HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND CONGRATULATES VAHAKN DADRIAN AND WOLFGANG GUST, AMONG WINNERS OF PRESIDENT PRIZE

Noyan Tapan
June 1, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Hayastan All
Armenian Fund congratulates all winners of the 2008 President Prize,
including intellectuals Vahakn Dadrian and Wolfgang Gust, who were
awarded the prestigious prize for their valuable contributions to
the study of Mets Yeghern as well as efforts to secure worldwide
recognition for the first genocide of the 20th century. It was
mentioned in the Fund’s report.

Gust received the President Prize for his groundbreaking research of
German state archives pertaining to the 1915 Genocide. His landmark
2005 study, The Armenian Genocide During the First World War: Documents
from German State Archives, reveals the deep-rooted relations between
imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire during the first part of the
20th century, particularly as documented in the secret correspondence
of the German consul and ambassador in Istanbul with the Turkish
government.

Gust’s 675-page volume includes 218 secret and top-secret telegrams,
letters, and communiques, most of which have never been published
previously.

A renowned journalist and scholar, Gust has long been dedicated to
the study of the Genocide. An Armenian translation of his first work
related to the subject, 1993’s The Armenian Genocide: The Tragedy of
the Oldest Christian Nation, was published in Armenia in 20 02. In
recognition of Gust’s achievement, His Holiness Garegin II, Catholicos
of All Armenians, bestowed on him the St. Sahak and St. Mashtots
medal in 2001.

Professor Vahakn Dadrian, who has devoted his entire career to the
study of the Genocide, received the President Prize not only for his
past achievements but ongoing research within his field. Currently
serving as Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute in
Arlington, Massachusetts, Dadrian is the author of numerous pioneering
studies on the Genocide, German complicity, Turkish denial, parallels
between the Genocide and the Holocaust, and related topics.

The President Prize’s special category, Valuable Contribution to
the Recognition of the Genocide, was instituted in 2005. The prize
for the category includes a certificate of achievement, a medal, and
a monetary award in the amount of ,000. To date, nine scholars and
public figures, including four Armenians, have received the President
Prize in this category.

Established in 2000 by the Boghossian Foundation, the President
Prize promotes excellence in the Armenian arts, sciences, and
Genocide-recognition efforts. It also includes the President Youth
Prize, which awards young talents in various fields. Administered by
the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, the juried annual prize is bestowed
on recipients by the President of the Republic of Armenia, during
a rewards ceremony held at the presidential residence. T his year
the prize was awarded to 21 individuals, for achievements in one of
nine categories.