Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim
Encyclopedia
Baron Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim (1859-1915) - German diplomat. Ambassador Extraordinary to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. German Minister at Athens, 1909-12. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, from 1912 to October 25, 1915 was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman 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...

.

In 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Ismael Enver, the Ottoman General Minister of War, asked if an alliance with Germany could happen. Andrew Mango continues with the history at this time in his book Ataturk. Here he describes the jumbled alliance-structure that existed that would threaten the current relationship between Germany and the Ottoman Empire. For instance, Germany had already claimed war against Russia and it had an alliance with Austria-Hungary. This agreement with the Ottoman Empire would allow Germany to take a leadership role in alliance-making before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It would also force Russia and Serbia to alliance-make to condemn the assassination.

In 1914 the wave of deportations, executions, and genocide directed against the Armenian population started in Ottoman Empire. During the May and June 1915 major newspapers of the neutral nations (Switzerland, Denmark, United States) published numerous reports about these events. Under mounting international pressure and in response to the accusations of German complicity on July 4, 1915, Wangenheim, issued his memorandum of protest stating German official position on the Armenian Genocide. It began with expression of support for the Ottoman government security concerns:

"The measures of repression by the Imperial Government [Young Turks] against the Armenian population of the eastern Anatolian provinces having been dictated by military considerations and constituting a legitimate means of defense, the German Government is far from opposing their execution inasmuch as these measures have objective of consolidating the internal security of Turkey and avoiding attempts at insurrections."

Wangenheim then proceeds:

"On the other hand, the German Government cannot disguise the dangers created by these rigorous measures and notably by the mass expatriations which include the guilty and the innocent indiscriminately, especially when these measures are accompanied by acts of violence, such as massacre and pillage."

While von Wangenheim did not go further, his successor Ambassador Paul von Metternich
Paul Wolff Metternich
thumb|Paul Graf Wolff Metternich zur Gracht was a Prussian and German ambassador in London and Constantinople...

 reacted much more strongly. In August 1916, two top Young Turks leaders
Three Pashas
"The Three Pashas", also known as the "dictatorial triumvirate", of the Ottoman Empire included the Ottoman minister of the interior, Mehmed Talaat , the minister of war, Ismail Enver, and the minister of the Navy, Ahmed Djemal,...

, İsmail Enver
Ismail Enver
Enver Pasha or Ismail Enver Pasha , title was changed with his military ranks such as Enver Efendi , Enver Bey , Enver Pasha, higher than Mirliva) was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution...

 and Mehmed Talat Pasha
Mehmed Talat Pasha
Talaat Pasha Talaat Pasha Talaat Pasha (also transliterated as Tala'at Pasha or Talat Pasha was one of the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress that controlled the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.He was born in Edirne Vilayet. He was of Pomak descent...

, signed a memorandum demanding Ambassador Metternich’s recall citing his stance on the Armenian Question
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...

.
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