Panarmenian.net
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has published German historian Michael Hesemann’s work “The Armenian Genocide,” based on previously unpublished documents from the Vatican Secret Archives.
After studying numerous valuable documents, testimonies, letters, and reports preserved in the Vatican archives, Hesemann conclusively reaffirmed the reality and premeditated nature of the Armenian Genocide, the Mother See’s press service reported.
“I received permission in 2008 to study the Vatican archives. I was researching a completely different topic when I accidentally discovered a confidential folder on the Armenian Genocide, dealing with the persecution of Armenians. I was deeply impressed by what I found. It turns out the Pope personally wrote to the Sultan twice, urging him to stop the massacres,” the author said, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.
Hesemann contacted his Armenian colleague in Germany, Azat Ordukhanyan, asking whether historians in Armenia were aware of these documents.
“He confidently said no, they were not aware. He even contacted the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia to confirm that they also had no knowledge of them. I asked if he was interested in these documents. He insisted I continue the research, and I found more than 3,000 pages. Through them, the picture of what happened became clear and explicit. These documents had reached the Vatican from various sources,” Hesemann said.
The historian examined a wide range of materials preserved in the Vatican archives, including testimonies, letters, and official reports.
“We uncovered evidence of those terrible events—reports sent to the Holy See that were shocking and horrifying. This information was published in my book in Germany in 2015, and based on it, the German parliament recognized those events as genocide. The reports came from fully independent and mostly neutral sources. Neutral sources are far more impactful and important. Information from the Armenian Catholic Church was also highly significant, as Armenian Catholics lived in all the affected regions,” he noted.
Documents discovered in the secret archives revealed new details. For instance, some Germans had appealed to the German chancellor and military command to prevent the massacres, but this did not restrain Ottoman authorities. The Catholic Church made both direct and indirect efforts to stop the killings.
The archives preserve a handwritten copy of a letter by the Pope addressed to Sultan Mehmed of the Ottoman Empire, yet even papal diplomacy failed. All these documents are presented in translated original form.
Hesemann described addressing the topic of the Armenian Genocide in modern Germany as a great responsibility.
In 2016, German lawmakers almost unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide and condemned the ruling authorities responsible at the time, which had been Germany’s ally. Through his book, Hesemann sought to contribute to recognition and condemnation of the genocide.
He also wrote that the Armenian Genocide was followed by the genocides of Assyrians and later Greek Christians.
The massacres planned by the Young Turks also claimed the lives of Yazidis and the Alevis of Dersim. The German historian described the Armenian Genocide as the “mother of all genocides.”
“The ghosts of 1915 will return as long as attempts are made to deny them,” Hesemann wrote, also raising the issue of the Armenian homeland—what should happen to Western Armenia and what rights belong to Armenians who survived genocide and dispossession.
In addition, the historian addressed the historical path of the Armenian people and the development of Christianity in Armenia in his book.