Germany, Turkey, and Armenia: A Selection of Documentary Evidence Relating to the Armenian Atrocities from German and other SourcesAnonymous
History
Germany, Turkey, and Armenia: A Selection of Documentary Evidence Relating to the Armenian Atrocities from German and other Sources
Anonymous
Armenian question; World War, 1914-1918 -- Armenia
On our way back to the hotel we actually met them, but they were
hurried past us so quickly that we had not even a chance to return
them their money. Afterwards we asked Dr. Lindenberg to see that this
money was restored to them; but, to find out where they were, he had
to make enquiries of a Turkish officer, and just at the moment of our
departure, when we had been told that they had already been killed,
and when we had no longer any chance of making further search for
them, the aforementioned Riza Bey came and asked us for this money,
on the ground that he wanted to return it to the children! We had
already decided to spend it on relieving other Armenians.
At Erzindjan we were now looked askance at. They would no longer let us
stay at the hotel, but took us to a deserted Armenian house. The whole
of this extensive quarter of the town seemed dead. People came and
went at will to loot the contents of the houses; in some of the houses
the families of Moslem refugees were already installed. We had now a
roof over our heads, but no one would go to get us food. However,
we managed to send a note to Dr. A., who kindly allowed us to
return to the hospital. The following day the Mutessarif sent a
springless baggage cart, in which we were to do the seven days'
journey to Sivas. We gave him to understand that we would not have
the conveyance, and, upon the representations of Dr. A., they sent
us a travelling carriage, with the threat to have us arrested if
we did not start at once. This was on Monday, the 21st June, and we
should have liked to wait for the Austrians, who were due to arrive
on the Tuesday morning, and continue the journey in their company;
but Dr. A. declared that he could no longer give us protection, and
so we started out. Dr. Lindenberg did us the kindness of escorting
us as far as Rifahia. [15] During the first days of our journey
we saw five corpses. One was a woman's, and still had clothes on;
the others were naked, one of them headless. There were two Turkish
officers on the road with us who were really Armenians, as we were
told by the gendarme attached to us. They preserved their incognito
towards us, and maintained a very great reserve, but always took care
not to get separated from us. On the fourth day they did not put in an
appearance. When we enquired after them, we were given to understand
that the less we concerned ourselves about them the better it would
be for us. On the road, we broke our journey near a Greek village. A
savage-looking man was standing by the roadside. He began to talk with
us, and told us he was stationed there to kill all the Armenians that
passed, and that he had already killed 250. He explained that they
all deserved their fate, for they were all Anarchists--not Liberals or
Socialists, but Anarchists. He told the gendarmes that he had received
orders by telephone to kill our two travelling companions. So these two
men with their Armenian drivers must have perished there. We could not
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