YEREVAN. - It’s just an incredibly deep honor how strongly Armenians remember what was done for them by my great grandfather, Robert Morgenthau (the great-grandson of Henry Morgenthau), who arrived in Armenia to take part in the Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration events, told Armenian News – NEWS.am.

“I’m just a descendant. I haven’t done anything nearly as much as he did. But I feel so lucky to be the descendant because there are so many descendants who never were because of the Genocide. Every person says to me ‘thank you’ and they’re not thanking for anything I’ve done, they’re thanking for something my great grandfather did. This just shows that good work, really good work, lasts generations,” he said, adding that it is his first visit to Armenia and he is impressed by the fact that the nation which survived the Genocide is developing and prospering after 100 years.

Robert Morgenthau said that in the United States he often met with elected officials and talked to them about the Armenian Genocide. What he found out was that “people are sympathetic, people understand, but they vote the other way, anyway.” Morgenthau told about a well-known friend, who was a senior former Senator, and who told him:  “The thing I most regret  in my service in the Senate was voting against the Armenian Genocide […],which was the stupidest thing I did.”  It’s all in terms of politics and it’s hard to break into.

Robert Morgenthau hopes that one day Turkey and United States will recognize the Armenian Genocide. According to him, in the case of US, it’s all about the strategic value of Turkey in Middle Eastern relations. “It’s hard to imagine how disappointed I am, as well as obviously Armenian Americans are, that our government cannot take the step to acknowledge the Genocide,” he said.

“In the US it’s a little different. It’s not an outright denial; it’s just not an open acknowledgement. And it’s shameful,” Morgenthau added. He expressed hope that the United States and Turkey will acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and be joined by other countries which have been unable to recognize it. “We work very hard to make that happen,” Morhenthaus added. 

The US diplomat Henry Morgenthau was the US Ambassador to Tukrey at the time of the Genocide. He severally condemned the Armenian Genocide as “annihilation of race.” In 1916 Morgenthau resigned from his office of the Ambassador, saying that he couldn’t continue his relations with people who, though amiable and polite, could shed the blood of 1 million people. He also condemned the indifference on part of the European states with regard to the Armenians’ prosecutions.