TALAAT PASHA’S REPORT ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

February 2, 2015

Recent Documents released in Turkish archives, combined with surviving
documents from Talaat’s Pasha’s private papers, confirm that Talaat
was indeed the architect of the Armenian Genocide. There is a clear
record that he ordered and supervised the general deportation of
Ottoman Armenians in 1915-16, and that he followed the fate of such
deportees from close quarters. Talaat was sent updates regarding
Armenians at different stages of deportations, as well as information
about the fate of others who were subjected to special treatment.

Although a great deal of Ottoman records still remain unavailable
in Turkish archives, the available records show that the Ottoman
deportation thesis was a smokescreen for the annihilation of
Armenians. Ottoman records in Turkish archives, as well as Talaat’s
1917 report, show that less than 100,000 Armenians survived in the
so-called resettlement zone for Armenians. According to Talaat’s
report on the Armenian Genocide, most Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
had disappeared between 1915 and 1917, or they were dispersed in
different provinces of the Ottoman Empire for assimilation. The forced
assimilation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians was indicative of
the power, control and purpose of the Ottoman state.

Talaat Pasha’s Report on the Armenian Genocide is the closest
official Ottoman view we have of the Armenian Genocide. The report was
undoubtedly prepared for Talaat Pasha and meant for his private use.

It was not meant for publication and probably only survived because
Talaat was assassinated in 1921 and his widow gave the report to
a Turkish historian who eventually published it.* No such record has
been released by Turkish archives to date, though the data presented in
the 1917 report can be checked against the available Ottoman records
and stands scrutiny.

According to Talaat’s figures 1,150,000 Armenians disappeared in
the Ottoman Empire between 1915-1917. This number includes well over
100,000 Armenians who fled from the Ottoman Empire in 1915 (and died
in large numbers from hunger, exposure and disease), but it does
not include tens of thousands of Armenian women and children who
were absorbed into Muslim families or placed into state orphanages
for assimilation.

In this publication of Talaat’s report on the Armenian Genocide,
historian Ara Sarafian discusses the 1917 report in light of other
Ottoman records. He presents Talaat’s statistics in all detail and
includes two invaluable color maps demonstrating the content of
the report, as well as additional Ottoman documents related to the
Armenian Genocide. Sarafian presents Talaat’s breakdown of the number
of Armenians, their native provinces, and their whereabouts in the
Ottoman Empire in 1917.

Free download Book. Talaat Pasha’s Report on the Armenian Genocide

Map 1. The Destruction of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1917

Map 2. Surviving Armenian Deportees in the Ottoman Empire, 1917

TALAAT PASHA’S REPORT ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

London: Gomidas Institute, 2011 70 pp, colour maps insert ISBN
978-1-903656-66-2, paperback, UK£12.00/US$18.00 To order please
contact books@gomidas.org