The German Empire and the Armenian Genocide

The German Empire and the Armenian Genocide

Veranstalter
Lepsiushaus Potsdam
Veranstaltungsort
Ort
Potsdam / Berlin
Land
Deutschland
Vom - Bis
01.03.2015 - 03.03.2015
Von
Roy Knocke

Next year is the one hundredth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Although this subject matter did not find resonance in the international literature until the 1980s, since then numerous multi-perspective analyses have been published. Not least, the relatively young discipline of Comparative Genocide Studies has sought to classify the Armenian catastrophe in the context of genocides of the 20th century.

One of the important questions still requiring academic attention in relation to the Armenian Genocide is the role and responsibility of the German Empire as an ally of the Young Turks during the First World War. Like the other European powers, the German Reich had already become involved in the Armenian Question and the demanded reforms for Christian minorities in Eastern Anatolia. The alliance during the First World War raises the question of joint responsibility of the German parties involved (representatives of government and economy, diplomats, military, missionaries).

Although several promising studies on this topic have been carried out, intense analysis of the exact political-military situation of the German-Ottoman alliance during the First World War has not yet taken place. Moreover a detailed exchange of information about available archival material in Germany and Turkey is essential for the clarification of the following questions: What kind of dependencies existed between the allied powers? Who had the crucial influence and when? What were the possibilities open to Germany within the Ottoman Empire? What kind of role the German self-perception as well as perception of different ethnic groups played? What structures and avenues for humanitarian aid could have been established and utilised during the First World War? Topics of interest with focus on Germany's role include, but are not restricted to:

-German-Ottoman policy and the Armenian Question
-The Imperial Government, the Foreign Office and the Armenian Genocide
-German Military, Diplomacy and Business in the Ottoman Empire
-Nation Building during War: Political Economy and Cultural Politics
-Networks of Humanitarian Aid and Moral Politics under Conditions of War

The conference, hosted by the Lepsiushaus Potsdam, center for genocide research, will draw together the methods of historical and cultural studies on micro- and macro-levels as well as biographical and regional approaches in order to bring new perspectives to the subject matter and describe the German role in the Ottoman Empire more precisely than before.

Paper proposals across all disciplines are invited. Young scholars are especially welcomed for the opportunity to make a significant contribution to this field. Interested applicants should submit for consideration 1) a short curriculum vitae (one page maximum) including name, address, email, and telephone number; 2) the title and an abstract of your paper (approx. 500 words, in English or German), addressing its basic arguments, its sources, and its relation to your current projects. The conference will be held in German and English with simultaneous translation.

The costs of travel, accommodation, registration, and meals will be covered for applicants whose papers are accepted. The final deadline submitting proposals is December 05, 2014. Accepted applicants will be informed not later than by mid-January 2015. Please email materials or further questions to Dr. Christin Pschichholz (pschichholz@lepsiushaus-potsdam.de) or Roy Knocke (knocke@lepsiushaus-potsdam.de).

Programm

Kontakt

Roy Knocke

Große Weinmeisterstraße 45
14469 Potsdam

knocke@lepsiushaus-potsdam.de

www.lepsiushaus-potsdam.de