InternationalAra Sarafian to lecture in St. Paul on Talaat Pasha's "Black Book"
Published: Thursday March 19, 2009
Ara Sarafian.
Saint Paul, Minn. - Archival historian Ara Sarafian on Friday, March 27, will discuss "The Significance of the Der Zor Massacres in Current Turkish Accounts of the Armenian Genocide." The talk is sponsored by the Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota.
Recent changes in Turkey have led to more open debates about the fate of Armenians in 1915. One such "debate" has been around the question of Der Zor as the final terminus of Armenians who were ostensibly deported there by the Ottoman authorities.
While some Turkish state intellectuals, most notably Yusuf Halacoglu and his entourage, have argued that Der Zor was a bona fide resettlement zone in 1915, another Turkish historian has produced a remarkable new book of seminal importance, contradicting the official Turkish narrative.
This documentation includes a detailed presentation of Talaat Pasha's personal "Black Book" showing population statistics covering the Armenian deportations of 1915–17. According to Talaat Pasha's figures, close to a million Armenians were deported in 1915, but most of them went missing by circa 1917. As for Der Zor, there were hardly any Armenians left alive in that region by 1917.
In his talk, Mr. Sarafian will discuss recent Turkish historiography regarding the Armenian Genocide, and he will make a special reference to Der Zor in eastern Syria. His lecture will use a PowerPoint presentation for maps, data, and analysis.
The 6 p.m. event is free and open to the public at 203 N. Howell St. within the St. Sahag Armenian Church building. Refreshments and a book sale will precede the lecture, which begins at 7 p.m.
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