They don’t want to offend their new overlords.
“Cologne gives in to Islamists: monument to the Armenian genocide is finally being removed,” translated from “Köln knickt vor Islamisten ein: Denkmal für Genozid an Armeniern kommt endgültig weg,” by Jerome Wnuk, Apollo News, December 2, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):
urkish extremists rejoice: the Cologne monument to the Armenian genocide, which Turkey does not recognise, has been repeatedly erected and dismantled over the years. Sometimes the city had the statue removed on the grounds that a cycle path was to be built and sometimes for fear of “social upheaval”. After a march by Turkish nationalists, including supporters of the far-right Grey Wolves and DITIB associations, at the end of October, the city finally decided that the memorial should be removed.
The memorial was erected in Cologne in 2018 to commemorate the victims of the Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1918. At that time, between 300,000 and more than 1.5 million people were murdered in massacres and death marches under the responsibility of the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire, which was formed by the Committee for Unity and Progress. For international historians, the genocide is indisputable, but Turkey does not recognise the crime.
Since its inauguration next to the Kaiser Wilhelm equestrian statue, the memorial of the “Remember Genocide” initiative has repeatedly caused disputes with Turkish nationalists, who have successfully put pressure on the city. Following protests, the memorial was repeatedly removed by the city and rebuilt by activists from the initiative – although the city’s reasons for not granting the memorial permission and removing it often varied from time to time. Sometimes it was said that a cycle path was to be built and sometimes they were a little more frank – speaking of fear of “social upheaval”.For example, Cologne’s mayor Reker recently justified herself with the “diverse interests of our pluralistic urban society”, which had to be taken into account. However, this did not stop the “Remember Genocide” initiative from putting the sculpture back up in the city centre on April 24 this year, Remembrance Day. The city then issued a special use permit until May 24. However, this was not sufficient for the campaign and they filed a legal complaint.
In addition to denying the genocide against the Armenians, the participants in the demonstration did not distance themselves from the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and even denied them. The chairman of the youth organisation “Fatherland Party” spoke to public broadcaster WDR about the right of Palestinians to defend themselves, explicitly including Hamas terror.
Just weeks later, the city council decided to finally abolish the “This pain affects us all” memorial at the end of 2023. Instead, a new memorial is to be erected to “commemorate the victims of oppression, racism, violence and human rights violations”. At its meeting on December 7, the city council will decide on the funding for a dialogue process in which a new memorial is to be developed. This process is expected to take two years and cost up to 350,000 euros, according to the Kölner Stadtanzeiger.
For the Turkish right-wing extremists, who have been fighting against the memorial for years, the Cologne city government’s caving in is a complete success. On Facebook, nationalists euphorically wrote: “The defamation monument will now be removed. We congratulate the Cologne city council on their decision in favour of justice!”
This is not the first time that political pressure from Turkish nationalists or diplomats in Germany has led to success: in 2005, Brandenburg removed the topic of the Armenian genocide from the curriculum due to the intervention of Turkish diplomats. In 2011, the University of Stuttgart refused to allow a lecture on the genocide due to Turkish “protests from Berlin” – the university stated that it wanted to “remain neutral”.
In 2014, due to protests against a play by Edgar Hilsenrath, “Das Märchen vom letzten Gedanken”, which deals with the genocide, the event poster at the theatre in Constance was taken down and a statement from the Turkish consul was read out before each performance. The premiere had to take place under police protection.
bagsgroove says
The genociders of the world sure like to have it their way. They have no shame to show everyone the evil rot in their spirits. But justice has to be served sooner or later. There is no escape which is something the muslums can’t understand.
Victor says
I’d like to think so but I fortunately this looks like another success for the Islamic extremists. You read a lot of these small victories in Europe but all these small victories erode our democracy. And our spineless politicians.
Canuckguy NB says
Those spineless pandering cowardly politicians are everywhere. We have more than our share in Canada.
bill says
What about the Armenians who live in Germany and I am sure they are a lot, do not they have a say too. If the Turkish migrants do not like what Germany does they should be told to go home
࿗Infidel࿘ says
The messages being sent to any Armenians in Cologne is that they should be the ones going home. Although if Turkey & Azerbaijan have their way, there won’t be any home for those Armenians to go to
jim says
It might be better to publish books and araticles on the events so that people who want to can read about them. Books are harder to ban than it is to tear down statues. Everyone knows that totalitarian movements are likely to tear down monuments to events that actually happened. But at least books can be read and people can find out about what happened.
CogitoErgoSum says
This a good book written in 1918 by a survivor of the Armenian genocide and now in the public domain:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53046/53046-h/53046-h.htm
NK says
Thank you for the link.
Siddi Nasrani says
Germany: Former spy chief says ‘Europeans will succumb to Islam,’ Europe will have Muslim majority by 2200
DEC 5, 2023 9:00 AM BY ROBERT SPENCER
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/germany-former-spy-chief-says-europeans-will-succumb-to-islam-will-have-muslim-majority-by-2200
Daniel Bielak says
Thank you for that link.
Ade Fegan says
As bad, at least as holocaust denial
GreekEmpress says
Makes me think of Eric Bogosian’s book Operation Nemesis. Armenian revenge.
tharmon says
Just like the Holocaust. They deny it and celebrate it at the same time.
Daniel Bielak says
Totalitarian German government officials and many other German people and other European people had no qualms about persecuting and mass-murdering Jewish people in Europe approximately 80 years ago and throughout the past 2000 years. And now totalitarian German, and other totalitarian European, government officials appease Jew-hating totalitarian Muslims whom they have willfully imported into their own countries for the own political purposes. And they dishonestly claim to have done so for humanitarian reasons. And they use dishonest euphemisms to excuse themselves and their Muslim new constituents. And it’s bad for everyone in liberal democratic (Western) countries.
Barbara says
Removing the Armenian genocide memorial, no different than the US terrorists tearing down statues of the Confederate generals.
Ignoring history because it does not make you feel good, does not change what happened. Sticking your head in a hole in the ground gets you a swift kick in the arse.
GreekEmpress says
+100
somehistory says
And a mouth and throat full of dirt.
Jim says
The monument does not look very big. Perhaps the city did not care that much about building a suitably large monument. It would seem to me that most people would not pay much attention to a small monument, and why would anyone object about such a memorial? The people must have something to hide, or they would just ignore it. But it did not happen to Germans and Germans were presumably not involved. Perhaps it would be better to commemorate the events in a museum or institute for Armenian studies or something similar.
Billy Corr says
It is mildly surprising that the memorial was not attacked seriously, like the VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM memorial in London
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Responses_to_Tragedy
jerry glenn says
Germany surges in the European Islamopandering derby.
OLD GUY says
That’s right remove anything that offends the islamic sewer rats. Destroy your own society and homeland for DIVERSITY or is that spelled MONEY for a special few.
David Boyajian says
Germany was the main ally of Ottoman Turkey in WW 1.
In WW 2, Turkey was pro-Nazi and sold Germany chromium, a vital war material.
Germany has actually had close relations with Turkey since the 19th century and down to the present day.
An excellent book is”German Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide: A Review of the Historical Evidence of German Complicity.”
https://www.amazon.com/German-Responsibility-Armenian-Genocide-Historical/dp/1886434026
It’s strange that American and Western Christians would rightly complain loudly if a Holocaust Memorial was vandalized or removed but have little to say when Armenian Genocide memorials (Armenians are Christians) are vandalized or even removed.
Violet says
The only thing that needs to be removed from our lands are Islamists and their dam supporters.