Ambassador Morgenthau's Story
Encyclopedia
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story (1918) is the title of the published memoirs of Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
covering the time when he was Woodrow Wilson
's American ambassador to Constantinople, 1913-1916. The book took over two years to complete. The ghostwriter
for Henry Morgenthau was Burton J. Hendrick
. However, a comparison with official documents filed by Morgenthau in his role as ambassador shows that the book must have been structured and written extensively by Morgenthau himself.
The book has been used as a primary source regarding Turkish atrocities against the Armenians, the Armenian Genocide
.
When published, the book came under criticism by two prominent American historians regarding its coverage of Germany in the weeks before the onset of the war.
, Morgenthau relates his experience with German-Ottoman relations during the World War. He referred to the CUP
as the "Boss System" in the Ottoman Empire, and related how it was proved useful to Germany to bring the Empire to its side. Also the book gives details of Germany's influence in preventing the sale of American warships to Greece. Germany's plans for new territories, coaling stations, and indemnities and closing the Dardanelles and so separates Russia from her Allies.
Ottoman Empire's abrogation of the capitulations.
In his memoirs, Morgenthau later suggested that, "When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact."
The ambassador asked the U.S. Government to intervene, but the United States was not at that time a participant in World War I and could only have made written or verbal protests to the Turkish authorities. This was not done and Morgenthau was left without leverage beyond his personal rapport with those in power; when that failed, he drew international media attention to the genocide and organized private relief efforts.
was an authority on European diplomatic history, a recognised American authority on the question of war guilt and the writer of The Origins of the World War. In the journal Kriegschuldfrage, May, 1925, Fay criticised the sixth chapter of the ambassador's book, on the delay of German war initiation for two weeks or legend of the Potsdam Crown Council of July 5th 1914 and commented:
Harry Elmer Barnes
, in The Genesis of the World War; an Introduction to the Problem of War Guilt (New York: Knopf, 1926), pp. 241-247) which largely consist of a Sidney Bradshaw Fay quote concludes:
Another prominent historian, C. Hartley Grattan
notices that Morgenthau invented his threat of war of USA against Ottoman Empire, which he affirms to have pronounced in September 1914 during a meeting with Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha
; Grattan adds that Morgenthau "played into the hand of Allied propagandists".
US journalist George Abel Screiner estimates that "It is to be hoped that the future historian will not give too much heed to the drivel one finds in the books of diplomatist-authors. I at least have found these books remarkably unreliable on the part played by the author", and, about Morgenthau's book, notices that Ottoman ministers of Interior and of War, Talat and Enver were "on the best terms with the American ambassador", unlike Morgenthau's allegations in his Memoirs. As early as December 12, 1918, Schreiner writes to Morgenthau a letter criticizing strongly his Story:
"Nor did you possess in Constantinople that omniscience and omnipotence you have arrogated unto yourself in the book. In the interest of truth I will also affirm that you saw little of the cruelty you fasten upon the Turks. Besides that you have killed more Armenians than ever lived in the districts of the uprising. The fate of those people was sad enough without having to be exaggerated as you have done. I have probably seen more of the Armenian affair than all the Armenian attaches of the American embassy together.
[...]
To be perfectly frank with you, I cannot applaud your efforts to make the Turk the worst being on earth, and the German worse, if that be possible. You know as well as I do, that Baron Wangenheim all but broke relations with the Turks on one occasion, when to his pleas for the Armenians he was returned a very sharp answer by Talaat Bey, then minister of the interior. Has it ever occurred to you that all governments reserve to themselves the right to put down rebellion? It seems to me that even Great Britain assumed that stand towards the Fathers of the Republic. That the effort of the Turk went beyond all reasonable limits is most unfortunate, but have you ever considered for a moment that in the East they do not view things with the eye of those of the occident?
[...]
I wonder what your erstwhile friends in Constantinople think of that effort. Enver especially fares poorly, and this after you had made so much of him. Is it not a fact that Enver Pasha was as enlightened a young leader as could be found? Of course, he was rather inexperienced, as you know somewhat impulsive and given to being confidential, often in the case of untrustworthy characters. Apart from that he was in no respect what you picture him. Of course, if we are to take it for granted that we of the West are saints, then no Turk is any good. You will agree with me, no doubt, that the Turks count among the few gentlemen still in existence."
In 1939, US historian Horace C. Peterson calls Ambassador Morgenthau's Story a “misrepresentation of Armenian atrocities and of German action regarding them”.
In his Ph.D. thesis of 1957, Ralph Elliot Cook notices that the pronounced anti-German outlook of the book is absent of Morgenthau's archives.
In 1990, Heath Lowry publishes an analyzis comparing several allegations of Morgenthau in his book with Morgenthau's personal archives (personal diary, dispatches to Washington, letters to his family), finding many discrepancies and concluding that Morgenthau's allegations against Turkish leaders in his book are unsubstantiated by his archives. Gilles Veinstein, professor of Ottoman and Turkish history at the Collège de France
considers as "rather instructive" Heath Lowry's analyzis about Morgenthau
Guenter Lewy
"checked some of these alleged differences and found them real", especially about the meetings between Morgenthau and Talat Pasha, so shares Heath Lowry's main conclusions about Ambassador Morgenthau's Story.
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story was republished by Wayne State University Press in 2003, edited by Peter Balakian, with a foreword by Robert Jay Lifton, an introduction by Roger W. Smith, and an epilogue by Henry Morgenthau III.
Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
Henry Morgenthau was a lawyer, businessman and United States ambassador, most famous as the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. He was father of the politician Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and the grandfather of Robert M. Morgenthau, who was the District Attorney of...
covering the time when he was Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's American ambassador to Constantinople, 1913-1916. The book took over two years to complete. The ghostwriter
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for Henry Morgenthau was Burton J. Hendrick
Burton J. Hendrick
Burton Jesse Hendrick born in New Haven, Connecticut. While attending Yale University, Hendrick was editor of both The Yale Courant and The Yale Literary Magazine. He received his BA in 1895 and his master's in 1897 from Yale. After completing his degree work, Hendrick became editor of the New...
. However, a comparison with official documents filed by Morgenthau in his role as ambassador shows that the book must have been structured and written extensively by Morgenthau himself.
The book has been used as a primary source regarding Turkish atrocities against the Armenians, the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
.
When published, the book came under criticism by two prominent American historians regarding its coverage of Germany in the weeks before the onset of the war.
Content
The former American Ambassador to the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Morgenthau relates his experience with German-Ottoman relations during the World War. He referred to the CUP
CUP
The acronym CUP may refer to:* California University of Pennsylvania* Cambridge University Press* Canadian University Press, the press association of Canadian student newspapers* Candidatures d'Unitat Popular, a Catalan nationalist movement...
as the "Boss System" in the Ottoman Empire, and related how it was proved useful to Germany to bring the Empire to its side. Also the book gives details of Germany's influence in preventing the sale of American warships to Greece. Germany's plans for new territories, coaling stations, and indemnities and closing the Dardanelles and so separates Russia from her Allies.
Ottoman Empire's abrogation of the capitulations.
On the Van Resistance
Morgenthau reports from Aleppo and Van. As he quoted the testimonies of the consulate officials, both justified the deportations as necessary to the conduct of the war, suggesting that the complicity of the Armenians of Van with the Russian forces that had overtaken the city justified the persecution of all ethnic Armenians.In his memoirs, Morgenthau later suggested that, "When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact."
Discussions with Turkish leaders
It was some time before the story of the Armenian atrocities reached the American Embassy in all its details. Ambassador Morgenthau raised the issue with Talaat Pasha and Enver Pasha in person. When Morgenthau asked both whether the information reaching the embassy was reliable, the tendency was at first to regard them as mere manifestations of the disorders that had prevailed in the Armenian provinces for many years. When the consular reports came from Van and then Urfa, both Enver Pasha and Talaat Pasha dismissed them as wild exaggerations.The ambassador asked the U.S. Government to intervene, but the United States was not at that time a participant in World War I and could only have made written or verbal protests to the Turkish authorities. This was not done and Morgenthau was left without leverage beyond his personal rapport with those in power; when that failed, he drew international media attention to the genocide and organized private relief efforts.
Reviews
In the 1920s Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story was subjected to criticism by two prominent American historians. Sidney Bradshaw FaySidney Bradshaw Fay
Sidney Bradshaw Fay was an American historian, revisionist historian, whose reexamination of the causes of World War I, The Origins of the World War remains a classic study. Fay left Harvard University to study at the Sorbonne and the University of Berlin...
was an authority on European diplomatic history, a recognised American authority on the question of war guilt and the writer of The Origins of the World War. In the journal Kriegschuldfrage, May, 1925, Fay criticised the sixth chapter of the ambassador's book, on the delay of German war initiation for two weeks or legend of the Potsdam Crown Council of July 5th 1914 and commented:
The contemporary documents now available prove conclusively that there is hardly a word of truth in Mr. Morgenthau’s assertions, either as to (a) the persons present, (b) the Kaiser’s attitude toward delay, (c) the real reasons for delay, or (d) the alleged selling of securities in anticipation of war. In fact his assertions are rather the direct opposite of the truth.
Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes was a prominent American historian in the 20th century. A "progressive who had some classical liberal impulses," he was associated for virtually his entire career with Columbia University.-Early career:...
, in The Genesis of the World War; an Introduction to the Problem of War Guilt (New York: Knopf, 1926), pp. 241-247) which largely consist of a Sidney Bradshaw Fay quote concludes:
In this luxuriant and voluptuous legend [Kaiser’s alleged Potsdam conference] was not only the chief point in the Allied propaganda against Germany after the publication of Mr. Morgenthau’s book, but it has also been tacitly accepted by Mr. Asquith in his apology, and solemnly repeated by Bourgeois and Pages in the standard conventional French work, both published since the facts have been available which demonstrate that the above tale is a complete fabrication.
...
As Mr. Morgenthau has persistently refused to offer any explanation or justification of his "story" or to answer written inquiries as to his grounds for believing it authentic, we are left to pure conjecture in the circumstances. It appears highly doubtful to the present writer that Mr. Morgenthau ever heard of the Potsdam legend while resident in Turkey. It would seem inconceivable that he could have withheld such important information for nearly four years. The present writer has been directly informed by the Kaiser that Wangenheim did not see him in July, 1914. We know that Mr. Morgenthau’s book was not written by himself, but by Mr. Burton J. HendrickBurton J. HendrickBurton Jesse Hendrick born in New Haven, Connecticut. While attending Yale University, Hendrick was editor of both The Yale Courant and The Yale Literary Magazine. He received his BA in 1895 and his master's in 1897 from Yale. After completing his degree work, Hendrick became editor of the New...
, who later distinguished himself as the editor of the Page letters. We shall await with interest Mr. Hendrick’s explanation of the genesis of the Potsdam fiction as it was composed for Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story.
Another prominent historian, C. Hartley Grattan
C. Hartley Grattan
Clinton Hartley Grattan was an American economic analyst, historian, critic, and Professor Emeritus, who was considered one of the leading American authorities on 20th century Australian history.-Career:...
notices that Morgenthau invented his threat of war of USA against Ottoman Empire, which he affirms to have pronounced in September 1914 during a meeting with Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha
Said Halim Pasha
Said Halim Pasha , Ottoman Empire Grand Vizier from 1913-17. Born in Cairo, Egypt, he was the grandson of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, "founder of modern Egypt". The "Pasha" in his name is an honorific that translates in English to "Lord", or "Lord Said Halim".He was one of the signers in Ottoman-German...
; Grattan adds that Morgenthau "played into the hand of Allied propagandists".
US journalist George Abel Screiner estimates that "It is to be hoped that the future historian will not give too much heed to the drivel one finds in the books of diplomatist-authors. I at least have found these books remarkably unreliable on the part played by the author", and, about Morgenthau's book, notices that Ottoman ministers of Interior and of War, Talat and Enver were "on the best terms with the American ambassador", unlike Morgenthau's allegations in his Memoirs. As early as December 12, 1918, Schreiner writes to Morgenthau a letter criticizing strongly his Story:
"Nor did you possess in Constantinople that omniscience and omnipotence you have arrogated unto yourself in the book. In the interest of truth I will also affirm that you saw little of the cruelty you fasten upon the Turks. Besides that you have killed more Armenians than ever lived in the districts of the uprising. The fate of those people was sad enough without having to be exaggerated as you have done. I have probably seen more of the Armenian affair than all the Armenian attaches of the American embassy together.
[...]
To be perfectly frank with you, I cannot applaud your efforts to make the Turk the worst being on earth, and the German worse, if that be possible. You know as well as I do, that Baron Wangenheim all but broke relations with the Turks on one occasion, when to his pleas for the Armenians he was returned a very sharp answer by Talaat Bey, then minister of the interior. Has it ever occurred to you that all governments reserve to themselves the right to put down rebellion? It seems to me that even Great Britain assumed that stand towards the Fathers of the Republic. That the effort of the Turk went beyond all reasonable limits is most unfortunate, but have you ever considered for a moment that in the East they do not view things with the eye of those of the occident?
[...]
I wonder what your erstwhile friends in Constantinople think of that effort. Enver especially fares poorly, and this after you had made so much of him. Is it not a fact that Enver Pasha was as enlightened a young leader as could be found? Of course, he was rather inexperienced, as you know somewhat impulsive and given to being confidential, often in the case of untrustworthy characters. Apart from that he was in no respect what you picture him. Of course, if we are to take it for granted that we of the West are saints, then no Turk is any good. You will agree with me, no doubt, that the Turks count among the few gentlemen still in existence."
In 1939, US historian Horace C. Peterson calls Ambassador Morgenthau's Story a “misrepresentation of Armenian atrocities and of German action regarding them”.
In his Ph.D. thesis of 1957, Ralph Elliot Cook notices that the pronounced anti-German outlook of the book is absent of Morgenthau's archives.
In 1990, Heath Lowry publishes an analyzis comparing several allegations of Morgenthau in his book with Morgenthau's personal archives (personal diary, dispatches to Washington, letters to his family), finding many discrepancies and concluding that Morgenthau's allegations against Turkish leaders in his book are unsubstantiated by his archives. Gilles Veinstein, professor of Ottoman and Turkish history at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
considers as "rather instructive" Heath Lowry's analyzis about Morgenthau
Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy is an author and political scientist who is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts. His works span several topics, but he is most often associated with his 1978 book on the Vietnam War, America in Vietnam, and several controversial works that deal with the...
"checked some of these alleged differences and found them real", especially about the meetings between Morgenthau and Talat Pasha, so shares Heath Lowry's main conclusions about Ambassador Morgenthau's Story.
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story was republished by Wayne State University Press in 2003, edited by Peter Balakian, with a foreword by Robert Jay Lifton, an introduction by Roger W. Smith, and an epilogue by Henry Morgenthau III.
Other editions
- Republished 2003 by the Gomidas Institute. The new edition features an introduction by Ara SarafianAra SarafianAra Sarafian is a British historian of Armenian origin. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, received under the tutelage of Ronald Grigor Suny....
.
External links
- Ambassador Morgenthau's Story On-line text.