New-York tribune., 1919-08-14
Germany and the Armenians

Germany and the Armenians
What did Germany do to save the
Armenian people from extinction? We
this question and from a source no less
competent than DR.. Johannes Lepsius,
chairman of the German Orient Mission
and the German-Armenian Society. He
is the German publcst who, when the
German press was working overtime to
clear the Turkish government from the
charges Of Armenian horrors, issued, on
the basis of first hand intelligence, his
Report on the Condition of the
Armenian People in Turkey" containing
the most sweeping Indictment so far at
hand of the methods and purposes of the
Young Turkish government and ndors-
ing in full the reports Of American wit
nesses and the findings of the Bryce
committee This book, printed at Pots
dam IN 1916, was not offered for public
circulation and the German press was
prohibited from referring to it. Only
the other day was the embargo removed
by the Ebert government.
A curious feature Of this book was the
omission of references to the share of
the German government in the RESPONSE
billty for the determination of Ar
menl~ns. DR.. Iepsius dismissed this
phase with q pcrtunctory remark to
the effect Germany has vainly protested
against the horrors The inference was
obvious that his failure to attempt a
defence implied an admission of Ger
many's guilt.
The correctness of this su,mise is now
proved beyond the possibility of doubt
by the appearance in Berlin of another
book of Dr.. Lepsius's, entitled "Germanv
and Armenia and purporting to be
based on the "entire material in the
archives of the German Foreign Office"
Inc Berlin newspapers are playing up
TINS book as complete vindicaton of
, Germany's course, and ridicule the
charges raised by the Entente press, to
winch, they say, Dr.. Lepsius has now
dealt a mortal blow.
Unfortunately for this argument the
German papers also print extracts from
DR.. Lepslus's new book, and the passages
quoted do not seem to bear out the accom-
panying editorial exultation. Yet it NAV
be assumed that the extracts were chosen
with view to making out the strongest
possible case for Germany's innocence.
Well, we are told that on July 4, 1915.
the German Ambassador at Constanti
O1IQ cub +CJ
Grand Vizier which repeated, in the
most solemn form, the representations.
made as early as June, against such
shameful occurrences as the massacre
of few hundred thousand Armenian
Christians. Strange to say, the memoran-
dunn, IN spite of its "most solemn FORM"
dld not make much of an impression, as
twelve days later Ambassador Wangen
helm wrote to the Imperial Chancellor:
The Porte continues to deport and an
initiate the Armenians. We cam
not prevent the Turkish government from
dong so, but must assign to her all re-
sponsibility for the political and eco
nome consequences Of the measures"
Nor did the herosm of the German
Ambassador stop here. In 1916, we
learn, Secretary Of State Zimmerman
declared IN a Rechstag committee that
the Turkish Minister of Interior had
said the Ambassador was making a bore
OF himself with his complaints about
Armenia. Finally, on March 19, 1918.
the Secretary of State said: 'Thc Ger
man government went to the limit in
eNertlng pressure on Turkey. No Ger
man government could have assumed the
/ responsibility for break with Turkey.
with the consequent exposure of our
southeastern 'front.'
In other words, Germany said nauph-
ty, naughty Turkey did not care. and
Germany shrugged her shoulders. This
is what the complete vindication" actu-
ally amounts to. 1t leaves the matter
standing just where it stood before. The
one significant fact is that this sort Of
stutf, even to-day, eight months after tho
so-called revolution, still is swallowed
by German public opinion