Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim

The baron Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim (1859-1915) was a German diplomat . He was Ambassadeur with the Mexico, then German minister with Athens of 1909 to 1912 and ambassador near the Ottoman Empire of 1912 with the October 25th 1915. Patient at the end of his life, it was replaced by prince Hohenlohe Langenburg between July and October 1915.

Following the charges of complicity with the Turkish authorities in connection with the Armenian genocide emitted in the press of several neutral countries (Swiss, Denmark, the United States) in May and June 1915, it published a memorandum of protest affirming the position, official of Germany on this subject.

In a first part, it supports the Othoman government on the question of safety:

“the measurements of repression taken by the imperial government of the Young person-Turks against the Armenian population of the provinces of Anatolia Eastern being dictated by military considerations and constituting a legitimate means of defense, the German government is far from being opposed to their execution insofar as their objective is to consolidate the internal security of Turkey and to prevent the riots”.

The ambassador von Wangenheim continues then:

“However, the German government cannot be unaware of excesses resulting from the application of these severe measurements, notably of the massive deportations without reference of the culprits and the innocent ones, in particular when these measurements are accompanied by violences such as massacres and plunderings”.

If von Wangenheim were held some with this declaration, its successor, Paul Metternich, reacts in a firmer way beacoup. In August 1916, two leaders of the Young person-Turks, İsmail Enver and Mehmed Talat Pasha, signed a memorandum requiring the recall of Merrernich in connection with its position on the Armenian genocide.

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