"Acknowledging the Past for the Sake of the Future"

The article "Acknowledging the Past for the Sake of the Future" is devoted to an interview with the well-known German sociologist and Armenologist Tessa Savvidis-Hofmann, conducted during an international conference in Stepanakert and continued in correspondence. The material reveals both the researcher's biographical path and the key themes of the German-Armenian dialogue on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Introduction and Methodology

The publication is structured as an extended interview, in which a biographical note on Tessa Hofmann — author of thirteen books on the history and culture of Armenia, co-founder of the Center for Information and Documentation on Armenia — is combined with her reflections on her personal path to the Armenian theme, the work of human rights organizations, and the specifics of working with historical sources.

The Path to the Armenian Theme

Hofmann describes two impulses that determined her scholarly interest: the study of multinational empires (the Russian and the Ottoman), between which historical Armenia was divided, and a commission for a lecture cycle on Soviet literature that led to a personal acquaintance with the Armenian diaspora. The realization of the unfinished nature of Armenian history as a consequence of the Genocide and its denial became a determining factor in her scholarly and human rights activity.

The Documentation Center: Principles and Methodology

The Center emerged after the Paris Tribunal of 1984 as an independent structure, free from the influence of states and organizations. Special attention is given to the methodology of identifying illustrative sources:

• the need to trace a photograph or engraving back to its primary source;
• the problem of ambiguous captions on images of different peoples and eras;
• the development of an expert "instinct" for working with visual material.

Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Germany

A significant part of the interview is devoted to the history of the parliamentary petition and the Bundestag resolution. The following points are noted:

• the multi-year character of the recognition process in different countries (France — about 30 years, Switzerland — 6 years);
• the collection of signatures from representatives of various nationalities, including Turks;
• the particular nature of the German resolution — a detailed description of the events without the use of the word "genocide," but with a legally equivalent formulation in accordance with the UN convention;
• Germany's acknowledgment of its own co-responsibility as an ally of the Ottoman Empire.

Hofmann emphasizes that recognition must entail practical consequences — the inclusion of the subject in school curricula, the creation of memorial sites, and legislative protection against denial of the Genocide.

Publication of Archival Documents

A separate section is devoted to the history of publishing German diplomatic archives — from Johannes Lepsius's 1919 collection, which was subjected to censorial edits, to the modern editions of Wolfgang Gust and the Armenocide internet resource. The necessity of a complete facsimile publication of the archival materials for an objective scholarly reconstruction of events is emphasized.

The article's key conclusion is that acknowledging historical responsibility is a complex, gradual process requiring not only political will but also conscientious scholarly work with primary sources, and that genuine reconciliation is possible only through an honest reckoning with the past for the sake of the future.