[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ARMENIAN GENOCIDE--HENRY MORGENTHAU

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the Armenian genocide that was orchestrated 
by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1918 is an irrefutable fact. Looking 
at the history of this catastrophic event, it is impossible to deny 
that this was genocide on all accounts.
  Now, one way to bear witness to the truth is to make reference to 
firsthand accounts which were made at the time that the Armenian 
genocide occurred. Henry Morgenthau served with dignity as U.S. 
ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916. In the wake of 
surging nationalism in Turkey and alarmed at reports of the Armenian 
genocide, he repeatedly appealed to the U.S. Government to intervene, 
without success. Morgenthau addressed the genocide of the Armenians in 
a 1915 dispatch to the State Department in which he warned that ``a 
campaign of race extermination is in progress.''
  He then appealed to Ottoman rulers, also without result, and finally, 
he published his opinions in his 1918 book of memoirs, ``Ambassador 
Morgenthau's Story,'' which documented his experiences while in Turkey, 
including his vivid views of the Armenian genocide.
  Morgenthau wrote, ``When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for 
these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to the 
whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with 
me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact. I am confident 
that the whole history of the human race contains no terrible episode 
as this.''
  In one of his addresses, Morgenthau commented on the U.S. efforts 
during the Armenian genocide. ``If America is to condone these 
offenses, if she is going to permit to continue conditions that 
threaten and permit their repetition, she is party to the crime. These 
people must be freed from the agony and danger of such horrors. They 
must not only be saved for the present but they must be given assurance 
that they will be free in peace and that no harm can come to them.''
  At great personal risk and sacrifice, Ambassador Morgenthau chose to 
intervene on behalf of the Armenians and even managed to help rescue an 
unknown number of Armenians. Of course, in the end, his efforts were 
unsuccessful. Drained by his efforts to avert this disaster, Morgenthau 
returned to the United States in 1916 and, for the remainder of World 
War I, dedicated himself to raising funds for the surviving Armenians. 
He is considered a hero in Armenia and an American man of courage and 
character.
  Mr. Speaker, if America is going to live up to the standards we have 
set for ourselves and continue to lead the world in affirming human 
rights everywhere, we need to follow Ambassador Morgenthau's example. 
We must stand up and recognize the tragic events that began in 1915 for 
what they were, the systematic elimination of a people. By recognizing 
these actions as genocide, we can renew our commitment to prevent such 
atrocities from occurring again.
  I'm here this evening because I want to give a firsthand account that 
the Armenian genocide occurred. I wish to express my support for swift 
passage of H. Res. 106, which reaffirms the Armenian genocide. We now 
have a majority of the House of Representatives, both Democrats and 
Republicans, as cosponsors of this bill. It's time that it was brought 
to floor. As the first genocide of the 20th century, it is morally 
imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand 
reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.

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