Historical Archives and the Historians' Commission to Investigate the Armenian Events of 1915

Yücel Güçlü

Historical Archives and the Historians' Commission to Investigate the Armenian Events of 1915 demonstrates the vital importance of Ottoman and other relevant archives in Turkey for the study of the Armenian question. Historians, assisted by newly discovered or recently published materials, must continually reassess events of the past in order to achieve a rounder view. The Armenian events of 1915 are certainly no exception. This study encourages further engagement between the policy-making and the scholarly communities by indicating the continued importance of past records and documents for today’s pressing debates. In order to give a fuller picture, this survey also looks at some major relevant archival sources outside Turkey, including the state of archives of the First Republic of Armenia and those of the Dashnak Party. Yücel Güçlü’s inquiry sheds light on some of the British records relating to the First World War and its immediate aftermath locked at the National Archives in Kew, London, and he examines the special relevance of repositories in Moscow and St. Petersburg in understanding the Turkish-Armenian conflict. Güçlü assesses Turkey’s proposal to establish an international historians’ commission to investigate the Armenian events of 1915 and reviews in-depth the meanings and implications of the protocols of cooperation signed between Turkey and Armenia on 10 October 2009. By turning a modern eye on historical events, this study gives great and necessary attention to discovering the precise chronology, meaning, and development of the continuing negotiations between Turkey and Armenia.

University Press of America

Pages: 346 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-6566-7 • Paperback • August 2015 • $52.99 • (£41.00)

978-0-7618-6567-4 • eBook • August 2015 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Subjects: History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union, History / Modern / 20th Century, Political Science / Political Freedom, Political Science / World / Russian & Former Soviet Union, History / Public History

Historical Archives and the Historians' Commission to Investigate the Armenian Events of 1915

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Historical Archives and the Historians' Commission to Investigate the Armenian Events of 1915 demonstrates the vital importance of Ottoman and other relevant archives in Turkey for the study of the Armenian question. Historians, assisted by newly discovered or recently published materials, must continually reassess events of the past in order to achieve a rounder view. The Armenian events of 1915 are certainly no exception. This study encourages further engagement between the policy-making and the scholarly communities by indicating the continued importance of past records and documents for today’s pressing debates. In order to give a fuller picture, this survey also looks at some major relevant archival sources outside Turkey, including the state of archives of the First Republic of Armenia and those of the Dashnak Party. Yücel Güçlü’s inquiry sheds light on some of the British records relating to the First World War and its immediate aftermath locked at the National Archives in Kew, London, and he examines the special relevance of repositories in Moscow and St. Petersburg in understanding the Turkish-Armenian conflict. Güçlü assesses Turkey’s proposal to establish an international historians’ commission to investigate the Armenian events of 1915 and reviews in-depth the meanings and implications of the protocols of cooperation signed between Turkey and Armenia on 10 October 2009. By turning a modern eye on historical events, this study gives great and necessary attention to discovering the precise chronology, meaning, and development of the continuing negotiations between Turkey and Armenia.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 346 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-6566-7 • Paperback • August 2015 • $52.99 • (£41.00)

978-0-7618-6567-4 • eBook • August 2015 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Subjects: History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union, History / Modern / 20th Century, Political Science / Political Freedom, Political Science / World / Russian & Former Soviet Union, History / Public History

Author

Yücel Güçlü is a historian. His previous publications include The Sanjak of Alexandretta: A Study in Turkish-French-Syrian Relations, Numan Menemencioğlu: Eminence Grise of the Turkish Foreign Service, Cevat Açıkalın: The Life and Career of aTurkish Diplomat, The Turcomans and Kirkuk, Armenians and the Allies in Cilicia 1914-1923, The Holocaust and the Armenian Case inComparative Perspective, and Zeki Kuneralp and the Turkish Foreign Service.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Why the present study?
Subject Matter
Sources and Methodology

Chapter 1
Earliest Origins and Structures of the Ottoman Archives
Origins of the Ottoman Archives
Ottoman Paleography and Diplomatics
Conservation and Classification in the BOA
Introductions and Guides to the BOA

Chapter 2
Emergence of Modern Turkey’s Archive System
The First Modern Archives
Archival and Library Resources in İstanbul
The Prime Minister’s Office Ottoman Archive
The Structure of Ottoman Government Orders
Format
Tax Registers
Registers of Ottoman Non-Muslims
Yıldız Palace Archive
The State of Ottoman Records and Papers

Chapter 3
Developments in the Turkish Archives Since 1989
Turgut Özal and the Archives

Chapter 4
The Archives and Historical Controversy
Developments Since Opening the Archives
The Milestone Case of Perinçek v. Switzerland
The Importance of Studying Ottoman Documents

Chapter 5
Turkish Archives and Foreign Scholars
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive from the Twentieth Century
The Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive
Records of the Sublime Porte
Archives Not Consulted Because Unavailable to Scholars
Application Formalities and Working Conditions Greatly Eased
Recruitment and Training of New Archivists
Provenance and Maintenance of Order
Bernard Lewis’s Work in the Ottoman Archives
Stanford Shaw’s Work in the Ottoman Archives
Some Distinguished Turkish Historians
Views of International Scholars on the Ottoman Archival Services Today
Mustafa Budak

Chapter 6
The Directorate General of State Archives
The Centenary of 1915
Website of the Directorate General of State Archives
Publications of the Directorate General of State Archives
The Sublime Porte and the Armenians in Documents
Ottoman Materials in English
İsmet Binark
Legislation on State Archives
BOA Moved to a New Site

Chapter 7
Military Archives
The Turkish General Staff Military History and Strategic Studies Directorate’s Archive
Holdings of the ATASE
Scholars in the ATASE
Publications of the ATASE

Chapter 8
The Turkish Historical Society’s Archive and the National Library
The Turkish Historical Society
The THS Journals
The THS Archive
Enver Pasha Collection
Kazım Orbay Collection
The National Library

Chapter 9
Muslim Court Records and Others
Muslim Court Records
Armenians in Muslim Court Records
Scholars and Muslim Court Records
Manuscripts and Special Collections: Maps, Photographs, and Engravings
The Republican Archive
Other Archive Collections

Chapter 10
The Armenian Archives
Armenian Depositories
Applications by Non-Armenian Scholars to Use the Armenian Archives
The Türkyılmaz Case: A Turkish Scholar Harassed in Yerevan
Calls to Open the Armenian Archives to Scholars
The Armenian Resource Materials
Armenian National Archives

Chapter 11
The British Archives
Major British Depository
Britain’s Unopened Archives and the Eastern Mediterranean Special Intelligence Bureau
British Military Intelligence Documents of the First World War
EMSIB Records Must Be Opened
The Malta Deportations and Early Attempts at Prosecution
Absence of Evidence

Chapter 12
The Russian Archives
Russian Depositories Before Perestroika
Opening of the Russian Archives
Guides to the Russian Archival Sources
Release and Organization of the Russian Archival Materials
Importance of the Russian Archives to Turkish History

Chapter 13
Whither the Turkish-Armenian Debate?
A Task for Historians
Turkey’s Proposal to Establish an International Historians’ Commission

Chapter 14
The First World War and Its Archival Records
Armenians and the Turkish-Russian Conflict in the First World War
Documents Key to History

Chapter 15
From Historical Controversy to Political Campaigning
Debates in the British and European Parliaments
Turkey and the European Union
Turkey and the United Nations Convention on Genocide

Chapter 16
The Quest for Facts
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Calls For Unbiased Investigation into Armenian Claims
Turkey’s Parliament Gives Its Backing
Armenian Responses to the Turkish Proposal

Chapter 17
What Next?
Relations Between Turkey and Armenia
International Responses
Definition of Genocide and the Retroactive Application of the UNCG
Practical Outcome of a Genocide Declaration

Chapter 18
Attempting to Overcome History: Signing of the Protocols
Road Map to Normalize Turkish-Armenian Relations
Turkish-Armenian Protocols of Cooperation Signed on 10 October 2009

Chapter 19
The Collapse of the Protocols
Reaction to the Protocols in Armenia and in the Armenian Diaspora
International Reaction
American Responses
American Scholars and the Debate
Support for the Turkish-Armenian Protocols in the British and Australian Parliaments

Chapter 20
The International Debate and the Archives
Turkish-Armenian Protocols and the American Public
A Joint Commission—the Key to Normalization
Armenian Obstacles
Possible Prospects for Turkish-Armenian Cooperation

Conclusion

Appendixes

Sources

Index