Chapter 5: Those Responsible for the Genocide

Who was the driving force behind the Armenian genocide? The German diplomatic sources seldom go into this directly. But there are a number of references, some of them hidden, which show who the German observers considered to be the initiators of the deportations and the annihilation of the Armenians. Sometimes there is just talk of “from above”, sometimes of the “ government”, but for the most part of the Young Turk Party (“Ittihad ve Terakki”), i.e. the “Union for Unity and Progress”, or generally of the Young Turk “committees” or “clubs”.

(I) The Initiators

1) The Leadership in Constantinople

The German observers or their informants often did not know who exactly issued the orders, when they wrote ”from above“ or “from Constantinople“. They then often indicated “the government”, although especially in the case of the observers in the provinces it was not always clear whether they actually meant the government as such or simply the leaders. Thus, the team of leaders of the Young Turks, the radical wing of the party, the triumvirate Talaat, Enver and Djemal, or only one of them are sometimes concealed behind the “government”. The decisive factor was that these were orders, instructions or directives “from above”.

Roessler reported that the Vali from Aleppo, Djelal Bey, had said to him

that apparently in the Turkish government apparently a current is gaining the upper hand which is inclined to consider all Armenians as suspicious or even hostile. He thinks of this development as a misfortune for his fatherland [1915-04-12-DE-001]

Consul Bergfeld reports from Trebizond:

The local Vali simply refers to instructions from Constantinopel. [1915-06-27-DE-013]

Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Wangenheim’s deputy, speaks in a report of a

coarse action, which the government not only tolerated but apparently supported. [1915-08-12-DE-001]

Without stating explicitly who he is talking about, Consul Buege from Adana speaks of the

Armenians ordered to be murdered. [1915-09-10-DE-011]

Consul Roessler from Aleppo writes:

A Turkish officer, who, because of these occurrences, was taking the Kaymakam of Ras ul Ain to task, received the calm answer that he was acting on orders. [1916-04-27-DE-001]

Chargé d’Affaires Radowitz reports that the Vali of Smyrna said that

The orders for the expulsion of the Armenians had come from Constantinople. [1916-11-13-DE-001]

The Ambassador on Extraordinary Mission in Constantinople, Kuehlmann, presents a memo from Liman von Sanders on the deportation of the Armenians from Smyrna:

The steps taken against the Armenians have been done so upon orders from Constantinople. [1916-11-17-DE-001]

2) The Role of the Young Turks

In many cases, however, the references to “above” definitely concern the Young Turk Party itself, the committees and the clubs. Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter reported on the “purging of the Erserum plain” by “irregulars”, as he calls them:

The Armenian population maintains that the Turkish party “Ittihad” instigates this movement. [1914-12-30-DE-001]

Wangenheim writes that the Armenians made responsible for these events:

The clubs affiliated with the Comité Union et Progrès, in which many dishonest elements are said to be present. It is said that these clubs, in particular the one in Erzerum, have set up formal proscription lists, and a series of political murders which were committed on various respected Armenians since December of last year are attributed to their activities. [1915-04-15-DE-002]

General Posseldt, the German commander of the fortress in Erzerum,

confirms the activities of the Committee in Erzerum; the conscription list includes the names of 22 Armenians. [1915-04-26-DE-011]

Sometimes references to Young Turk committees are only recognisable as such through additional remarks, for example, that the protagonists spoke French to each other, which was typical for the Young Turks. The consul in Trebizond, Bergfeld, reports on the German wartime volunteer, Schlimme, who rode the Erzerum-Ersindjan-Trebizond route on horseback and reported that

between Mamachatun and Ersindjan he met a gang of about 400 men with French-speaking leaders, who seemed to be waiting for the Armenians from Erzerum. [1915-07-02-DE-011]

Furthermore, Bergfeld reports that

larger bands of ambushers under French-speaking leaders have been seen near Erzerum and Baiburt. ... Without being able to produce any evidence for my opinion, I cannot help thinking that the Young Turkish Committee can be regarded as the driving force behind the measures being taken against the Armenians. The Central Committee seems to want to finally put an end to the Armenian question in this way. [1915-07-09-DE-002]

Ambassador Wangenheim:

On the 8^th inst., Mr. von Scheubner sent a telegram from Erzerum that, according to the latest news from Baiburt, Erzindjan and Tershan, the Armenian massacres habe begun there once again. He is of the opinion that these atrocities by the committee, whose members there play a fateful role as co-government, are being supported under the connivance of the authorities. [1915-07-09-DE-001]

Scheubner-Richter himself reports that the action, which was comparatively mild in the beginning,

was suddenly put to an end through some sort of influence by the committee. [1915-07-28-DE-015]

Concerning the men behind the Erzerum Committee, Scheubner-Richter writes:

In the local committee, though, it was a small group of fairly inferior individuals who terrorized the others and who, motivated by their personal interests and greed, preached a campaign of destruction against the Armenians. ... Unfortunately, [the influence of these men ]... is stronger than one is generally prepared to believe. ... the way in which the Armenian question was handled has shown clearly what a dangerous instrument governmental power is in the hands of people who are not prepared to act responsibly and who have only their own interests at heart. [1915-08-05-DE-002]

The German vice-consul continues in his report:

a very respected and influential Bey, added that although Armenian massacres had taken place formerly, they were generally restricted to battles amongst the men, but that now, against the instructions in the Koran, thousands of innocent women and children were being murdered. This was not being done by enraged mobs, but systematically and by the order of the government, "the committee", as he added with emphasis. [1915-08-05-DE-002]

Lieutenant Colonel Stange, stationed in Erzerum, had important insider information:

The expulsion and destruction of the Armenians was decided on by the Committee of the Young Turks in Constantinople, was well organised by them. [1915-08-23-DE-013]

Consul Bergfeld in Trebizond holds the Young Turks indirectly responsible:

Although the Vali from Trapezunt is a member of the Young Turk Committee, he endeavoured to keep his independence and to lessen the measures against the Armenians as far as possible. His influence was probably responsible for the recall of the local inspector and leader of the Committee, Nai Bey, which has meanwhile been carried out. Unfortunately, he receives no support whatsoever from his officials and the police divisions. [1915-08-27-DE-013]

Consul Roessler made the same observations in Aleppo. He writes:

I am not expecting success of any kind from the steps taken by the Vali, who is powerless against ... the Young Turk Committee. [1915-09-09-DE-011]

Consul Buege from Adana reports that

the local committee leader, Ismail Safa, threatened general massacres if the Armenians were not deported. [1915-09-10-DE-011]

Wangenheim reports on the Armenian doctor, Djilinguirian, who was one of the Armenian intellectuals arrested on 24 April 1915 and who died under mysterious circumstances.

It seems reasonable to suspect that the assault (of which Dr. Djilinguirian was the victim) was ordered by the leaders of the Committee and tolerated, if not aided and abetted by the authorities. But based on the situation it is not possible to furnish positive evidence for this, nor will the proceedings which have been initiated against the murderers shed any light upon this matter. [1915-10-05-DE-011]

Chargé d’Affaires von Radowitz reports.

The Vali has declared for his own justification that the Young Turkish Committee in Smyrna was becoming more and more dissatisfied with his leniency towards the Armenians and therefore his position in Constantinople was shaken. [1916-11-13-DE-001]

Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter writes about a Turkish officer:

I knew that he did not condone the rigorous measures of the other committee members. [1916-12-04-DE-001]

Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter speaks of the

rigorous attempts of the Young Turkish Committee [1916-12-04-DE-001]

The Ambassador on Extraordinary Mission in Constantinople, Kuehlmann, held the continued existence of Armenian and Greek revolutionary parties responsible for the conversion of the Young Turk leaders. He writes that this led

to a reversal and to a complete victory of the stance of the advocates of Turkish nationalism within the Committee. The vast destruction of the Armenians which was carried out on a vast scale ... is the result of this political direction. [1917-02-16-DE-003]

Only one German plainly names names: Otto Liman von Sanders. In 1913, the Prussian general was appointed head of the German Military Mission in Turkey and re-organiser of the Turkish army. As Turkish marshal and general in command, he headed the defence of the Dardanelles. Like all German top military personnel, he had important knowledge of internal Turkish affairs, probably more than the top German diplomats. Liman on the ordered deportation of the Armenians from Smyrna:

The Vali told me in confidence that he had enforced the rules in agreement with the Minister Talaat Bey and other significant persons (committee members). [1916-11-17-DE-001]

Talaat

In the opinion of German observers, Minister of the Interior Talaat was, in fact, the person chiefly responsible for the genocide. Consul General Schmidt from Jerusalem reports that the Minister of Naval Affairs and associate in the triumvirate, Djemal, said about Talaat:

Talaat Bey decides how far the deportation should be extended. [1915-09-09-DE-012]

Von Tyszka, the German journalist, on Talaat:

Talaat is extreme. What he wants has up until now happened. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

Ambassador Wolff-Metternich states more precisely:

The brain behind the deportation of the Armenians is Talaat Bey. [1915-12-07-DE-001]

Von Tyszka characterised Talaat’s personality thus:

An official reason for carrying out the expulsion of the Armenians was the uprising in Wan. A man like Talaat Bey, possessing such an iron will, tends towards the most extreme measures when he believes them to be right. He will not let himself be influenced by anyone and favours any kind of report if it brings him closer to his goal. For this man the expulsion of the Armenians after the uprising in Wan became a necessity. The resulting injustices and hardships are of no importance. Talaat Bey is the optimist par excellence, especially regarding his own decisions. In the same way as he gives commands he accepts all complaints quite indifferently. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

Not only did Talaat decree indifferently, but also cynically. According to the Armenian expert at the German embassy in Constantinople, Johann Mordtmann, Talaat told him:

The deportations were a means of protecting the Armenians from worse, namely massacres. [1915-05-29-DE-011]

After the majority of the Armenians had been deported or already murdered, the Chargé d’Affaires, Goeppert, notes that Talaat came to the embassy and declared the Armenian question to be settled,

the measures against the Armenians had, anyway, been stopped. “The Armenian question no longer exists.” [1915-08-31-DE-011]

According to Ambassador Wolff-Metternich, Talaat informed him at the height of the actions to kill in the south-east:

Only the deportation of the whole could ensure security. [1915-12-18-DE-001]

Halil

On the other hand, there were also Turkish statesmen at the top level who obviously disapproved of the Armenian genocide. One of these was the President of the Chamber, Halil Bey, who according to Ambassador Hohenlohe-Langenburg seems not to condone the government’s actions against the Armenians and

maintained that the massacres and other atrocities were not approved by the government, but the government was not always in a position to prevent the excesses of the masses, also that the subordinated authorities had made mistakes in carrying out the deportation measures. [1915-08-12-DE-001]

Said Halim

Grand Vizier Halim was also opposed to the deportations, according to evidence given by the German diplomats. Wolff-Metternich:

On this occasion I intentionally raised official protests with the Grand Vizier and not with a member of the triumvirate as it is known to me that he disapproves of the Armenian persecutions. [1915-12-09-DE-001]

Wolff-Metternich reports to Berlin that the Grand Vizier

had not been in agreement with the treatment which the Armenian population had received. [1915-12-09-DE-001]

Djemal

The Minister of Naval Affairs, Djemal Pasha, was obviously more difficult to judge. Ambassador Paul Count Wolff-Metternich about him:

Djemal Pasha, who also belongs to those Turks who are ashamed, had up until now met with resistance in the Committee to the fulfilment of his wishes. Recently, however, as has been communicated to me by his Chief of Staff, Colonel von Kress, they have now been granted. [1915-12-09-DE-001]

Consul Roessler also reports:

Djemal Pasha, the highest commanding officer in the 4^th Army Division, was not personally in favour of destroying the Armenians. His willpower was not strong enough to put a stop to it all, but it is a relief to be able to note a conciliatory gesture just once within this appalling picture. ... If the conditions among the ranks of the 4^th Army, although they are bad enough, still cannot compare with those of the 3 ^rd Army, then, besides the differences caused by the geographical and political situation as well as by the varying conditions of the communication routes, the influence of Djemal Pasha can also be taken into account. [1916-01-03-DE-002]

Metternich reports that Consul Loytved from Damascus had spoken with Djemal in connection with the question of forwarding American aid; the latter

told me in confidence that he personally would like to relieve the lot of the Armenians within the scope of his possibilities, but that he had received strict orders from Constantinople to prevent any German and American participation in assistance for the Armenians, because the Armenians’ inner resistance against the Turkish government could only be overcome if they were taught that they could not expect any support whatsoever from any foreign government. [1916-03-29-DE-002]

However, Djemal’s influence with his colleagues in Constantinople did seem to be limited, and Consul Loytved Hardegg indicated this to Hussein Kasim Bey, the commissioner responsible for the Armenians:

I pointed out the anti-Armenian atmosphere among the leading committee members in Constantinople, against which even Djemal Pasha was seemingly no match. [1916-05-30-DE-001]

3) Those Responsible in the Provinces:

a) The Agitators

The German consuls and observers knew more about those with whom they often worked together on a daily basis than about those responsible far away in Constantinople.

General Posseldt, the German commander of the fortress in Erzerum, reports:

The head behind this anti-Armenian movement is said to be a certain Schakir Bey ..., his acolyte Halil and the Director of Police in Erzerum. [1915-04-26-DE-011]

Lieutenant Colonel Stange, stationed in Erzerum, names those responsible for the genocide in Erzerum:

Hilmi Bey, Schakir Bey, the Member of Parliament for Erserum, Seyfoulla Bey; also here in office: the Vali, Tahsin Bey, the Director of Police, Choulousse Bey, and finally Mahmud Kiamil Pasha, who, besides the Director of Police, had proven to be the most brutal in executing the orders. [1915-08-23-DE-013]

Roessler from Aleppo:

A special official for the implementation of the government’s policy against Armenians, Eyub Bey, has been sent to Aleppo, where he is directly answerable to Fakri (Bey) Pasha. [1915-06-03-DE-011]

One of the most cruel Valis was Reschid Bey from Diarbekir. When Vice-Consul Holstein from Mossul complained to the Vali of his region about the deportees from Diarbekir, who had all been killed, the latter said

that only the Vali of Diarbekir was responsible. [1915-06-10-DE-011]

Ambassador Wangenheim writes in a memo to the Supreme Porte which was given to Talaat personally:

Le Vali de Diarbékir, Réchid bey a dans les derniers temps organisé des massacres en règle parmi la population chré tienne de sa circonscription, sans distinguer les Arméniens des Chrétiens appartenant à d’autres confession, et sans se soucier s’il s’agit de coupables ou d’innocents. A ce propos on rapporte le fait suivant, qui s’est passé tout dernièrement: Sur les ordres de Réchid bey des gendarmes de Diarbékir se rendirent à Mardine et y arrêtèrent l’évê que Arménien avec un grand nombre d’Arméniens et d’ autres Chrétiens, en tout sept cent personnes; tout ce monde fut conduit pendant la nuit à un endroit hors de la ville et égorgé comme des moutons. Le nombre total des victimes de ces massacres est é valué à 2000 âmes. [1915-07-12-DE-012]

The former Mutessariff of Mardin said to Consul Holstein:

The Vali of Diarbekir, Reschid Bey, is causing havoc like an eager bloodhound amongst the Christians of his Vilayets [1915-07-10-DE-011]

Holstein a short while later:

Everyone knows that the Vali of Diarbekir, for example, is the instigator of the terrible crimes committed on the Christians in his Vilayet. [1915-08-14-DE-012]

Vice-Consul Hoffmann from Aleppo:

The worst seems to have happened in the Vilayet Diarbekir, of which the Vali Reschid Bey ... has declared publicly that he will tolerate no Christian in his Vilayet. [1916-01-03-DE-001]

In the documents published here there are only short references to other provincial officials. The German official of the tobacco Regie, von Holbach, who has lived in Turkey for many years, reported to Mordtmann, the German Consul General who was responsible for reporting on the Armenians in Turkey, that the Vali of Adana, Hakki Bey,

tried at the beginning to protect the Armenains but was then ordered to Constantinople, and since his return has been relentlessly against the Armenians. [1915-08-21-DE-011]

After a discussion with Alma Johansson in Musch, the Swedish sister in the service of the “German Christian Charity-Organisation for the Orient” , Mordtmann notes:

Early Wednesday, she went to the Mutessarrif, Servet Bej, to secure protection and a reprieve for the institution and its occupants. The Mutessarrif, an intimate friend of Enver Pasha, conducted himself like a man possessed and rejected the requests brusquely. [1915-11-06-DE-012]

Lechnig, the clerk at the German consulate, reports on Ghareb Bey, the Kaimakam responsible for Tell Abiad:

He introduced himself to me as an opponent of the deportation of the Armenians. ... On the other hand, Mr. B., who is considered to be absolutely reliable, told me the Kaymakam had said in his presence he could watch for hours on end the Armenians ”dying wretchedly”.
He introduced himself to me as an opponent of these deportations of the Armenians. … On the other hand, Mr. B., who can be considered to be absolutely reliable, told me the Kaymakam had said in his presence he could watch the Armenians ”dying wretchedly” for hours on end. [1916-01-03-DE-001]

Bastendorff, the German engineer at the Baghdad Railway, reports from Ras ul Ain:

The Kaimakam actually declared one day: “My heart is not as sensitive as that of the Europeans; it doesn’t bother me to watch these people dying.” [1916-01-03-DE-002]

Jakob Kuenzler, the Swiss deacon working in Urfa for German institutions, reports to Roessler, the responsible consul, on a massacre near Urfa with about 1000 Armenian victims:

At the beginning of August, two Beys arrived from Diarbekir. ... Chalil and Ahmed Bey ... gave the order to begin a massacre. [1916-01-03-DE-002]

Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter travelled with Turkish Committee members through the east and writes about them:

including Dr. Fuad, whom I knew to be one of the instigators of the Armenian massacres in Vilayet Trapezunt. [1916-12-04-DE-001]

b) The Moderates

There were several higher provincial officials who opposed the annihilation of the Armenians or at least attempted to alleviate the fate of the deportees. The most well-known among the Valis who refused to take part in the murder of the Armenians was the Governor General of Aleppo, Djelal Bey, who was relieved of his duties because of his mild policies.

Consul Roessler from Aleppo:

Thus, the Vali Djelal Bey is eliminated; the government knows that he favours a milder policy. [1915-06-03-DE-011]

Roessler also reports on him:

Djelal Bey, the Vali from Aleppo, has received orders to change places with the Vali from Angora. The reason for his being relieved of his duties is the Armenian policy. Until now, the Vali had not banned any Armenians from the Vilayet Aleppo and had vouched that they would remain calm. Obviously, government also wants to have a free hand here. [1915-06-21-DE-013]

Tahsin Bey, the Governor General of Erzerum, was another Vali who at least attempted to ease the fate of the Armenian deportees. General Posseldt, the German commander of the fortress in Erzerum, writes about him:

Tahsin Bey, the Vali, has done his utmost to prevent slaughters from being carried out. [1915-04-26-DE-011]

Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter often spoke with the Vali and thought highly of him. He writes that Tahsin,

due to his previous involvement in Van, has valuable experience in the handling of the Armenian question and ... has a moderate point of view. [1915-05-15-DE-012]

Scheubner-Richter had several discussions with the Vali on the persecution of the Armenians and reports:

He admitted that the events were ignominious. [1915-06-22-DE-014]

The German Red Cross doctor stationed in Ersindjan, Neukirch, reports that several trains full of deported Armenians from Erzerum had arrived in his town in relatively good condition, and writes:

The credit for this proper transportation of the Armenians from Erzerum obviously goes to the Vali there, Taxim-Bey. [1915-11-06-DE-011]

Another Vali who endeavoured to soften the fate of the Armenians was Heidar Bey in Mossul. In connection with the deportees from Diarbekir, who were all killed, Vice-Consul Holstein from Mossul writes:

I have expressed my deepest abhorrence against these crimes to the local government; the local Vali expresses his regret. [1915-06-10-DE-011]

Vice-Consul Wustrow from Mossul confirms this indirectly when he reports a deterioration in the situation, because

Vali Heidar Bey, who was reliable in such matters and did not wish the Armenians any harm, has meanwhile been relieved of his post. [1917-08-15-DE-001]

According to evidence given by the German journalist, von Tyszka, the Valis of Smyrna and Adrianople were also moderates:

The Valis of Smyrna, Rahmi Bey and from Adrianople, Hadji Adil Bey, explained that they did not wish to expel the Armenians. After arriving to give their reports to the Minister both stuck to their decisions. Also a sign of inconsistency in the Committee. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

Apart from the highest officials in the large districts, there were also subordinate sub-prefects and government presidents under them who opposed the deportations, for which some of them paid with their lives.

Vice-Consul Holstein reports from Mossul:

Recently, at the order of the Vali from Diarbekir, the Kaymakam from Midiat (a Moslem) was murdered, because he had refused to allow Christians in his district to be massacred. [1915-07-16-DE-012]

Consul Roessler reports from Aleppo:

As has only belatedly become known here, two Mutesarrifs from Mardin were removed from office, because they refused to carry out the government's orders against the Armenians. [1915-09-27-DE-014]

And von Tyszka, the German journalist, reports from Constantinople:

The Kaymakam of Sharkyschla has in the meantime been arrested and taken to Constantinople. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

Suad Bey, the Mutessarif from Deir-es-Zor, also attempted to assist the Armenians before he was relieved of his post by a Circassian who pursued the annihilation of the few surviving Armenians. Roessler:

The Mutesarrif Suad Bey, a humane kind of person, who has lived for many years in Egypt, is one of the few Turkish officials, who tries to mitigate the horrific orders of the government in their implementation. [1916-04-27-DE-001]

(II) The Executives

Those who implemented the genocide were recruited from various fields. On the one hand, the lower officials from the provincial authorities were possible executives. Furthermore, soldiers are mentioned in several reports who took part in the deportations and acts of annihilation. In principle, the gendarmes, who are mentioned in many reports as escorts, were responsible for national security. Like the soldiers, it would have been their job to escort the deportees and, thus, to protect them. But generally they merely drove the defenceless Armenians further along, often using brutal methods, and also took part directly in acts of killing, as is made evident in the German sources. The fourth decisive party were special troops, made up partly of volunteers and partly of recruited prisoners. In some reports they are called “ Djettes” (spelled in various ways) or, according to the old name used in the 19^th century, “Bazibazuks”, but also “irregulars” or simply “volunteers”. In several cases, these special troops also appeared as ethnic groups: as “Ashirets”, Kurdish militia, or simply in the form of ethnic groups, Kurds especially and Circassians.

1) Government Agencies

References to the complicity of lower officials are seldom, because it was often a problem to identify them, but there are references to government agencies in general in several places, although just which government agencies are meant remains open.

Consul Roessler reports on corpses “all bound together in the same way, two by two, back to back”, which floated for more than three weeks on the Euphrates river:

This regularity indicates that they were not the result of butchery, but had been killed intentionally by the authorities. Rumour has it, and this is probable, that the bodies had been thrown into the river in Adiaman by soldiers. [1915-07-27-DE-001]

Vice-Consul Holstein:

Up to now the world has not experienced such atrocities which have been proven to be and are still being committed by officials in the Vilayet Diarbekir! [1915-08-14-DE-012]

Consul Roessler:

Thoughtlessness, lack of foresight and harshness on the part of the higher authorities and the brutality of the lower authorities work together so that the banned Armenians are, in part, not treated like human beings. [1915-09-27-DE-014]

Friedrich Schuchardt, the Director and Deputy Chairman of the German Christian Charity-Organisation for the Orient, writes to Bethmann Hollweg:

It was imprudent of our Mr. Ehmann to attach any importance whatsoever to the word of honour of a Turkish official. [1915-12-12-DE-002]

In his report, Roessler calls the deportations

the deliberate and intentional destruction of the deportees by Turkish state organs. [1916-01-03-DE-002]

and speaks of the

fact that has already been related frequently and just been confirmed once again, that the governmental organs have ordered and encouraged people to participate in the persecution of the Armenians ... [1916-01-03-DE-002]

After the annihilation of the Armenians was practically finished, the Turkish authorities disbanded the central deportation office in Aleppo. Consul Roessler on this point:

The deportation office has been disbanded. But in my opinion it would be wrong to assume from this that the government is in a more conciliatory mood towards the Armenians. Rather, this hardhearted work has practically been completed. The normal administrative authorities are sufficient for the epilogue. [1917-03-16-DE-001]

2) The Military

According to German sources, both Turkish officers and men also played a role in the implementation of both the deportations as well as the acts of annihilation. Naturally, the German diplomats are careful in matters of a military nature, because during a major war they were required to stay out of all military affairs. However, the sources also give references here to the entanglements of the Turkish military in the genocide.

Blank, the German missionary, reports on an officer who instructed his subordinates:

If one of them put up any resistance or should run away, they should shoot him down immediately. If not, the other would do this to him. [1915-05-27-DE-001]

According to Consul Bergfeld from Trebizond, the German wartime volunteer, Schlimme, reported

having learned from a reliable source that the Armenians who were deported from Ersindjan were massacred by soldiers in the hills behind Ersindjan. [1915-07-02-DE-011]

Consul Roessler writes on the “unusually well-attested butcheries in Tell Ermen”:

It has been proven that these murders on the part of the Kurds were carried out in the presence of the armed forces of the Turkish government, but probably even with their active participation. [1915-07-27-DE-001]

Scheubner-Richter reports on the annihilation of entire deportation trains in the Kemagh gorge:

I have been informed by reliable sources that the Turkish military ... were involved here. [1915-08-05-DE-002]

An Austrian observed:

In the Tscharschi even soldiers themselves were selling the belongings of the deportees. [1915-08-13-DE-001]

Lieutenant Colonel Stange writes on the fate of the Armenian men expelled from Trebizond; they were

led aside into the mountains and massacred with the help of military troops. [1915-08-23-DE-013]

Vice-Consul Holstein reports on the annihilation of the entire Christian population of Djeziré (in the Vilayet Diarbekir) which took place

with … the participation of the military. [1915-09-11-DE-011]

Holstein also reports on the arrival of

Halil’s troops which massacred in the north. [1915-11-04-DE-011]

Bastendorff, the German engineer at the Baghdad Railway, reports on Ras ul Ain:

There, the soldiers who supervised the railway had murdered and plundered all the Armenians who had settled near the railway. [1916-01-03-DE-002]

Roessler writes about a Syrian-Moslem engineer battalion which had been detailled for building bridges:

These people, who were transported in two days from Damascus to Ras ul Ain and who, as it can be presumed, did not know anything about the plight of the deported Armenians and therefore had not been influenced in any way, were quite horrified upon their arrival. They were of the opinion that the Armenians had been massacred by soldiers. [1916-04-27-DE-001]

Paula Schaefer, the German nun from the German Charity-Organisation, puts her observations of the area around Marash on record:

A transport of 500 - 1000 had to collect 100 - 200 Lira in one night, if they were to see the morning at all – this was the threat expressed by the cruel soldiers! ... It was a dazzling series of robberies and murders on the part of the police and soldiers! [1916-07-29-DE-001]

3) The Gendarmes

Generally, the deportation trains were accompanied by gendarmes. This police, responsible for national security, had once been well trained by the French, but then often had to take over other duties. The quality of the new appointments was quite miserable. Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter writes that they

mainly consist of completely untrained people who run away. [1915-06-22-DE-014]

According to the official version, the gendarmes were to protect the Armenians. However, only a few did so. The German sources confirm that things were very different in reality. The wartime volunteer, Carl Schlimme, who accompanied the Armenians placed in his care in June 1915, reports on the action of gendarmes. When he and his companions met up with a deportation train, some of the deportees begged him for bread:

When I gave them some they were beaten by the gendarmes. ... [and ] were also in a miserable state and were treated by the gendarmes like animals. ... The gendarmes accompanying us ... suggested several times that the Armenians should be massacred. [1915-08-05-DE-002]

Schlimme said that Turkish people living in the country had told him

that many women were raped and killed, especially by the gendarmes accompanying them. [1915-08-05-DE-002]

Scheubner-Richter reports that during the murder of Armenians in the Kemagh gorge

Turkish ... gendarmes were involved . [1915-08-05-DE-002]

Consul Roessler writes on Armenians killed in the east:

In most cases, the men were killed by gendarmes. [1915-08-12-DE-011]

Roessler reports on maltreatment by the gendarmes which he witnessed in Aleppo when deportees were passing through:

Using whips, the gendarmes drove the wretched, emaciated creatures, many of whom had a death-look about them, through the streets of Aleppo to the train station without permitting them to drink a drop of water or to receive a piece of bread here in the town. … Two women fell down to give birth and were only protected from being whipped by the gendarmes by town dwellers, who rushed to help them. [1915-09-27-DE-014]

Vice-Consul Hoffmann reports on observations made by his colleague, Holstein:

during his journey from Mossul to Aleppo, the people have been exhorted by gendarme patrols from Diarbekir and Mardin to ”finish off” the Armenians. [1916-01-03-DE-001]

Consul Roessler reports:

Defenceless and exhausted women and children are being beaten by gendarmes with whips and clubs. Scenes such as these have often been observed before quite often and have now been confirmed to me again by a German officer who has come from that direction and who has seen the misery with his own eyes. [1916-07-29-DE-001]

In a further report Hoffmann writes:

Many Armenians had gone into hiding in the homes of Arabs. The gendarmerie has been ordered to search for them in regular manhunts. Those hunted down are to be loaded into barges on the Euphrates and brought to Der-es-Sor. [1916-08-29-DE-001]

4) Special Organisations and Ethnos

Soldiers and gendarmes could, at least, be recognised because of their uniforms. Special organisations, on the other hand, acted in as secretive a manner as possible. Neither their social nor their ethnic origin were easy to recognise. Nevertheless, there are also references to them in the German sources, sometimes obliquely referred to as gangs or Tshetes. The first references came from the victims themselves. Wangenheim wrote that the Armenian side held the following groups responsible for the occurrences:

The irregulars and bands of marauders organised in military fashion and bearing the title Militia; these are being blamed for numerous plunders, murders, for robbery and other acts committed against the Armenian population of the country. [1915-04-15-DE-002]

Consul Bergfeld reports from Trebizond:

In fact, between Erzinghian and Diarbekir Armenians have been massacred on the mountain road, allegedly by Kurds, and larger bands of ambushers ... have been seen near Erzerum and Baiburt . After all it is remarkable that in that area, which up to now was considered safe, such large bands can be formed. [1915-07-09-DE-002]

Consul Roessler writes that the Turkish government

has called up Circassian volunteers and set them onto the Armenians. [1915-07-27-DE-001]

In July 1915, Ambassador Wangenheim reports on the murder of Armenians in Tell Ermen; von Mikusch, the German major, reported to Consul Roessler:

The militia and gendarmes have at least tolerated the massacre and probably taken part in it. Replacements (released prisoners) including their officer have spoken happily of massacres between Nisibin and Tell Ermen and have completely plundered an Armenian village, the inhabitants of which were massacred. [1915-07-09-DE-001]

Consul Roessler writes that the Turkish government

has released prisoners from the prisons, put them in soldiers’ uniforms and sent them to the areas where the deportees would be passing through. [1915-07-27-DE-001]

Lieutenant Colonel Stange reports on the fate of the deportees from Erzerum:

It is definitely a fact that these Armenians, almost without exception, were murdered in the region of Mamachatun (Tertjan) by so-called “Tschetes” ; (volunteers), Ashirets and similar scum. These acts were, in fact, tolerated by the military escort cadres, were even accomplished through their assistance. [1915-08-23-DE-013]

According to Stange, the annihilation of the Armenians was

was well organised … and carried out with the help of members of the Army and of voluntary bands. [1915-08-23-DE-013]

Vice-Consul Holstein reports that

gangs of … have massacred the entire Christian population of the town of Djeziré (Vilayet Diarbekir) with the tacit connivance of the local authorities and the participation of the military. [1915-09-11-DE-011]

The German journalist, von Tyszka:

The tchetes, the old bazibazuks from the war of 1877/8, were found once again where easy spoils and murder were to be had without any risk involved. As brave and humane in thought as the Turkish soldier is when he is not spurred on by religion, so cowardly is the irregular. It will certainly be claimed that the tchetes were instigated and led by Young Turks. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

And:

The women carried what they could hurriedly collect together. The tchetes followed this caravan of defenceless people and robbed, raped and murdered as they pleased. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

“Special organisations” are spoken of only once. Questions by a Swiss charity organisation are answered by the consulate in Mossul:

The prerequisite for effective aid is that the deportees are first definitely permitted to remain in towns to be determined, and not, as has happened until now and is still constantly happening, restlessly sent hither and thither at the discretion of whichever Turkish “special organisation” is dealing with those matters in a very unscrupulous manner. [1916-06-23-DE-001]

(III) Turkish Resistance to the Deportations

The German observers noted in several places that the liquidation of the Armenians was also condemned by many Turks. In his report on the events in Zeitun, i.e. before the quasi-official beginning of the deportations, Consul Roessler wrote that the initiators of a plan to deport all the Armenians from Zeitun and to raze the town

put pressure upon the rich Armenians in Marasch to sign this telegram. But they refused by asking to have it shown to the Mutesarrif first. The Mutesarrif objected to it, as did the Mufti of Marasch. [1915-04-12-DE-001]

Blank, the German missionary, writes about a train of deportees from Zeitun; the brutal action against the Armenians

had not met with the approval of many Turks. Some told me directly that it was incorrect to behave like this towards the poor people, but, they said, from our side we can do nothing about it. [1915-05-27-DE-001]

Consul Bergfeld reports from Trebizond:

In honour of the Turkish population on the whole it must be said that very many Turks are not in agreement with the expulsion of women and children. [1915-07-09-DE-002]

Consul Roessler quotes a Turkish major:

our Koran does not allow the sort of treatment that the Armenians are having to tolerate at present. [1915-07-27-DE-001]

Vice-Consul Scheubner-Richter writes from Erzerum:

The Turkish people themselves are by no means in agreement with this solution to the Armenian question and across the country they are now already experiencing the severe economic consequences of the deportation of the Armenians. [1915-07-28-DE-015]

And:

Nor is this policy of extermination approved of by large circles of the Turkish population who still think reasonably, especially by the landowners. These circles, which have worked together with Armenians and gotten along well with them, recognise the great economical and political danger of this new " system towards a solution of the Armenian question". [1915-08-05-DE-002]

The Geman journalist, von Tyszka, reports:

A Turkish lieutenant colonel, who had served in the Dardanelles and was in the capital city on a short holiday, tearfully described what his relatives from Trapezunt and Siwas had related to him concerning the Turkish massacres of the Armenians. [1915-10-01-DE-001]

Ambassador Wolff-Metternich reports to Berlin, that

there are still people who are ashamed of the Armenian persecutions among the older Turks. [1915-12-09-DE-001]

Vice-Consul Hoffmann from Alexandrette writes:

all kinds of Muslim voices can be heard condemning the atrocious acts, particularly those against women and children, as a sin against the commandments of Islam. [1916-01-03-DE-001]

Consul Loytved Hardegg reports on a conversation with the former Vali from Saloniki and Aleppo. He was deeply shocked by these occurrences and told the consul:

This cruel policy of extermination ... would greatly harm Turkey after peace had been achieved. [1916-05-30-DE-001]