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Movie Review: Piece by Piece 
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November 14, 2024 "Humor on the Margins: Cartoons in the Turkish Jewish Newspaper Şalom" by Rakel P. Meşulam
November 7, 2024 The "Ottoman and Turkish Ketubbot" Exhibition
November 4, 2024 TV Show Review: Nobody Wants This
November 1, 2024 The Irresistible Drunkenness of Reading Books
Holocaust and Genocide
İvo MOLİNAS
In an interview I gave to Agos Newspaper on February 2015, I have made a genuine confession while referring to the 1915 Armenian incidents. I said that when you look at the consequences of deportations and massacres, they could be considered as consequences of a genocide; however, when compared to Holocaust, Germans’ Final Solution to the Jewish problem which was a much more systematic project with the ultimate goal to annihilate all Jews in the world, naming ethnic massacre of Armenians as genocide would diminish the significance of the unprecedented catastrophe of Holocaust.
Also, stating that the problem was rather a linguistic issue, I expressed my wish for the creation of a new term which would describe the 1915 incidents as a sub-category of genocide and beyond the meaning of genocide.
Last week, the German Parliament approved a resolution on “Armenian genocide”. The Germans tried to solve the lingusitic problem I mentioned above by putting an addendum to the resolution. It was an unprecedented approach. The addendum stated that “We acknowledge the uniqueness of Holocaust which Germany is guilty of and responsible for.”
With this statement while the linguistic nuance between the definitions of genocide and Holocaust was highlighted, the uniqueness and unprecedentedness of Holocaust was strongly emphasized. German mindset addressed the issue at hand with this kind of solution. It’s debatable whether this shall be enough since this approach categorizes genocide within itself. Yet, genocide is genocide, there’s no big or small…
German Parliament’s resolution also confesses to something significant. It claims that German Empire, who was Ottoman Empire’s ally at the time, is an accomplice due to the fact that despite all the evidence, witnesses and reports, it remained silent. Now that the resolution is approved, today’s Germans are facing with yet another shame regarding their country’s history, long after facing with the shame of Holocaust. This approach is a beneficial lesson for those who never admit they put a foot wrong in their past. We know that there are no communities nor states that are as pure as the driven snow. We know that nobody is innocent. Experience and history shows that countries whose people cannot face their past, cannot truly move forward.
We also saw that in order not to aggravate Turkey too much, German Parliament blazed a trail with this resolution. They put the blame on neither the Turks nor the Ottoman Empire, but rather on Young Turks’ government aka Unionists. We don’t really know whether this is an objective diagnosis of history or the will to resolve the issue by using a scapegoat considering today’s relations. However, this resolution is a first among its many peers.
***
The steps that should be taken by Turkey after this resolution should be discussed and contemplated, seriously. As European countries internalized the term “Armenian genocide”, a stern reaction from Turkey emerges, sometimes even leading to expressions such as “ordinary incidents” while referring to 1915 incidents. Yet, by facing with the past and calling what’s wrong as ‘wrong’, a country shall gain respect. This is what every modern country should do and most of them do. If we are not on the same page as the countries that have approved such resolutions, the solution shall be beyond resentment, harsh criticism, protests or boycotts. It should include an objective evaluation of history conducted by tens of unbiased historians. Otherwise, people should know that boycotting German products will have a boomerang effect. Calling for converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque should be regarded as a revanchist reflex that will damage Turkey even in the short run. (The Ottoman Sultan did not even change Hagia Sophia’s name)
Turkey with its history, expertise, economy, population and dynamism is a great country. Despite some people’s concerns, facing its history will not bring it down. On the contrary the country will gain respect.
Let’s move forward, look ahead and focus on being a “great” country.
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