Aram Andonian obtained from Ottoman bureaucrat Naim Efendi original telegrams from Talat Pasha that contained explicit orders for the deportation and extermination of Armenians, along with handwritten copies of 52 Ottoman documents. These materials became known as Naim Bey’s memoir. For decades, the Turkish government denied their authenticity, advancing three main arguments: (1) no Ottoman official named Naim Efendi ever existed; (2) a non-existent person could not have authored a memoir; and (3) the telegrams were fabricated by Armenians. Taner Akçam demonstrated the historical reality behind these documents by uncovering official Ottoman records that confirm Naim Efendi’s existence. He also located the original handwritten memoir in a private archive belonging to Krikor Guerguerian. Through meticulous historical and forensic analysis, he brought to light the authenticity of both the memoir and the telegrams, establishing them as crucial evidence of genocidal intent. This chapter presents the full story of that discovery and the scholarly investigation that shattered a century of denial.

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Introduction

  • Taner Akçam

摘要

Aram Andonian obtained from Ottoman bureaucrat Naim Efendi original telegrams from Talat Pasha that contained explicit orders for the deportation and extermination of Armenians, along with handwritten copies of 52 Ottoman documents. These materials became known as Naim Bey’s memoir. For decades, the Turkish government denied their authenticity, advancing three main arguments: (1) no Ottoman official named Naim Efendi ever existed; (2) a non-existent person could not have authored a memoir; and (3) the telegrams were fabricated by Armenians. Taner Akçam demonstrated the historical reality behind these documents by uncovering official Ottoman records that confirm Naim Efendi’s existence. He also located the original handwritten memoir in a private archive belonging to Krikor Guerguerian. Through meticulous historical and forensic analysis, he brought to light the authenticity of both the memoir and the telegrams, establishing them as crucial evidence of genocidal intent. This chapter presents the full story of that discovery and the scholarly investigation that shattered a century of denial.