German Recognition of Armenian, Assyrian Genocide: History and Politics

29.11.16

German Recognition of Armenian, Assyrian Genocide: History and Politics: Berlin (AINA) -- By an overwhelming majority, the German parliament (Bundestag) passed a symbolic and long overdue resolution on Thursday, June 2, 2016, recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman government as a genocide. In its main part, the resolution also explicitly acknowledges that Assyrians (also referred to as Syriacs, Chaldeans or Aramaic-speaking Christians) were affected by the deportations and massacres as well. The importance of this is that the German Empire was the principal military ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I and was, through its diplomatic network, well aware of the events taking place in Anatolia. With this week's decision, Germany joins more than 20 countries worldwide which have already officially declared the horrific events of 1915 a genocide, including France, Canada, and Russia.