April 24, 2015, marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The ZDF documentary "The Forgotten Genocide" sheds light on this crime against humanity and how it is being dealt with today.
On April 24, 1915, 280 Armenian politicians, journalists, and writers were arrested and deported in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul. This marked the beginning of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, which claimed over a million lives within just two years. In Armenia and the Armenian diaspora around the world, the victims' relatives are still waiting for Turkey to recognize the genocide.
Pope, Federal President and Bundestag recognize genocide
After Pope Francis described the Armenian genocide as the "first genocide of the 20th century" in the centenary year, Germany, for the first time a country that had committed the genocide, followed suit at the highest political level in 2015: Federal President Joachim Gauck participated in a memorial service in Berlin for the victims of the genocide to commemorate the suffering of the Armenians and other Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert also spoke of genocide. In 2016, a resolution of the German Bundestag finally followed, passed almost unanimously.
Türkiye's role in the refugee crisis delayed resolution
Important evidence of this crime against humanity lies in the political archives of the Federal Foreign Office. Nevertheless, the German government initially tried to prevent the term from being included in the Bundestag resolution. But then members of the governing parties also opposed it – as shown in the ZDF documentary "The forgotten genocide“ they even complained Attempts at censorshipIn an interview, historian Rolf Hosfeld called for the recognition of the genocide by all parliamentary groups in the Bundestag and for the topic to be taught in schools.
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