"Voices From Germany"

VOICES FROM GERMANY ON THE OCCASION OF THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Answers, Articles, Essays, Speeches, Eyewitness Accounts”
(Antelias 2005, 418 pages)

This book was recently published by the Catholicosate of Cilicia with the financial support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. As its title reflects, the book has a diversified content.

The publication has been edited and prepared for publication by Ishkhan Chiftjian, a student of theology in the University of Leipzig in Germany. The foreword is written by His Holiness Aram I who is also the patron of the publication.

In the foreword entitled “Memory and Justice,” His Holiness stresses the undeniable effect of memory on the life of an individual or people and the importance of justice.

The Pontiff then draws connections between the Armenian Genocide and the concepts of memory and justice, emphasizing the urgent and imperative need of recognizing the Genocide and compensating for it.

The introduction by Ishkhan Chiftjian is entitled “Genocide: The Definite Plural.” The editor explains:

1) The multi-faceted character of Genocide;

2) the presence of many terms synonymous to the word “Genocide” in the Armenian Language;

3) the pluralism in the scientific fields that study Genocide (history, politics, etc.). He emphasized that Genocide is a comprehensive blow directed to a people’s unity.

“This publication aims at giving a wider scope to the memory of the approximately one and a half million victims of the Armenian Genocide as well as the numerous cultural riches (churches and schools, literature and press, manuscripts and dialect, etc.) that were destroyed, by collecting and presenting statements, positions, contemplations, questions from Germany on the most cruel incident of the most recent chapter of the Armenian History. What is presented here is only a picture and is not comprehensive,” writes Chiftjian.

52 German authors and one Swiss Genocide Scholars have contributed to the publication.

In the first part, entitled “Answers”, 37 contributors answer to the six questions prepared by the editor sometimes in a few short paragraphs, sometimes in five-six pages. The questions are related to the authors’ first encounter with the Armenian Genocide and the unfolding developments. The contributors to this section include catholic and protestant theologians, spiritual servants, historians, religion scholars, sociologists, linguists, authors, publishers, journalists and students.

Most are acquainted with Franz Werfel’s publication, which has triggered their interest in the issue. Others have gained interest in the matter because of Turkey’s EU bid. Some of these authors have been involved in scientific and publishing work related to the Armenian Genocide (Ralph Giordano, Prof. Dr. Hermann Goltz, Wolfgang Gust, Rev. Manfred Richter, Prof. Dr. Martin Tamcke, etc.).

The contribution of two internationally renowned theologians (Prof. Dr. Wolfhart Pannenberg and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Moltmann) alongside the son of a great and unforgettable friend of the Armenian nation, Johannes Lepsius (Rainer Lepsius - former professor of sociology in the University of Heidelberg) to this section should be distinctively noted.

More details about the book and it's contents, can be found in the website of The Catholicosate Of Cilicia