Armenian-German relations

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Armenian-German relations
Location of Armenia and Germany
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Armenia Germany
Matthias Kiesler - From 2015 to 2019 German Ambassador to Armenia

In this article, relations and cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and its predecessor states and the GDR with an independent state of Armenia are treated as Armenian-German relations . This existed for the first time in 1918 with the Democratic Republic of Armenia and has existed again since Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. There is an Armenian embassy in Berlin and a German embassy in Yerevan .

General relationships

Even if Germany did not officially recognize the Armenian genocide until 2016, relations between the two countries developed positively overall. Only a comparatively small number of Armenians live in Germany .

An essential goal to improve the cooperation between the European Union and Armenia, and especially between Germany and Armenia, is the implementation of the so-called Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement (CEPA). It was ratified by the German side in the Bundestag on April 5, 2019 with no dissenting votes. Votes in some other EU countries have also already been positive for the agreement. CEPA aims to strengthen economic and political cooperation between the EU and Armenia. The framework conditions for political dialogue are to be improved and cooperation in the areas of trade, freedom, security and justice is to be improved.

Armenian soldiers are attached to the German troops for the purpose of stabilizing Afghanistan . The Armenian division is deployed to protect the coalition airport in Kunduz . In addition, (as of 2020), Armenian soldiers are training and preparing for deployment in Germany.

Scientific Relations

On September 6, 1998, as part of the Leucorea Foundation, a MESROP Center for Armenian Studies was founded, which has been an office of the University of Halle-Wittenberg since 2006 , the MESROP Office for Armenian Studies . The job is named after Mesrop Maschtoz and offers the only degree in Armenology in Germany. The office is headed (as of 2019) by Professor Armenuhi Drost-Abgarjan , who herself comes from Armenia. His tasks include the job u. a. "Strengthening Armenology in Germany, interdisciplinary research into Armenian culture and history in international and ecumenical cooperation, introducing Armenian culture to the broader German public, networking Armenological research in German-speaking countries, exchanges between German and Armenian scholars and Students and the supervision of scholarship holders of the Ministry of Culture of the State of Saxony-Anhalt as part of the special scholarship for students and young academics from the Republic of Armenia, the publication of a multi-volume German-language "basic course" on Armenian culture, the translation of Armenian text sources into German, the publication of the MESROP organized conference and project results, the establishment of an Armenian library and the establishment of summer academies on the Armenian language, culture and science. "

Germany's recognition of the Armenian genocide

The German dictator Adolf Hitler is said to have used the quote "Who still remembers the (extermination of) Armenians?" With which he is said to have justified the genocide he initiated and to have expressed hope of international indifference.

During the Cold War u. a. Out of consideration for relations with NATO member Turkey, Western states did not exert any pressure on Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide, and these states initially failed to officially recognize it. In 2005, Germany took the first steps under the Social Democratic-Green government led by Gerhard Schröder to recognize the genocide in the Ottoman Empire . While Turkey, as the legal successor to the Ottoman Empire, was called upon to adhere to its "historical responsibility", the German government avoided the word " genocide ".

In May 2016, the CDU , SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen brought a joint motion to the Bundestag to officially recognize the genocide by Germany, which was approved on June 2, 2016 "by a large majority". It said u. a. "The German Bundestag bows to the victims of the expulsions and massacres of the Armenians and other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire, which began over a hundred years ago. It laments the actions of the then Young Turkish government, which led to the almost complete annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Members of other Christian ethnic groups, in particular Aramaic-Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, were also affected by deportations and massacres. "

See also

Web links

Commons : Armenian-German Relations  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bilateral relations and German missions - Armenia. In: Auswaertiges-amt.de. October 1, 2018, accessed March 15, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Bundestag ratifies the EU-Armenia Agreement. In: caucasuswatch.de. April 6, 2019, accessed April 9, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Azat Ohanyan from the Central Council of Armenians in Germany
  4. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Turkey blocks Bundeswehr flight to Armenia - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Retrieved August 28, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b MESROP Office for Armenian Studies. In: mesrop.uni-halle.de. January 9, 2019, accessed April 13, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Sebastian Hesse: Armenology at the University of Halle celebrates its anniversary. In: mdr.de. October 18, 2018, accessed April 13, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Dirk Schümer: Whoever says Armenia must also say Auschwitz. In: welt.de. April 25, 2015, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Balakian, Peter : The Burning Tigris. The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York City 2003, p. 165.
  9. ^ Armenian Genocide Vote: Turkey Withdraws Ambassador from France. In: Spiegel Online . December 22, 2011, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  10. ^ Benjamin Bidder, Daniel Steinvorth, Bernhard Zand: Demons of the Past: The Armenian Genocide and the Turks. In: Spiegel Online . April 8, 2010, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  11. ↑ a b Volker Kauder, Gerda Hasselfeldt and parliamentary group; Thomas Oppermann and parliamentary group; Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Dr. Anton Hofreiter and parliamentary group: Request from the CDU / CSU, SPD and BÜNDNIS 90 / DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary groups. Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916. In: bundestag.de. May 31, 2016, accessed March 15, 2019 .
  12. ^ Motion for genocide against Armenians resolved. In: bundestag.de. June 2, 2016, accessed March 15, 2019 .