MORGENTHAU AND WAR CLOUDS CHAPTER TEN ‘A telegram from the consulate at Smyrna just arrived,’ Phillip said as he entered Morgenthau’s office. ‘They are requesting a war ship or the SCORPION to anchor by their coast in case Americans need protection.’ Morgenthau recalled his recent conversation with the attorney from the American licorice root dealers in Smyrna. There was a possibility they would be forced to discharge thousands of Greeks in their employ....
MORGENTHAU AND JEMAL PASHA CHAPTER NINE May, 1914 The next morning as Morgenthau was having breakfast, he noticed Jemal Pasha entering the dining room. Jemal’s gait was quick and heavy and Morgenthau immediately knew the Turkish Minister of Marine was upset. ‘You must stop the sale of those dreadnoughts!’ Jemal demanded even before he greeted the American ambassador. Morgenthau looked into Jemal’s beady eyes, observed his clean uniform and wondered why he still looked shadowed....
MORGENTHAU RETURNS TO CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER EIGHT May, 1914 The American flag waved in the wind as the SCORPION, the American embassy’s ship, steamed up the Dardanelles and into the Sea of Marmora on it way back to Constantinople. Standing together on the starboard deck, Morgenthau and his wife, Josie, smelled the salty air, a gentle breeze blowing against their faces. Morgenthau’s eyes were drawn toward Stamboul and the numerous minarets reaching up toward the heavens....
AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU’S RECEPTION FOR THE AMERICAN COLONY CHAPTER SEVEN CONSTANTINOPLE MARCH 1914 The hands on the clock on the wall were nearing 4 o’clock. Glancing at the time, Henry Morgenthau quickly buttoned his suit jacket as his wife, Josie, stood in front of the mirror putting on another coat of lipstick. Morgenthau did not want to be late for this reception where he would formally introduce his wife to the American colony....
AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU’S FORMAL DINNER CHAPTER SIX February 1914 Row upon row of carriages and automobiles lined the street by the American embassy. Foreign ambassadors and ministers in full regalia walked up the marble stairs to the embassy’s entrance. Accompanied by their wives who normally don’t appear in public, Turkish leaders arrived as their bodyguards stood by, watching. Feeling dapper in a new tuxedo, Henry Morgenthau personally introduced his wife, Josie, the new Ambassadress to each guest....
MORGENTHAU’S WIFE ARRIVES CHAPTER FIVE ADRIANOPLE February, 1914 Two years ago Bulgaria defeated Turkey in the first Balkan War and seized Adrianople. Six months later Bulgaria moved her army to another front to fight the Serbs and Greeks in a second Balkan war and Enver Pasha, Turkey’s Minister of War, led his troops back to Adrianople. Enver retook the territory without firing a shot. Adrianople had once again become part of Turkey....
MORGENTHAU AND TALAAT CHAPTER FOUR November, 1914 Having had a reception and a Christmas party for the American colony, Ambassador Morgenthau was glad the holiday season was over. Intermittent rain and a bitter cold spell greeted the New Year and the embassy was back on a full work schedule. Arshag Schmavonian, wearing a wool grey sweater under his grey suit jacket, walked into the ambassador’s office and stood by the brick hearth warming himself at the crackling fire....
THE INTRIGUE OF CONSTANTINOPLE POLITICS CHAPTER THREE November, 1913 Henry Morgenthau was anxious to meet the Turkish politicians and the ambassadors posted in Constantinople. ‘It is better to wait,’ his dragoman, Arshag Schmavonian advised. ‘They want to meet you, Sir. Let them be the first to extend an invitation.’ ‘Are you suggesting I remain aloof?’ ‘No, Sir, but this is Constantinople and intrigue is part of the culture. You want to arouse their curiosity....
MORGENTHAU’S FIRST DAY IN CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER TWO After a hearty breakfast of omelets smothered with herbs and a variety of breads, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and yogurt, the new ambassador made arrangements for his family to tour the city while he went to work. Entering his office he left the door open, walked across the thick Persian rug to the window and observed the bustling activity on the bay. Small steamers taking commuters back and forth were just as packed as the New York ferries on which he had traveled....
MORGENTHAU ARRIVES IN CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER ONE Constantinople, November, 1913 The train swung around a great curve by the Golden Horn, the inlet adjacent to Stamboul, the oldest section of Constantinople. Henry Morgenthau felt it slowing down, heard the brakes squealing, and was once again aware of his wife’s absence. He missed Josie already. He had not wanted to go to Constantinople alone, remembering the loneliness he felt that summer he remained in New York while the family vacationed in Europe....
In my heart I, along with many Armenians throughout the world, honor Henry Morgenthau, Sr., the American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1916. Morgenthau championed and alerted the world to the sufferings of the Turkish Armenians in 1915. A charismatic and wealthy man with a degree in law, he lived by the ethical principles he had planted as seeds during his young teenage years. At age fourteen he took seriously his confirmation at temple and visited churches of all denominations, making abstracts of sermons by famous pulpit orators of his day, especially Congregationalists Henry Ward Beecher and Richard Storrs....
FROM AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU’S PAPERS, REEL 22 Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 29540 HISTORY OF THE ARMENIAN QUESTION For the last six hundred years their history is a record of persecutions, a real martyrdom. No where else the abuse of brutal force has been so great as in Turkey. The conquered Christians have not had security of life, honor or property. Religious toleration has been practiced under most humiliating conditions....
From the Morgenthau archives at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library To the Secretary of State, Washington Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith for the information of the Department copy of a letter received from the American Consul at Aleppo, dated June 14, 1915, relative to the Zeitoun-Marash situation, prepared by Rev. J.E. Merrill. I have the honor, etc. H. MORGENTHAU The following statement regarding the Zeitoun-Marash situation rests on information of about May 21, when the writer was in Marash....
There are those in the literary community who say, ‘If you want to know the facts read a newspaper, but if you want to know the truth read a novel.’ That’s why I decided to write the story of my mother and her family as a novel so they could represent every Armenian family deported in 1915. Trying to capture the lay of the land from where my mother was deported at age 14, I made several trips to Turkey and traveled the genocide route from Hadjin to the Syrian deserts of Der Zor....
KAY MOURADIAN’s notes from these books: THE FALL OF ABD-EL-HAMID by Francis McCullagh Methuen, 1910 and THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE by Alan Palmer John Murray, Publisher 1992 and INSIDE CONTANTINOPLE by Lewis Einstein, (U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary, Constantinople 1906-1909 and Special Agent at the American Embassy in Constantinople in 1915) John Murray, Publisher 1917 During the 1800’s the Ottoman Empire was unraveling. Abdul Hamid II, encouraged by powerful Ottomans in Constantinople, felt his brother Sultan Murad was not strong enough to rule the empire and helped to have him dethroned....