Armenian
News Network / Groong
A Bit About Propaganda
And The False Accusation
That Armenians Are
Masters Of The Craft Of Spin
Armenian News Network / Groong
July 12, 2022
by Abraham D. Krikorian and Eugene L. Taylor
Probing the Photographic
Record
LONG ISLAND, NY
Nearly
everyone today appreciates the Internet as an incredibly valuable resource, but
it has also become an excellent hiding place for those who have few or no
scruples. It can be an anonymous and
very protected haven for liars. There is
so much misinformation, disinformation etc. available on virtually every topic
that it is what we arrogantly call “in and of itself a monument to ignorance.” All this tends to be completely
overwhelming to all but the most knowledgeable and experienced in tracking down
and verifying information. It is
therefore important for all of us to remember that it is always worthwhile to
be wary and to use all information, including not only that found on the
internet but everywhere, with caution, especially as it relates to genocide,
any genocide.
It
is of no little interest that the word “propaganda”
has changed its meaning substantially over the years, and the meaning is
dramatically different today from that which it was originally intended to
mean. The concept of a Sacred Congregation
de Propaganda Fide was established by the Vatican in the latter part of the
1500s to spread, propagate and regulate the Roman Catholic faith in
non-Christian lands. It was formally
established in 1622 and came into being in that same period, roughly speaking,
as the Jesuits, the Company of Jesus. It
was also designed to be active in counteracting the negative effects aimed at
the Church of Rome.
Agnes
Repplier, a well-known essayist and distinguished biographer, had an article
she wrote published in the October 1, 1921 issue of The Independent and the Weekly Review
entitled “A Good Word Gone Wrong.” Since it is short and covers a great deal of
ground, we have decided to include it here.
Some parts are enlarged to render reading easier. (See Figs. 1a.-1d.) We hope you will agree that it is well worth
a read. The excerpts are presented in a
way to provide the jist, not all in continuous
sequence.
Fig. 1a.
Fig. 1b.
Fig.
1c.
Fig. 1d.
It
is significant that Agnes Repplier points out “When one looks in the dictionary for the word “propaganda,” its
definition suggests nothing reprehensible.
Why should not an organization “for spreading doctrine or a system of
principles be a decent, candid, and upright organization, inviting the
attention and challenging the good-will of mankind? Sacra Congregatio
de Propaganda Fide is an august, mouth-filling title, inspiring nothing but
respect.”
The
Congregation, which is administered by the College of Cardinals, still exists
of course in Rome just outside Vatican City in sumptuous quarters, the Palazzo di
Propaganda Fide (see Figs. 2a. and b.).[1]
Figs. 2a. and 2b.
Collegium Urbanum De Propaganda Fide in Rome with its large
plaque inscribed in Latin. It is a
three-story structure in the Piazza di Spagna and was
designed by Francesco Borromini who was well-known for his work in Baroque
architecture. The coat of arms is that of
the Barberinis and was dedicated for use at the
College by Pope Urban VIII. The Armenian
rite of the Roman Catholic Church had its formal origins and connections from
work carried out under the auspices of the Collegium. Photographs by the authors.
Against that brief
background on some history of ‘original
propaganda’, let us now try to present some information on the “Blue Book” and the Armenians, and
contemplate how it has been ignored and continues to be dismissed by ‘the
Turks’, all the while “The Blue Book”
being accused as being a masterpiece of propaganda that is unworthy of being
taken seriously. The fact is, however,
the considerable writings about propaganda during World War I on behalf of the
war effort, simply do not in any way suggest that what happened to the
Armenians was contrived, fake or “pure propaganda.”
Through
a fairly steady path ranging from very slight devolution of the meaning of the
word “propaganda” from its nominal
first use in English in 1718, it was ultimately in the context of the First
World War that “propaganda” took on
unabashedly a rather negative connotation.
Those who deny the Armenian Genocide, and indeed other genocides,
frequently make use of the expression “propaganda”
to discredit the premise that genocide was committed. The infamous Blue Book of atrocities and criminal actions to which the Armenians
were exposed and victimized, has been called an instrument of propaganda by
those espousing and defending the ‘Turkish Point of View.’ See Figs. 3a. and 3b.
Fig. 3a.
Title page of the original printing of the
‘Blue Book.’
See the Blue Book digitized https://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/1915/bryce/ [2]
Fig. 3b.
Armenian translation of the ‘Blue Book’
published in 1920.[3]
It
was only after the Armenian Genocide had pretty much run its initial violent
course, and during attempts to raise funds on behalf of the survivors that
there was anything remotely close to what might today be called “propaganda.” The context for this statement is that the
approach used was to showcase a need, as we would nowadays call it, as
dramatically as possible. Today such an
approach would be regarded as nothing but good management and
administration. It reflected an
appreciation of the need for cogent strategy in presenting a case that would
gain the most support from donors for much-needed relief. It is also worth emphasizing that the timing
for potentially valid accusations of propagandistic deceptions on behalf of
Armenians, and hence strengthening the contentions of those promoting the
‘Turkish Point of View’ meritless, is way off base. Timing is, of course, crucial to establishing
facts. [4]
There
is certainly no excuse for claiming that the ‘Blue Book’ is in the English
language, and therefore nuances of language place the Turks at a disadvantage
in terms of exactly understanding what was being communicated. It was translated into Turkish and has been
published and distributed widely at no cost among Turkish politicians.
Fig. 4.
Cover of a Translation of
the “Blue Book” into Turkish. [5]
And most importantly, careful re-examination of
the arguments presented by the ‘Turkish side’[6] by
several very careful scholars, especially Ara Sarafian, of the long-available
facts has convinced virtually everyone with a fair and open mind that there were
no nonsensical propaganda either in reporting what had and was happening before
and during ‘deportation,’ or on behalf of the Armenians after they had been
targeted for destruction by the Young Turk leadership but had somehow or other
some miraculously survived the ordeal.
We ourselves have tried to make a thorough search of the fairly
extensive literature to see whether there is any morsel of truth in accusations
of propaganda. Conclusion, there is
none. [7]
The
long and short of it all is that one need not seriously concern oneself with
the attempts of Armenian Genocide deniers or revisionists to disparage the Blue Book edited by James Bryce with his
Research Assistant Arnold J. Toynbee, then a Fellow at Oxford University. Toynbee went on, of course, to be appreciated
as a great historian. Figs. 5a. through
f. provide some additional context by use of images.
Figs. 5a and 5b.
Fig. 5c.
Arnold J.Toynbee
Fig. 5d.
Fig. 6.
The Republic of Armenia issued a 330 dram
stamp to honor the ‘Blue Book’ and its presenter Viscount Bryce.
A 280 dram stamp
issued at the same time also commemorates the work of the German Pastor
Johannes Lepsius. The two are shown on
this FDC (First Day Cover).
Attempts
have been made from time to time to set in motion the idea that Toynbee was
sorry to have been engaged in the “Armenian propaganda effort”, and that there
was no truth in it. Nonsense. [8]
Toynbee unequivocally states on pg. 585 of his last book,
published posthumously, entitled “Mankind
and Mother Earth: a narrative history of the world” published by Oxford U.
Press, 1976:
“The two great twentieth-century wars were aggravated by
'genocide' (i.e., the wholesale extermination of civilian populations). In the First World War the Turks committed
genocide against the Armenians; in the Second World War the Germans committed
genocide against the Jews."
Fig. 7a.
Photograph of Viscount Grey of Fallodon (1862-1933), the liberal British Secretary of
Foreign Affairs under whose aegis the ‘Blue Book’ effort was undertaken by
James Bryce with the assistance of Arnold J. Toynbee.
Fig. 7b. below presents a front page from the Armenian Weekly February 27, 1975. Here some correspondence between the late Dr.
Vahakn Dadrian and Arnold
J. Toynbee dating from 1973 is presented.
The message should be abundantly clear to the reader.
Fig. 7b.
Correspondence published in 1975 of letters exchanged between the
late Dr. Vahakn Dadrian and
Arnold J. Toynbee in 1973. It speaks for itself. Since the typeface in the last
paragraph is not that easy to read, we have reproduced it below (Fig.
7c.).
Fig. 7c.
Just
how one rationalizes the statement that the ‘Blue Book’ was propaganda, and
that Toynbee had major problems with acknowledging the reality of the Armenian
Genocide and that ‘the Turks’ carried it out, is beyond our understanding. While ‘the Turks’ might like to believe that
Toynbee was ‘on their side’, the fact remains that he was not the least bit
complimentary about Turks or their creative abilities. Turks certainly were not
a “creative minority.” [9]
Endnotes