Turkish Historical Society says it located lost Ottoman-era Armenian gold

June 22, 2012 - 15:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish Historical Society has claimed that gold that was obtained from the auctioning off of Armenian assets during the Ottoman era was seized by allied forces as war reparations in the aftermath of World War I, Hurriyet Daily News reported citing Bugün daily.

Around 5 million pieces of Ottoman gold reportedly belonging to exiled Armenians were taken by the allied forces, possibly by Britain, according to a recent two-year study by the society.

A group of Armenian-Canadians were paid compensation by a British bank from the seized fund, which now equals 1.3 million pounds.

The money was initially transferred to a German bank and was then divided between the Allies.

The U.S. government has been investigating the sources of the transfer in the Allies’ budget as well, Bugün said.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.