HG Bishop Grigoris Balakian - Armenian Golgotha
Vintage Books USA
£11.7 (Amazon.co.uk as of 23/06/12)
Armenian Golgotha is quite simply the definitive written
account of the events which led to the death of close to one and a half million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The book makes this somewhat controversial
subject open up to the reader in a way which I have never encountered through
the reading of any official records or accounts by historians. Balakian’s heart
and soul are opened to the reader to tell the story of what happened to him and
countless others at the time.
Speaking or writing about the Armenian Genocide has forever
been a matter of walking on eggshells. The subject is, to put it simply, nearly
impossible to speak on without being accused of supporting a certain side. Yet
it is still the case that every April 15th Politicians in the UK, US
and many other nations will make grand speeches at Memorials before pleading the
case against recognition days later.
Accounts of the events which occurred nearly 100 years ago
in the then Ottoman Empire are commonly heard and stated to reporters for
televised specials in which we will hear a survivor or their family in a flood
of tears followed by a young Turkish politician explaining how “it is not
Genocide because...” but few of these have a lasting effect on readers who were
not touched by the event on a personal level, as I have learn through
experience when trying to teach on the subject.
This is where the account in Balakian’s book makes a
difference. As a Bishop in the great City of Constantinople and deportee during
the Genocide itself, Balakian is well qualified to give a definitive eyewitness
account of the events leading to, of and after the genocide. The author, in
doing this, opens up the reader to every emotion and thought that passed
through his head during that time, with photography from the time to remind the
reader that this surreal macabre event is not something from a fiction novel
but the man’s life itself.
Balakian’s account opens during the build up the First World
War, the then priest studying at a university in Berlin. He relays the events and
change in nature of those around him as they went through the transition
between wartime and peace. He examines the polarisation of the Germans as they
spoke of their hatred for Russia and love of the Ottomans as well as their
hostility towards the Armenians for fear of rebellion against the Turks.
He then leads us through his return to Constantinople and
witness of the Ottoman deception of the Armenian people through a feigned acceptance,
as well as their tragic and naive belief in this. To me, this was one of the
most powerful sections as for these thirty or so pages we see the slow web of
Ottoman preparation close in on the Armenian people and Balakian’s fear and
apprehension of the situation grow until
the deportations finally begin.
Throughout the rest of the book we gain a stark insight into
the actions of the Ottoman Military as well as various militia groups against
the Armenian community from their forced marches across the Syrian Desert to
the frequent massacring of the community under the direct orders of the Ottoman
Government. These horrific events are made all the more harrowing through the
personal and emotive language of the author constantly reminding you that he
was a witness to all of it.
I would certainly recommend Balakian’s book to anyone with
even a basic knowledge of the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide as it is a
smoother and less dry read than many of the historical accounts of these events
available to English readers. I would then recommend that they pass it on
to friend who has not read it since this
is a book that cries out to be read. The Events of the Armenian Genocide are
far too little known to the western which makes this book a valuable and
accessible jewel filled with historical information and personal tragedy.
By Daniel Malyon
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