Projects and Studies
CURRENT PROJECTS
Sunday, 26 March 2023 - London (7.pm) [Watch Recording]
A fascinating presentation on the complexities related to German records related to Talaat Pasha's assassination on 15 March, 1921. These include the machinations of German authorities to manage the police investigation that followed the assassination and to limit the scope of the trial that followed. The speaker showed the volume of extant police, judicial, and other records related to the case and suggested future avenues of research. This discussion also linked German records to the Gomidas Institute's publication of Tehlirian's memoir in English translation, Remembrances: The Assassination of Talaat Pasha.
This meeting focuses on the above publication, which was a collaborative venture between Jonathan Varjabedian and H. Sukru Ilicak, and reflected on history, politics and better Turkish-Armenian relations. In this meeting we will discuss some of the core issues and important nuances that went into the compilation of this book. We will also assess the impact of such publications in promoting better Turkish-Armenian relations. H. Sukru Ilicak is a historian born and raised in Ankara. His publications include A Radical Rethinking of Empire: Ottoman State and Society During the Greek War of Independence (1821-26) (Harvard University Press). Jonathan Varjabedian is a physician and historian focusing on his ancestral village of Efkere (www.efkere.com)
COMPLETED PROJECTS
The Gomidas Institute (London) is working with Teatr Zar (Grotowski Institute, Wroslaw), a leading theatre group, which is developing a special performance related to the memory of the Armenian Genocide. The performance, "Armine, Sister" has been highly acclaimed in Poland - where it has been presented with a series of complimentary lectures, exhibitions and concerts - and it now enjoys the support of the Polish Ministry of Culture. The first performance of "Armine, Sister" outside Poland will take place at the Battersea Arts Centre in London on October 3rd and it will continue for two weeks.
Remembering the Armenians of Bitlis - Bitlis Ermenileri
This was an exhibition the Gomidas Institute put together as part of a Building Bridges Initiative in June 2013. It aimed at directly engaging Turkish civil society activists and beginning meaningful relations with them regarding Armenian issues. The response from Bitlis was positive and received support in diaspora-Armenian circles, including the Armenians Studies Programme (CSU Fresno). The project is now well underway.
This project was a proposal to Turkish historians to focus on a single case study of the Armenian Genocide. The proposal was made by the Gomidas Institute and applauded by large sections of the Turkish press. Although the head of the Turkish Historical Society, Yusuf Halaçoğlu, agreed to work on such a project when asked by Turkish journalists, he soon pulled out, stating that the relevant Ottoman records that were supposed to exist in Turkish archives today did not actually exist. This was a bizarre statement that brought the proposed project to an end. The veteran Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand stated that Halaçoğlu had scored an own goal.