen Jahren in der t\u00fcrkischen \u00d6ffentlichkeit
\nvermehrt kontrovers diskutiert. Diese Entwicklungen sind genauso zu begr\u00fc\u00dfen, wie grenz\u00fcberschreitende zivilgesellschaftliche
\nProjekte, die vom Ausw\u00e4rtigen Amt seit vielen Jahren finanziell unterst\u00fctzt werden.
\nDas Deutsche Reich war als milit\u00e4rischer Hauptverb\u00fcndeter des Osmanischen Reiches ebenfalls tief in diese Vorg\u00e4nge
\ninvolviert. Sowohl die politische als auch die milit\u00e4rische F\u00fchrung des Deutschen Reichs war von Anfang
\nan \u00fcber die Verfolgung und Ermordung der Armenier informiert. Als der evangelische Theologe Dr. Johannes
\nLepsius am 5. Oktober 1915 im Deutschen Reichstag die Ergebnisse seiner im Juli\/August 1915 in Konstantinopel
\ndurchgef\u00fchrten Recherchen vortrug, wurde das gesamte Thema von der deutschen Reichsregierung unter Zensur
\ngestellt. Ebenso wurde sein \u201eBericht \u00fcber die Lage des Armenischen Volkes in der T\u00fcrkei\u201c, den er direkt an die
\nReichstagsabgeordneten geschickt hatte, 1916 von der deutschen Milit\u00e4rzensur verboten und beschlagnahmt und
\nden Abgeordneten erst nach dem Ende des Ersten Weltkriegs 1919 ausgeh\u00e4ndigt. Trotz dringender Eingaben
\nvieler deutscher Pers\u00f6nlichkeiten aus Wissenschaft, Politik und den Kirchen, darunter Politiker wie Philipp Scheidemann,
\nKarl Liebknecht oder Matthias Erzberger und bedeutende Pers\u00f6nlichkeiten aus der evangelischen und
\nkatholischen Kirche wie z. B. Adolf von Harnack und Lorenz Werthmann, unterlie\u00df es die deutsche Reichsregierung,
\nauf ihren osmanischen Verb\u00fcndeten wirksamen Druck auszu\u00fcben.
\nAuch die Akten des Ausw\u00e4rtigen Amts, die auf Berichten der deutschen Botschafter und Konsuln im Osmanischen
\nReich beruhen, dokumentieren die planm\u00e4\u00dfige Durchf\u00fchrung der Massaker und Vertreibungen. Sie stellen
\ndie wichtigste staatliche \u00dcberlieferung zu den damaligen Geschehnissen dar. Das Ausw\u00e4rtige Amt hat diese Akten
\nbereits vor vielen Jahren zug\u00e4nglich gemacht. Bereits 1998 wurde Armenien ein kompletter Satz dieser Akten auf
\nMikrofiche \u00fcbergeben. Die T\u00fcrkei hat anschlie\u00dfend ebenfalls einen Satz erworben.<\/p>\n

Vorabfassung – wird durch die lektorierte Fassung ersetzt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Unofficial translation of the resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n

Application<\/strong>
\n the CDU \/ CSU, SPD and Alliance 90 \/ The Greens<\/strong>
\n Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians and other Christian minorities in the years 1915 and 1916<\/strong>
\nThe Bundestag is requested to adopt:
\nI. The German Bundestag notes:
\nThe German Bundestag bows to the victims of the expulsions and massacres of the Armenians and other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire, which began over a century ago. It deplores the actions of the former Young Turk government, which led to the almost total annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Likewise, were members of other Christian ethnic groups, especially Aramaic \/ Assyrian and Chaldean Christians of deportations and massacres affected.<\/p>\n

On behalf of the former Young Turk regime began on 24 April 1915 at the Ottoman Constantinople Opel scheduled expulsion and extermination of more than a million ethnic Armenians. Their fate exemplifies the history of mass extermination, ethnic cleansing, expulsions and even genocides, of which the 20th century is marked in such a terrible manner. We are aware of the uniqueness of the Holocaust, contributes to Germany guilt and responsibility.<\/p>\n

The Bundestag deplores the inglorious role of the German Reich, which has not tried as a military ally of the Ottoman Empire despite clear information also on the part of German diplomats and missionaries on organized expulsion and annihilation of the Armenians to stop these crimes against humanity. The commemoration of the German Parliament is also an expression of special respect before probably oldest Christian nation on earth.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag reaffirmed its decision of 2005 (Drs. 15\/5689), which was dedicated to the memory of the victims as well as the historical analysis of the events and the objective pursued to contribute to reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. Orators of all factions have the centennial commemoration, April 24, 2015, during the debate in the German Bundestag and in particular the President condemned on the eve of the debate the Armenian Genocide, remembered the victims and called for reconciliation. The German Empire bears partial responsibility for the events.<\/p>\n

The Bundestag is committed to special historical responsibility of Germany. This includes supporting the Turks and Armenians, one looking through the trenches of the past away for ways of reconciliation and understanding. This reconciliation process has stalled in recent years and desperately needs new impulses.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag honors his memory of the unimaginably gruesome crimes not only their victims, but also those in the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire, the more than one hundred years ago in difficult circumstances and against the resistance of their respective governments in a variety of ways for the have used the rescue of Armenian women, children and men.<\/p>\n

Today school, university and civic education in Germany comes to the task of picking up the processing of the expulsion and extermination of Armenians as part of the analysis of the history of ethnic conflicts in the 20th century in the curricula and materials and to provide future generations. In particular, the provinces have an important role.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag is of the opinion that the commemoration of the victims of the massacre and expulsion of Armenians also makes a contribution to integration and peaceful coexistence taking into account of the German role, including its referral to fellow citizens of Turkish and Armenian origin.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag welcomes the increase of initiatives and contributions in the fields of science, civil society, art and culture in Turkey, which have the processing of the crimes against the Armenians and reconciliation between Armenians and Turks aim.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag encourages the federal government to continue to dedicate to the memory and the processing of the expulsions and massacres of the Armenians in 1915 attention. Also, the German Bundestag welcomes any initiative to give this concern impetus and support. Our own historical experience of Germany shows how difficult it is for a company to work up the dark chapter of its own past. Nevertheless, an honest appraisal of history is the most important basis for reconciliation both within the company as well as with others. It is to differentiate between the guilt of the perpetrators and the responsibility of those alive today. The memories of the past reminds us Moreover, to remain vigilant and to prevent hatred and destruction repeatedly threaten people and nations.<\/p>\n

The German Bundestag perceives the efforts made since 2005 attempts by representatives of Armenia and Turkey, to meet each other in questions of memory and the normalization of interstate relations. However, the relationship between the two countries is still exciting and characterized by mutual distrust. Germany should support Turks and Armenians, one to approach. A structural analysis of the history is indispensable as a basis for understanding the present and future.<\/p>\n

A relaxation and normalization of relations between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia is also important for the stabilization of the Caucasus region. Germany sees itself as part of the EU’s neighborhood policy due to its historical role in the German-armenischt\u00fcrkischen relations have a special responsibility.<\/p>\n

II. The German Bundestag calls on the Federal Government: – in the spirit of the debate of the German Bundestag of 24 April 2015 100th anniversary continues to a broad public discussion of the expulsion and the almost complete annihilation of the Armenians 1915\/1916 and the role of the German contribute Empire,
\n– Encouraging the Turkish side to openly confront the former expulsions and massacres, in order to lay the necessary foundation for a reconciliation with the Armenian people,<\/p>\n

– To continue to ensure that between Turks and Armenians by the refurbishment of past rapprochement, reconciliation and forgiveness of historical guilt is achieved,<\/p>\n

– Continue to support scientific, civic and cultural activities in Turkey and Armenia and to promote the scope of the budgeted that serve the exchange and approach as well as the appraisal of history between Turks and Armenians,<\/p>\n

– To support a reappraisal of historical events by Turkey and Armenia as a first step to reconciliation and long overdue improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations actively, for example, and through fellowships for scientists or supporting civil society forces from both countries who themselves worked up reconciliation involved,<\/p>\n

– To encourage Turkish and Armenian government representatives to continue the currently stagnant process of normalization of interstate relations between the two countries,<\/p>\n

– Defend against the Turkish and the Armenian government for the ratification of the protocols signed in 2009 in Zurich, which provide for a Commission for the scientific investigation of the history, the resumption of diplomatic relations and the opening of the common border,<\/p>\n

– Advocate that the nursing begun recently of Armenian cultural heritage is continued and intensified in the Republic of Turkey – continue to promote within the framework of financial possibilities within Germany initiatives and projects in science, civil society and culture that a confrontation with the events of 1915\/1916 have on the subject.<\/p>\n

Volker Kauder, Gerda Hasselfeldt and Group
\nThomas Oppermann and Group
\nKatrin G\u00f6ring-Eckardt, Dr. Anton Hofreiter and Group<\/p>\n

Grounds<\/strong>
\nThe annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War was the largest and most momentous disaster in the more ancient history of the Armenian people. The deportations and mass killings fell after independent calculations over a million Armenians victim. Numerous independent historians, parliaments and international organizations designate the expulsion and extermination of Armenians as genocide. The commemoration of these expulsions and massacres is therefore in addition to religion and language is central to the identity of these people.
\nThe German Bundestag remembers the events also in the context of current remembrance of the First World War. The German Empire was a military ally of the Ottoman Empire. The then German government, which was informed about the persecution and murder of Armenians, but remained inactive. The Federal Republic of Germany considers itself the responsibility to promote the work-up of this crime and to keep memories of them.
\nTo this day, Turkey denies, contrary to the facts, that the expulsion, persecution and murder of Armenians have a regularity underlain or that the mass deaths during the resettlement treks, and the massacres were intended by the Ottoman government.
\nOverall, the extent of the massacres and deportations in Turkey is still doubted. However, there are opposite trends. In 2008, there was reason to hope for a Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, as the President of both countries jointly attended a soccer match and had thus demonstrated their will for further discussions. 2009 joint protocol was signed between the Foreign Ministers of both countries, which envisaged, inter alia, the establishment of a commission which should investigate the history of science. This protocol was adopted but until now none of the parliaments of both countries.
\nA reconciliation between the two nations is only conceivable if the events 100 years ago solved fundamentally, and the facts are not disputed. This requires that scientists and journalists in Turkey work of repression in dealing with the history of the expulsion and murder of Armenians freely and without fear. There are already numerous initiatives in Turkey, having the processing of the massacre on the subject. The issue has been discussed for several years in the Turkish public controversy increased. These developments are to be welcomed as well as cross-border civil society projects that are financially supported by the Foreign Office for many years.
\nThe German Reich was also involved as a military ally of the Ottoman Empire deep in these operations. Both the political and the military leadership of the German Reich was informed from the beginning of the persecution and murder of the Armenians. As the Protestant theologian Dr. Johannes Lepsius on 5 October 1915 at the German Reichstag recited the results of its conducted in Konstantin Opel in July \/ August 1915 search, the whole issue of the German government was put under censorship. Likewise, its “Report on the Situation of the Armenian People in Turkey”, which he had sent directly to the Reichstag, in 1916 banned by the German military censorship and seized and handed out to the deputies after the end of World War 1919th Despite urgent inputs of many German personalities from science, politics and the churches, including politicians like Philipp Scheidemann, Karl Liebknecht or Matthias Erzberger and major figures from the Protestant and Catholic churches such. As Adolf von Harnack and Lorenz Werthmann, it failed the German Reich government to exert on their Ottoman ally effective pressure.
\nThe files of the Foreign Office, which are based on reports of German ambassadors and consuls in the Ottoman Empire, document the normal running of the massacres and expulsions. They represent the most important state tradition is to the former events. The Federal Foreign Office has made these files available many years ago. In 1998 Armenia was handed over a complete set of documents on microfiche. Turkey has subsequently also acquired a set.<\/p>\n

Yes, It\u2019s Genocide<\/strong><\/p>\n

(NEW YORK TIMES<\/a>, June 3) In what has become an almost annual exercise, Turkey has thrown a fit because someone has spoken the truth about its dark past. This time, it has pulled its ambassador from Berlin and threatened dire consequences over a resolution, passed overwhelmingly by the German Parliament on Thursday, declaring that the century-old massacre of Ottoman Armenians was a genocide. That is what Turkey does every time a foreign government dares to challenge its discredited claim that the Armenians perished in the cruel fog of World War I, and not in a premeditated attempt to eradicate a people. Germany\u2019s claims to the contrary, Turkish legislators huffed in a statement, are \u201cbased on biased, distorted and various subjective political motives.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, it was a genocide, the first of the 20th century. Historians have established beyond reasonable doubt that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were deliberately killed or sent on death marches in 1915-16 by the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, fearful that they and other Christian minorities could side with Russia in the war.<\/p>\n

For Armenians, millions of whom were left scattered around the world, gaining recognition that the slaughter was a genocide \u2014 a deliberate atrocity, and not collateral damage \u2014 has been a long and passionate national mission, which has resulted in formal recognition by more than 20 countries.<\/p>\n

The Armenians are fully justified in their quest for a historical reckoning. But the more the world has recognized that, the more aggressively Turkey has stormed and shouted. A couple of years ago, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was still a relatively broad-minded prime minister, he seemed prepared to take a more conciliatory stance on the Armenian issue. It never happened, and the increasingly autocratic Mr. Erdogan warned Germany\u2019s chancellor, Angela Merkel, in advance that relations with Germany \u2014 \u201cbilateral, diplomatic, economic, trade, political and military\u201d \u2014 would be damaged by the resolution.<\/p>\n

Mr. Erdogan\u2019s threats are not without effect. Turkey is a crucial NATO ally in the upheavals of the Middle East, and especially important to Germany and the European Union as they try to stem the flow of Syrian refugees. Ms. Merkel was not present for the vote, though she did not oppose it. President Obama, who as a candidate in 2008 pledged to recognize the events of 1915 as a genocide, has failed to do so.<\/p>\n

The damage done to Turkey\u2019s relations with the Armenians and its NATO allies is the responsibility of that large majority of Turks who refuse to acknowledge a dark blot on their history, not those who seek to commemorate the tragedy. The Germans, who have admirably confronted the terrible genocide in their own history, did the right thing in defying Mr. Erdogan\u2019s threats.<\/p>\n

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

German Parliament Recognizes Armenian Genocide, Angering Turkey (NEW YORK TIMES) BERLIN \u2014 The German Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a symbolic but fraught resolution on Thursday declaring the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a genocide, escalating tensions with Turkey at a diplomatically delicate juncture. The Turkish government angrily denounced the vote as \u201cnull and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Germany-Bundestag.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions\/893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}