The First World War as a Caesura? Demographic Concepts, Population Policy, and Genocide in the Late Ottoman, Russian, and Habsburg Spheres

247 Pages·2020·6.662 MB·English

by  Christin Pschichholz (ed.)

CHRISTIN PSCHICHHOLZ (Ed.)
The First World War as a Caesura?
https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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The First World War
as a Caesura?
Demographic Concepts, Population Policy, and Genocide
in the Late Ottoman, Russian, and Habsburg Spheres
Edited by
Christin Pschichholz
Duncker & Humblot · Berlin
https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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Contents
ChristinPschichholz
TheFirstWorldWarasaCaesura?DemographicConcepts,PopulationPolicy,
andGenocideintheLateOttoman,Russian,andHabsburgSpheres ......... 7
RonaldGrigorSuny
ImperialChoices:PerceivingThreatsandtheDescenttoGenocide .......... 13
MarkLevene
Deadly Geopolitics, Ethnic Mobilisations, and the Vulnerability of Peoples,
1914–18 ........................................................ 33
ArnoBarth
TheSecuritizationofMinoritiesasaBedrockofPopulationPolicy .......... 49
Hans-LukasKieser
EmpireOverstretchedNation-stateEnforced:TheYoungTurksInauguratedthe
EuropeofExtremes ................................................ 65
OktayÖzel
The Role of Tes¸kilat-ı Mahsusa (Special Organization) in the Armenian Gen-
ocide ........................................................... 81
HilmarKaiser
ZorDistrictDuringtheInitialMonthsoftheArmenianGenocide ........... 109
HannesLeidinger
Systematization of Hatred. Dangers of Escalation and Genocidal Violence in
HabsburgWarfare,1914–1918....................................... 125
HeikoBrendel
“Our land is small and it’s pressed on all sides. Not one of us can live here
peacefully.”PopulationPolicyinMontenegrofromtheLongNineteenthCentury
totheEndoftheFirstWorldWar..................................... 135
SerhiyCholiy
War as a Model of Population Movement in the Modern World: The Galician
PerspectivesintheFirstWorldWar ................................... 159
KonradZielin´ski
TheJewsandtheBolsheviks.TheOctoberRevolutionandEscalationofRadical
Anti-SemitisminthePolishLandsDuringtheWorldWarIandtheFirstYearsof
IndependentPoland ................................................ 179
PeterHolquist
TheSovietPolicyofDe-cossackizationDuringtheRussianCivilWar(1919) 191
https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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6 Contents
Bibliography ........................................................ 217
Contributors ........................................................ 245
https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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The First World War as a Caesura?
DemographicConcepts,PopulationPolicy,andGenocideintheLateOttoman,
Russian,andHabsburgSpheres
Introduction
ByChristinPschichholz
WastheFirstWordWaracaesuraregardingdemographicconcepts,population
policy,andgenocide?1Giventhemillionsofciviliancasualties,theanswerisimme-
diate.ThepoliticsofethnicviolenceattainednewdimensionsduringtheFirstWorld
War.Notonlywerecrimescommittedagainstthe‘enemy’populationbyforeignar-
mies;violenceinitiatedbystateauthoritiesdirected towardssectionsoftheirown
populations involvedunprecedented dimensions of demographic engineering. The
post-warperiodwasthusleftwiththeidealofapurportedlyhomogenousnational-
isticpeople.
OnlywiththeadventoftheSecondWorldWarcouldtheFirstWorldWarbeiden-
tifiedasthegreatseminalcatastrophe(Urkatastrophe).GeorgeF.Kennan’stermar-
ticulatedtheconnectionbetweenthetwoworldwarsandhasstronglyinfluencedthe
search for possible continuities between them. Extensiveresearch in recent years,
however, has allowed scholars to grasp the significance of the First World War in
its own right and to embed theyears 1914–1918 in the history of violence in the
twentiethcenturymoreprofoundlythaneverbefore.Thisalsomeansthattheconflict
of1914–1918isnolongerunderstoodasakindoftrialrunforgenocideandradical-
izationofmilitaryviolenceinthe20thcentury.Moreover,researchonconflictand
violencehasgivenmuchgreaterweighttotheeventsof1914–1918.2Thevarious
warsthattookplaceshortlybeforetheGreatWaralreadyanticipatedtheethniccon-
flictsandviolencethatoccurredperiodicallythroughoutthetwentiethcentury.Thus,
forcedaswellasnegotiatedpopulationshiftswereadministeredandexecutedduring
theBalkanwarsof1912–13.ThecompetitionandalliancesbetweentheGreatPow-
ers,andthecrisisintheOttomanEmpire,whichemergedclearlyduringtheItalo-
TurkishWar,confirmedtotheBalkanstatesthatnationalclaimsweremilitarilyen-
1Thepresentvolumeistheresultoftheconference“DemographicConcepts,Population
Policy,Genocide–TheFirstWorldWarasaCaesura?“(September29andOctober1,2016).
AboutthirtyinternationalexpertsgatheredinPotsdam,Germany,inordertodiscussdemo-
graphicpoliciesinthetimeperiodofWorldWarI.Theconferencewasjointlyorganizedby
theLepsiushausPotsdamandtheUniversityofPotsdam.
2Förster,p.19.
https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58146-7
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8 ChristinPschichholz
forceable.Thesedevelopmentshadthusalreadytransformedtheinternationalsys-
tembefore1914.3Withitstransformationofwarfareduetodimensionofindustri-
alization, however, the First World War brought about decisive changes, not only
ontheWesternFrontintheemblematicformoftrenchwarfarebutalsointheborder
regionsofthemulti-ethnicempires,especiallyinthephasesofmobilewarfare–and
thusalsoamongtheveryheterogeneouspopulationintheborderregions.4Duringthe
FirstWorldWar,theHabsburgmilitarytookactioninthefrontlineareasofGalicia
againstitsownUkrainianpopulationaswellasintheBalkansagainstitsownSerb
populations,whofoundthemselvessuspectedofdisloyalty.InRussia,expulsionsand
deportationsfromdifferentterritorieswereaimedespeciallyagainsttheJewishand
Muslim sectorsofthe population,and,inthe courseofthewar,againstPoles and
Ukrainians too. In the Ottoman Empire the Armenian genocidewas embedded in
anextensivepopulationpolicythataffectedboththeRûmmillet(ofGreek-Orthodox
creed),theArab,andtheKurdishpopulation.
ScholarshipontheFirstWorldWaraswellasonthepoliticsofethnicityandmass
violenceinthelateOttoman,Russian,andHabsburgempireshasestablishedtwoof
themostexcitingfieldswithinbothEuropeanandMiddleEasternhistoryinrecent
memory.5Thisanthologyseekstocombinebothofthesefields.Althoughthemag-
nitudeofradicalpopulationpolicyduringtheFirstWorldWar,withitsprecursorsin
theBalkanwars,inthepost-warstrugglesintheOttomanEmpire,aswellasinRussia
appearsobvious,surprisinglylittlehasbeenundertakentoviewitfromacomparative
perspective,6althoughdoingsocouldhelptoclearupmanyquestions:IftheFirst
WorldWarwas aturning point,howcan itbedescribed? Didthewar,whichwas
perceivedasastruggleforsurvival,turnregionalconflictsintoglobalones,thusrad-
icalizingthem?Ordidcertainstatesexploitthestateofwarwithinaglobalconfla-
grationtosolveregionalconflictsquicklyandinaradicalway?Wereradicalpop-
ulationpoliciesobservedandutilizedtocreateamodelforothercountries’ownpop-
ulation policies? In what way were military plans and domestic measures inter-
twined? To what degree did state authorities that undertook and organized
population policies before the war still play a part during and after the war? And
what factors distinguished the Ottoman Empire from other multi-ethnic empires
suchthatthemostradicalpopulationpolicywasimplementedthere,settinggenoci-
dalprocessesinmotion?
In1915,andinthewakeofanunsuccessfuloffensiveagainstRussia,theCentral
Committeeof Unionand Progress (CUP)organized thedeportation of Armenians
fromtheareaoftheCaucasusandPersianmilitaryfrontstotheSyriandesert.Official
3Geppert/Mulligan/Rose,p.17.
4Überegger,„VerbrannteErde“,241–278.
5Campos; Chokobaeva; Provence; Dornik/Walleczek-Fritz/Wedrac; Gingeras; Kirmse;
Robson;Reynolds.
6Comparative aspects also showed in a wider time frame Barkey/Von Hagen; Barkey;
Reynolds.
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TheFirstWorldWarasaCaesura? 9
militaryreasonswerecited:ItwasassumedthattheArmenianswereplanninganup-
risinginordertosupporttheRussianforcesfrombehindtheTurkishlines.Thede-
portationsweresoonextendedtoallArmenianslivinginAsiaMinor.Morethana
millionwoulddieduringtheyears1915–1917.7
ThestrugglefortheadequateremembranceandrecognitionoftheArmeniangen-
ocidestillaffectsrelationsbetweennumerousstateseventoday.TheCaucasusre-
gion,theclosedborderbetweenArmeniaandTurkey,theNagorno-Karabakhcon-
flict,aswellasinternalTurkishconflictsserveasexamplesinthisregard.Thecom-
plicatedandtense(geo-)politicalsituationinvariousconflictregionshaspreventeda
frankandopendiscussionofablatantatrocityasacaseofgenocide.Turkey,asthe
successor-state to the Ottoman Empire, has struggled to cope with the profound
moral distress and the loss of authority arising from its association with a crime
againsthumanity.Scarcelyanyotherissueclarifiesthesignificanceofnationalnar-
rativesandthecomplexitiesinvolvedinthemutualunderstandingofhistoricalinter-
pretationasmuchastherecognitionofthegenocideagainsttheArmenianpeople:
Contrastinginterpretationsoftheeventhavebecomedeeplyrootedandhavecometo
compriseafundamentalcomponentofnationalidentity.Overthelasttwentyyears,
however,thetopicoftheArmeniangenocidehasundergoneaprocessofnormaliza-
tionintheintellectualdebate,withpositiveresults.Withinthiscontext,twoaspects
shouldbehighlightedthathaveimprovedtheresearchandacademicdiscourseonthe
Armeniangenocide.First,moredifferentiatedempiricalresearchhasemergedfrom
theacademiccommunity,yieldingmanynewfindings.Second,theresearchitselfhas
become more international.8 The intensive studies on the Armenian genocide that
havebeenconductedoverrecentyearshavemainlychallengedoldernationalnarra-
tivesandparadigmaticreductions.Theobsessivesearchforthe“smokinggun”inthe
faceofTurkishdenialismcontinuestoexist.Atthesametime,theyoungergenera-
tionofscholarsinparticularhasbrokenwithone-dimensionalexplanatorypatterns.9
Thisnewresearchhascenteredonempiricalresultsinthecontextofsocial,econom-
ic,geo-politicalanddemographicdecision-makingprocesses,andonunderstanding
the Armenian genocideas a part ofthewider CUP programme.10By contrast, the
focus of relevant academic works that have been written in the 1980s and 1990s
waslessonthecontextualizationthanontheproofofintent,andthusonthejustifi-
cationofthetermgenocide.ThisfocusculminatedinacomparisonwiththeNazi
crimesand,asinthecaseofVahaknN.Dadrian,inanadditionalanalogybetween
theJewishpopulationintheGermanReichandtheArmenianpopulationintheOtto-
manEmpire.11Understandably,thecomparisonwasintendedtoservethenecessary
7ThenumberofvictimscitedintheliteratureandthecontroversyregardingthisseeBijak/
Lubman,26–43.
8Forrecenttrendsseeindetail:DerMatossian;Pschichholz,p.15,25–31.
9Completelyagainsttherecenttrend:Morris/DrorZe’evi.
10E.g. Erol, Macedonian Question; Üngör, Fresh Understandings; Kaiser, Armenian
Property;Üngör/Polatel.
11Dadrian,TheConvergent,p.151-169.
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10 ChristinPschichholz
andlaudablepurposeofraisingawarenessoftheatrocity.Fromascholarlyperspec-
tive,however,thegaininknowledgeremainedlimited.
Thesekindsofcomparisons,aswellasthemanyvariationsinthedefinitionsof
genocide,leadtothequestionoftheextenttowhichtheconceptofgenocideishelp-
fulforhistoricalanalysisandwhetheritshouldnotsimplybeomittedbecauseofits
instrumentalizationasa“politischerKampfbegriff”(forthepurposesofintervention,
media attention or unanimous condemnation).12 But the term genocide is indeed
meaningfulwhenphenomenaofviolenceareseencloselyintheirhistoricalcontext
andincomparisonwithmassviolencethattookplaceintherespectivetemporal,po-
liticalandmilitarycontexts.Itisnotamatterofdescribingotherformsofmassvio-
lenceas“only”ethniccleansing,ethnictensionsorpogromsofshortduration,and
thususingthemasayardstickforahierarchyofcruelty,butrathertoobtain,through
thecomparativeperspective,startingpointsfordeterminingexactlywhatledtomass
violenceandwhatcircumstancesweakenedorpromotedtheprocessleadingupto
genocide.
OnlyincomparisontomassviolencethatdidnotendasradicallyastheArmenian
case,doesthespecificallygenocidaldimensioninthecontextoftheFirstWorldWar
becomeclear,forinotherborderregionstheconditionsoftheconflictsarenotdis-
similar.Itispreciselybymeansofjuxtapositionwithnon-genocidesthattheconcept
ofgenocidecanfindaplaceinempiricalhistoriography,whosegreatercontextual-
izationpromisesamuchmorefar-reachinganalysisthananyreferencetotheviolent
crimesoftheSecondWorldWarcouldprovide.
Thefollowingessayscombinedifferentaspectsofandperspectivesonthedem-
ographicpoliciesbefore,during,andafterWorldWarI.Preciselybecauseofthedif-
ferencesbetweentheexaminedcases,thesimilaritiespresentedappearevenmore
interesting.Themoststrikingexampleisperhapsthesignificantdegreeofinternal
conflictexperiencedbymanystates,andtheextenttowhichthisaffectedtheirex-
ternalpolicies.Thefirstthreeessaysdealwiththecorequestionsfromatransnational
perspective.RonaldG.SunyandMarkLeveneapproachthetopicbytreatingthede-
velopmentsduringthewarasaEuropeanintertwinedhistoryofethnicviolence,and
byexaminingtheYoungTurkisheliteintheOttomanEmpireinthecontextofthe
Europe-widedebatesaboutnationalization,ethnichomogenization,andtheradical-
ization of violence. Arno Barth‘s contributionpresents methodological considera-
tions for further analysing early twentieth century populationpolicy. For thispur-
pose,heusesinsightsdrawnfrombothpsychologyandpoliticalscience.
Thefollowingessaysthentakeageographicalfocus.Hans-LukasKieserlooksat
theOttomanEmpire,givinganaffirmativeanswertothequestionofwhethertheFirst
WorldWarconstitutesacaesurainmodernhistoryconcerningthepracticeofdem-
ographicengineering.Indoingso,however,hedepartsfromthecustomarychronol-
ogy,addressingnotonlytheFirstWorldWarof1914–18,butthedecadeof1912–22
12Gerlach,p.455–471.
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