Ambassador Morgenthau's Story

Henry Morgenthau (1856 - 1946)

Ambassador Morgenthau’s memoirs of his years in the service of the United States in Constantinople, (today Istanbul), are an important primary historical resource for the study of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian Genocide. During this genocide, approximately 1,500,000 Armenians living in Anatolia were murdered in an attempt to rid Turkey of its non-Turkish populations. Mr. Morgenthau left Turkey a frustrated man, having done all that he was able through diplomatic circles to halt the murders, to no avail.
Today, Turkey’s official position is that their attempt to annihilate the Armenian population in Turkey was not a genocide. In 2010, the American House Foreign Relations Committee passed House Resolution 252, officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
“If we hope to stop future genocides we need to admit to those horrific acts of the past. When Hitler had to convince his cohorts that the world would let them get away with it, he turned to them and said, ‘Who today speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?’,” said Congressman Brad Sherman, co-sponsor of the resolution. “The last act of any genocide is genocide denial, and the first act of preventing the next genocide is to acknowledge past acts of genocide.” (Introduction by Margaret Espaillat)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Political Science, Memoirs

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 01 - A German Superman Margaret Espaillat
00:35:48
Play 02 02 - The "Boss System" Margaret Espaillat
00:41:35
Play 03 03 - The Personal Representative of the Kaiser Margaret Espaillat
00:38:13
Play 04 04 - Germany Mobilizes the Turkish Army Margaret Espaillat
00:12:25
Play 05 05 - Wangenheim Smuggles the Goeben and the Breslau Margaret Espaillat
00:24:00
Play 06 06 - Wangenheim Tells how the Kaiser Started the War Margaret Espaillat
00:14:15
Play 07 07 - Germany's Plans for New Territories Margaret Espaillat
00:09:50
Play 08 08 - A Classic Instance of German Propaganda Margaret Espaillat
00:17:01
Play 09 09 - Germany Closes the Dardanelles Margaret Espaillat
00:13:00
Play 10 10 - Turkey's Abrogation of the Capitulations Margaret Espaillat
00:20:14
Play 11 11 - Germany Forces Turkey into the War Margaret Espaillat
00:12:39
Play 12 12 - The Turks and Alien Enemies Margaret Espaillat
00:31:52
Play 13 13 - The Invasion of the Notre Dame de Sion School Margaret Espaillat
00:18:46
Play 14 14 - Wangenheim and Bethlehem Steel Margaret Espaillat
00:26:45
Play 15 15 - Djemal Margaret Espaillat
00:25:39
Play 16 16 - The Turks Prepare to Flee Margaret Espaillat
00:34:21
Play 17 17 - Enver Margaret Espaillat
00:27:36
Play 18 18 - The Allied Armada Sails Away Margaret Espaillat
00:28:08
Play 19 19 - A Fight for Three Thousand Civilians Margaret Espaillat
00:38:07
Play 20 20 - More Adventures of the Foreign Residents Margaret Espaillat
00:14:54
Play 21 21 - Bulgaria on the Auction Block Margaret Espaillat
00:19:25
Play 22 22 - The Turk Reverts to the Ancestral Type Margaret Espaillat
00:37:19
Play 23 23 - The "Revolution" at Van Margaret Espaillat
00:14:47
Play 24 24 - The Murder of a Nation Margaret Espaillat
00:49:56
Play 25 25 - Talaat Tells Why he Deports the Armenians Margaret Espaillat
00:29:49
Play 26 26 - Enver Pasha Discusses the Armenians Margaret Espaillat
00:40:10
Play 27 27 - "I Shall Do Nothing for the Armenians" Margaret Espaillat
00:40:54
Play 28 28 - Enver Again Moves for Peace Margaret Espaillat
00:21:21
Play 29 29 - Von Jagow, Zimmermann, and German-Americans Margaret Espaillat
00:20:03