Henry Morgenthau

Ambassador Morgenthau's Story Henry Morgenthau

The evocative, first-hand accounts of American ambassador Henry Morgenthau regarding the Armenian genocide are one of the most thorough, authoritative sources on the atrocities.

This book contains the full accounts of Henry Morgenthau throughout his posting in Constantinople, Turkey. At the time the Ottoman Empire was on the brink of collapse; amid the chaos and upheaval began the Armenian genocide, a ruthless campaign of targeted killing which occurred over eight years, from 1915 to 1923. In his role as ambassador, Henry Morgenthau would receive regular, commonly excruciating reports of mass murders and forced deportations; revulsed, he moved to prevent further such atrocities taking place.

Despite the efforts of Henry Morgenthau to convince his superiors in Washington to intervene on humanitarian grounds, his pleas fell on deaf ears. The masses of evidence he personally reviewed and verified are related in this book, as are many of the high-level meetings Morgenthau personally held with Ottoman leaders in an attempt to stem the holocaust of the Armenian people. Stonewalled, dismissed and waved away at every turn, the frustrations Morgenthau felt at the futility are amply expressed in this emotional and sometimes harrowing chronicle.

The many obstructions he encountered with the Ottoman leadership led Morgenthau to resign his post in 1916. He spent the final three decades of his life tirelessly campaigning on behalf of the oppressed and victimized Ottoman peoples. As well as publishing this book plus hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, Henry Morgenthau Sr. raised enormous sums for the displaced Armenians reeling from the horrific genocide. Recognized and lauded for his humanitarian work, he would represent the United States at the Second Geneva Conference in 1932.