CHAPTER XXVII
"I SHALL DO NOTHING FOR THE ARMENIANS"
SAYS THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR
I SUPPOSE that there is no phase of the Armenian question which has aroused more-interest than this: Had the Germans any part in it? To what extent was the Kaiser responsible for the wholesale slaughter of this nation? Did the Germans favour it, did they merely acquiesce, or did they oppose the persecutions? Germany, in the last four years, has become responsible for many of the blackest pages in history; is she responsible for this, unquestionably the blackest of all?
I presume most people will detect in the remarks of these Turkish chieftains certain resemblances to the German philosophy of war. Let me repeat particular phrases used by Enver and other Turks while discussing the Armenian massacres: "The Armenians have brought this fate upon themselves." "They had a fair warning of what would happen to them." "We were fighting for our national existence." "We were justified in resorting to any means that would accomplish these ends." "We have no time to separate the innocent from the guilty." " The only thing we have on our mind is to win the war."
These phrases somehow have a familiar ring, do they not? Indeed, I might rewrite all these interviews with Enver, use the word Belgium in place of Armenia, put
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