ARMENIAN
ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:

Contact: Danielle
Saroyan

Telephone:
(202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

HENRY MORGENTHAU III, GRANDSON OF
AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU AND LIFELONG SUPPORTER OF U.S. AFFIRMATION OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE, PASSES AWAY AT 101

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America and
Armenian National Institute mourn the loss of a longtime friend of the Armenian
people, Henry Morgenthau III, who dedicated himself to honoring the memory of
his grandfather, Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, passed away on July 10.

In countless
public presentations, in television appearances, and in numerous publications,
Henry Morgenthau III recounted his recollections of his grandfather with whom
he lived in New York City. He was honored on many occasions by Armenian
organizations across the country.

The Armenian
National Institute and the Armenian Assembly of America shared the distinction
of organizing Mr. Morgenthau's trip to Armenia in 1999 where he was honored by
the National Academy of Sciences, the Armenian Genocide Museum, and the City of
Yerevan.

Morgenthau
was joined by his sons Dr. Henry Ben Morgenthau and Kramer Morgenthau, as well
as Armenian Assembly President Carolyn Mugar, longtime personal friend of Henry
from the time of his residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Kitty
Dukakis, wife of the former governor of the state of Massachusetts and a board
member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The
Morgenthau delegation was received by the president of Armenia, Robert
Kocharian, met with several other officials including U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia Michael Lemmon, and was the guest of honor at the naming of a Yerevan
city school in honor of Ambassador Morgenthau.

"My
grandfather frequently told me that his attempts to save Armenian lives at the
time of the Genocide and the establishment of the Near East Relief effort were
the achievements that meant the most to him," Morgenthau explained on the
occasion.  Ambassador Morgenthau served
as President Woodrow Wilson's emissary to the Ottoman Empire during World War
I.

With Henry
Morgenthau III's endorsement, in 1996 the Armenian Assembly of America
established the Henry Morgenthau Award for Meritorious Public Service which is
given out to public officials in recognition of their contributions in defense
of human rights.  Recipients of the
Assembly's Morgenthau Award include the first U.S. Ambassador to the Republic
of Armenia Harry Gilmore and U.S. Ambassador John Evans who publicly called for
official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

A friend
also of the Armenian National Institute (ANI), Henry Morgenthau III encouraged
the organization with symbolic gifts of $1915 and joined with supporters and
Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Tatoul Markarian in the opening of the ANI
Library, to which he contributed his grandfather's library.

Henry
Morgenthau III was an author and television producer. His family history,
Mostly Morgenthaus, won the 1992 National Jewish Book Council prize for best
memoir. He was a fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics,
and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard
University.  Morgenthau's shows on
Boston's public television station, WGBH, won Peabody, Emmy, UPI, EFLA and
Flaherty Film Festival awards. 
Morgenthau also updated his grandfather's memoir, Ambassador
Morgenthau's Story, with a lengthy postscript about the Ambassador's life in
the 2003 edition of the book published by Wayne State University Press.

Henry
Morgenthau III's brother, Robert Morgenthau, also a vocal advocate for Armenian
Genocide recognition, served as District Attorney for New York County in
Manhattan. Their father, Henry Morgenthau II, was Secretary of the Treasury
under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"The
Armenian people have lost a true friend with Henry's passing. His grandfather
Ambassador Henry Morgenthau played a critical role as the first opponent of
genocide on the world stage as he defended the Armenian people.  With his first-hand familiarity of his
grandfather’s legacy, Henry stood with the Armenian people throughout his life,
always ready to step up immediately to lend his gravitas in support of all
essential issues for Armenians,” stated Armenian Assembly President Carolyn
Mugar.

"Despite
his advancing age, Henry continued to participate in Armenian Genocide
commemorative and advocacy events. He was honored at the community-wide
Centennial Genocide Commemoration in Washington, D.C. in 2015, where he walked
on stage surrounded by his children and grandchildren. The Morgenthaus are
legendary within the Armenian community, who are grateful that this noted
family validated their traumatic history as a people by informing the entire
world,” she continued.

Carolyn
added: “Henry was exemplary in carrying on Ambassador Morgenthau’s commitment
to genocide recognition and prevention. We all honor him for his total resolve
to relentlessly stand up and speak out against injustices of the past. He used
his voice to deepen people’s recognition of the importance of acknowledging the
truth in history and thereby using this truth to prevent the recurrence of
atrocities.”

Established
in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

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NR#: 2018-034

Photo
Caption 1: Kramer Morgenthau, Henry Morgenthau III, and Dr. Henry Ben
Morgenthau standing underneath a photo of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau at the
Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan

Photo
Caption 2: Henry Morgenthau III in Yerevan

Photo
Caption 3: Armenian National Institute Director Dr. Rouben Adalian, Armenian
Assembly President Carolyn Mugar, Kramer Morgenthau, Kitty Dukakis, Henry
Morgenthau III, and Dr. Henry Ben Morgenthau at Tsitsernakaberd Armenian
Genocide Memorial

Photo
Caption 4: Front Row: Dr. Hrant Matevosyan, Dr. Pietro Kuciukian, Armenian
Assembly President Carolyn Mugar, Dr. Richard Hovhannissian, Ambassador Michael
Lemon, Henry Morgenthau III, Dr. Fadei Sargsyan, Dr. Henry Ben Morgenthau, and
Dr. Lavrenti Barseghyan

Photo
Caption 5: Former Armenian Assembly Chairman Hirair Hovnanian, Samantha Power,
Henry Morgenthau III, Ambassador John Evans, and Armenian Assembly President
Carolyn Mugar

Photo
Caption 6: Ambassador Tatoul Markarian, Henry Morgenthau III, and ANI Director
Dr. Rouben Adalian at the opening of the ANI Research Library  

Photo
Caption 7: International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation Chairman Eduardo
Eurnekian, Robert Morgenthau, Armenian Assembly Co-Chair Anthony Barsamian, and
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny

Photo
Caption 8: Henry Morgenthau III speaking at the Republic of Armenia Academy of
Sciences Conference

Available online: http://bit.ly/2JgGeef