Genocide: - DIIS

Torben Jørgensen
of the 1920s as had his protegé, the former chief of staff and Kemal’s successor
as president of the republic, Ismet Inönü. 18
Under the leadership of these men the powerful military infl uence on
Turkish politics was established, an infl uence which to this day is still
prevalent, and it is essentially the reason why the Turkish administrative
system has retained the characteristic Turkish attitude towards minorities.
An acknowledgement of genocide would imply an unthinkable criticism
of the military and the bureaucracy for their role in the annihilation of the
Armenians. Since 1923 the offi cial attitude to the Armenians has been that
they have never had an independent state and are therefore not entitled
to claim any territories in Anatolia, and during the 19th and early 20th
century they were repeatedly disloyal, their disloyalty reaching its peak
with the armed Armenian support given to the Russian troops in 1915. In
that situation the Turkish government was forced to deport the Armenians
from the zone of war. This was what Turkish historians decided to prove.
It is still the offi cial view in Turkey.
The most infl uential work from the early republic is without doubt Tarih
(History) from 1931. 19 This work in four volumes was written by a number
of the most outstanding Turkish historians of the period. It refl ects the ideology
of the new Republic and the need to rewrite history. It was intended
to assist in building up a new identity as Turks rather than Ottomans and
to generate pride at the achievements of the Turkish people. It was an attempt
to establish the claim that Anatolia is the territory the Turks originate
from. Tarih became the point of departure in the professional historical
education of a new generation of students and an essential infl uence on
future historians. 20
18 Enver had on several occasions pointed to Kemal as his successor. Lord Kinross (1964),
Atatürk. The Rebirth of a Nation. London, p. 96. Ismet Inönü (1884-1973). Prime Minister
1923-37, President 1938-50. From 1946 Inönü initiated the transition to parliamentary rule.
He was the leader of the Republican Party 1938-72 and served as Prime Minister again
between 1961-65.
19 Tarih (1931), Ankara: Tyrkiye Maarif Vekaleti; Foss (1992), p. 8.
20 Such an infl uence is decreasing today. But a few writers such as Frank Sümer defended
an almost total sun-theory until the 1970s. Another connection is the relationship to the
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