Heath Lowrey

[MJ]

In the past, I had posted Heath Lowrey's scandalous letter to the Ambassador of Turkey in HyeForum. I searched for it, and couldn't find.

 

Does anyone remember where it was? Or does anyone remember the original source?

 

Or was it Bernard Lewis?

 

Thanks for the help.

[THOTH]

It was Lowery. I think Domino has this extensively archived if I'm not mistaken. If not, I do (somewhere...)...

[MJ]

Thanks, Thoth. I know it is somewhere in this HyeForum.

 

I need the material. Thanks for the help.

[Guest Fadi]

Here is the material in question. Would it be to much personal asking, why you need that material.

 

" _TO_: H.E. AMBASSADOR NUZHET KANDEMIR:

 

_FROM_: DR. HEATH W. LOWRY;

 

_REG_: COMMENTS ON THE "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" INCLUDED IN THE ROBERT

JAY LIFTON STUDY ENTITLED: _THE NAZI DOCTORS, MEDICAL KILLINGS

AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GENOCIDE_;

 

_DATE_: SEPTEMBER 26, 1990.

 

PER YOUR REQUEST CONVEYED TO ME BY MS. HILAL BASKAL OF YOUR STAFF, I HAVE

LOCATED AND READ LIFTON'S _THE NAZI DOCTORS_, WITH AN EYE TO DRAFTING A LETTER

FOR YOUR SIGNATURE TO THE AUTHOR. LIFTON'S WORK, A MASSIVE TOME OF XIII + 561

PAGES, IS AUTHORED BY A PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOLOGY AT JOHN JAY

COLLEGE AND THE GRADUATE CENTER OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK [NOTE: THE

LATTER IS THE SAME INSTITUTION WHERE PROFESSOR RUSTOW OF THE I.T.S. BOARD

TEACHES]. HE IS A WELL KNOWN AUTHORITY ON THE TRAUMA OF WAR AND HIS MAJOR

WORKS INCLUDE:

 

_DEATH IN LIFE_ (1968)

_HOME FROM THE WAR_ (1973)

_THE LIFE OF THE SELF_ (1976)

_THE BROKEN CONNECTION_ (1982)

 

IN SHORT, LIFTON IS A RECOGNIZED AUTHORITY IN HIS OWN FIELD WHO CLEARLY KNOWS

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THE SO-CALLED "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE." INDEED, A CAREFUL

PERUSAL OF HIS BOOK, REVEALS THAT IN ITS 561 PAGES HE MAKES THE FOLLOWING FEW

REFERENCES TO THE SUBJECT:

 

_P. XII._ "BUT I FOUND THAT NAZI DOCTORS DIFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY

FROM THESE OTHER GROUPS, NOT SO MUCH IN THEIR HUMAN

EXPERIMENTATION BUT IN THEIR CENTRAL ROLE IN GENOCIDAL

PROJECTS . . . _(PERHAPS TURKISH DOCTORS, IN THEIR

PARTICIPATION IN THE GENOCIDE AGAINST THE ARMENIANS,

COME CLOSEST, AS I SHALL I LATER SUGGEST) . ."

 

[NOTE: LIFTON DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY SOURCE FOR THIS

STATEMENT FOLLOWING THIS PASSAGE;

 

_PP.466-7_: I SHALL REFER TO OTHER GENOCIDES -- NOTABLY THE TURKS'

ANNIHILATION OF ABOUT ONE MILLION ARMENIANS IN 1915-

_NOT WITH ANY CLAIM TO COMPREHENSIVENESS_ BUT ONLY TO

SUGGEST WIDER APPLICATION

 

NOTE: AGAIN NO FOOTNOTED SOURCE. MORE IMPORTANTLY IS

LIFTON'S ADMISSION THAT HE DOESN'T CLAIM ANY EXPERTISE

ON THE SUBJECT HE IS GOING TO ADDRESS;

 

_P. 470_: THERE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN DEFINITE PARALLELS IN TURKISH

HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO THEIR MASS MURDER OF

ARMENIANS IN 1915. WITHIN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, THROUGHOUT

THE LATTER PART OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THERE WAS

AN ATMOSPHERE OF PROGRESSIVE 'DECAY AND DISINTEGRATION',

ALONG WITH A CONTINUOUS IF LOSING STRUGGLE FOR SPIRITUAL

AND POLITICAL UNIFICATION. THE TURKS ALSO EXPERIENCED

HUMILIATING FORMS Of FAILED REGENERATION IN THEIR DISASTROUS

MILITARY ENTERPRISES DURING THE 1912 BALKAN WAR (IGNOMINIOUS

DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF THEIR FORMER SLAVES AND WARDS, THE

GREEKS AND THE BULGARIANS) AND THEIR ABORTIVE RUSSIAN

CAMPAIGN IN 1915 AS A GERMAN ALLY. _VAHAKN N. DADRIAN_ OBSERVES

THAT THE TURKS MOVED CLOSER TO GENOCIDE AS THEIR PERCEPTION

OF THEIR SITUATION PROCEEDED 'FROM THE CONDITION OF MERE

STRAIN, TO THAT Of CRISIS, TO A PRECIPITATE CRISIS, AND

EVENTUALLY TO THE CATACLYSM OF WAR.' [19]

 

_FOOTNOTE 19_: VAHAKN N. DADRIAN, "THE ROLE OF TURKISH

PHYSICIANS IN THE WORLD WAR I GENOCIDE OF OTTOMAN ARMENIANS,"

_HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES_ I (1986, FORTHCOMING); DADRIAN,

"THE COMMON FEATURES OF THE ARMENIAN AND JEWISH CASES OF

GENOCIDE: A COMPARATIVE VICTIMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE," IN ISRAEL

DRAPKIN AND EMILIOI VIANO, _VICTIMOLOGY; A NEW FOCUS, VOL. IV

(LEXINGTON, MASS: D.C. HEATH, 1974, PP. 99-120. SEE ALSO, HELEN

FEIN, ACCOUNTING FOR GENOCIDE: VICTIMS -- AND SURVIVORS -- OF

THE HOLOCAUST (NEW YORK: FREE PRESS, 1979, PO. 10-18.

 

_NOTE_: THE SOLE SOURCE FOR LIFTON'S COMMENTS IS THE ARMENIAN

AUTHOR: VAHAKN DADRIAN.

 

P. 473: "AGAIN, THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS OF SIMILAR CURRENTS IN THE

TURKISH SITUATION. THE YOUNG TURKS' WHO SOUGHT TO REFORM

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE SPEARHEADED 'A MAJOR CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE

THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF OTTOMAN SOCIETY AS AN ANTIDOTE TO

INTERNAL DISCORD AND CONFLICT, AND ALSO AS A MEANS OF

RECAPTURING. IMPERIAL, PANTURKIC GLORY.' THEIR CURE INCLUDED

AN ADMIXTURE OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES,' AND

AND GENOCIDE BECAME A MEANS FOR [ BRINGING ABOUT ] A RADICAL

..... CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM.'" [34]

 

_FOOTNOTE 34_: SEE DADRIAN, "TURKISH PHYSICIANS" AND "COMMON

FEATURES" [19]

 

_NOTE_: AGAIN, LIFTON'S SOLE SOURCE FOR HIS VIEWS ON THE TURCO-

ARMENIAN QUESTION ARE THE TWO ARTICLES OF DADRIAN CITED IN

FOOTNOTE 19.

 

P. 475: IN THE CASE OF THE TURKS, WHATEVER THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARDS

SCIENCE, THEY DID PUT FORWARD A MYSTICAL VISION OF PAN-

TURANIANISM (OR 'TURKIFICATION') _WHICH ALLEGED A PREHISTORIC

MYTHIC UNITY AMONG TURANIAN PEOPLES BASED ON RACIAL ORIGIN_'

[43] AND ONE CANNOT DOUBT THE EXPERIENCE OF TRANSCENDENCE

OF TURKISH NATIONALISTS IN THEIR REVERSION TO FUNDAMENTALIST

MOHAMMEDANISM AS A CALL TO AN ANTI-ARMENIAN-CHRISTIAN CRUSADE --

ALL ON BEHALF OF A NEW VISION OF OTTOMAN GLORY."

 

_FOOTNOTE 43_: DADRIAN, "TURKISH PHYSICIANS" [19].

 

_NOTE_: ONCE AGAIN, LIFTON'S _SOLE_ SOURCE ID DADRIAN

 

P. 488: "ARMENIANS WERE DESCRIBED AS '_A CANCER, A MALIGNANCE WHICH LOOKS

LIKE A SMALL PIMPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE, WHICH, IF NOT REMOVED BY A

SKILLFUL SURGEON'S SCALPEL, WILL KILL THE PATIENT'" [108]

 

_FOOTNOTE 108_: A YOUNG TURK ACTIVIST, QUOTED IN KUPER,

_GENOCIDE_, P 40 [LEO KUPER, _GENOCIDE: ITS POLITICAL USE IN THE

TWENTIETH CENTURY_ (NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1981), PP.

19-23, 210-214

 

_NOTE_: AGAIN, LIFTON IS SIMPLY CITING AN ALREADY PUBLISHED (AND

VERY WELL KNOWN) BOOK BY A JEWISH EXPERT ON THE HOLOCAUST.

 

P. 493: "ONE CANNOT SAY THAT ANY PARTICULAR LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY IS

REQUIRED FOR GENOCIDE: THE TURKS KILLED ABOUT A MILLION ARMENIANS

BY MEANS OF SHOOTING, CLUBBING, BEATING, SLAVE LABOR, STARVATION,

AND OTHER FORMS OF TORTURE,"

 

_NOTE_: THERE IS NO FOOTNOTE APPENDED TO THIS STATEMENT, BUT

IT IS CLEARLY TAKEN FROM THE DADRIAN ARTICLES AS WELL.

 

**********

 

IN SUMMATION, WHAT WE ARE FACED WITH HERE ARE SEVEN REFERENCES

(COMPRISING ABOUT ONE FULL PAGE OF TEXT) IN A BOOK OF 561 PAGES. THEY ARE

BASED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON THE ARTICLES BY DADRIAN (EACH OF WHICH HAVE BEEN

THE SUBJECT OF DETAILED MEMOS BY THIS WRITER IN PAST YEARS), TOGETHER WITH

REFERENCES TO THE WORK OF HELEN FEIN (WHOSE BOOK INCLUDES A FULL CHAPTER ON

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE) AND LEO KUPER (WHOSE BOOK CONTAINS A VERY LONG CHAPTER

ON THE GENOCIDE). STATED DIFFERENTLY, LIFTON, IN HIS BOOK PUBLISHED FOUR

YEARS AGO IN 1986, IS SIMPLY USING THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE HOLOCAUST

AND GENOCIDE. CONSEQUENTLY, OUR BASIC PROBLEM IS WITH AUTHORS SUCH AS DADRIAN,

FEIN, AND KUPER, EACH OF WHOM ARE NOW SERVING AS SOURCES FOR AUTHORS SUCH AS

LIFTON. THESE FACTS MAKE IT RATHER DIFFICULT TO REGISTER OUR UNHAPPINESS WITH

LIFTON PER SE, AS HE WILL QUITE JUSTIFIABLY RESPOND BY GIVING US REFERENCES TO

HIS SOURCES, I.E. DADRIAN, FEIN, AND KUPER.

 

OUR PROBLEM IS LESS WITH LIFTON THAN IT IS WITH THE WORKS UPON WHICH HE

RELIES. LIFTON IS SIMPLY THE END OF THE CHAIN, THAT IS, FROM NOW ON WE WILL

SEE _ALL_ WORKS ON GENOCIDE OF THE JEWS, INCLUDING REFERENCES SUCH AS THOSE

MADE BY LIFTON ON THE BASIS OF THE WORKS OF DADRIAN, FEIN, KUPER, HOVANNISIAN,

ET. AL. THOUGH THIS POINT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY STRESSED BOTH IN WRITING AND

VERBALLY TO I.A.D.A.-ANKARA, WE HAVE NOT YET SEEN AS MUCH AS A SINGLE ARTICLE

BY ANY SCHOLAR RESPONDING TO _DADRIAN_ (OR ANY OF THE OTHERS AS WELL).

 

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT IT BE POINTED OUT TO ANKARA THAT LIFTON'S BOOK

IS SIMPLY THE END RESULT OF THE TURKISH FAILURE TO RESPOND IN A PROMPT FASHION

TO THE DADRIAN ARTICLES AND THE FEIN AND KUPER BOOK.

 

ON THE CHANCE THAT YOU WILL STILL WISH TO RESPOND IN WRITING TO LIFTON,

I HAVE DRAFTED THE FOLLOWING LETTER, WHICH, DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF AN ADDRESS

FOR LIFTON WILL HAVE TO BE SENT TO HIM IN CARE OF HIS PUBLISHER.

 

Draft of letter to Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, prepared by Dr. Heath Lowry,

to be signed by Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir

 

D R A F T L E T T E R

- - - - - - - - - - -

 

MR. ROBERT JAY LIFTON

% BASIC BOOKS, INC.

10 E 53RD. STREET

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10022

 

DEAR MR. LIFTON:

 

YOUR 1986 PUBLICATION ENTITLED: _THE NAZI DOCTORS, MEDICAL KILLING

AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GENOCIDE_ WAS RECENTLY BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION. NEEDLESS

TO SAY, I WAS SHOCKED BY REFERENCES IN YOUR WORK (PP. XII., 466-7, 470, 473,

476, 488, & 493) TO THE SO CALLED "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE," ALLEGEDLY PERPETRATED

BY THE OTTOMAN TURKS DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR. I WAS EVEN MORE DISTURBED

WHEN YOUR CITATIONS REVEALED THAT YOUR SOURCES CONSISTED Of ARTICLES AND BOOKS

BY THREE INDIVIDUALS (VAHAKN N. DADRIAN, HELEN FEIN AND LEO KUPER), NONE OF

WHOM ARE HISTORIANS OF THE PERIOD IN QUESTION AND NONE OF WHOM RELY ON PRIMARY

RESEARCH IN THEIR OWN WORKS.

 

IN SHORT, YOU HAVE SIMPLY PASSED ALONG QUESTIONABLE SECONDARY SOURCES

AS EVIDENCE fOR A NUMBER OF CONTENTIONS WHICH ARE, TO SAY THE LEAST, HOTLY

DEBATED AMONG CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARS WRITING ON THE PERIOD AND EVENTS IN

QUESTION.

 

IT IS PARTICULARLY DISTURBING TO SEE A MAJOR SCHOLAR ON THE HOLOCAUST,

A TRAGEDY WHOSE ENORMITY AND BARBARITY MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN, SO CARELESS

IN HIS REFERENCES TO A FIELD OUTSIDE HIS OWN AREA OF EXPERTISE. FOR TURKS, WHO

ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF OUR LONG AND CONTINUING ROLE AS A HAVEN FOR

MINORITIES (INCLUDING THE JEWS EVICTED FROM SPAIN BY THE INQUISITION), IT IS

PARTICULARLY DISQUIETING TO FIND OUR OWN HISTORY DISTORTED IN WORKS DEVOTED TO

THE HOLOCAUST OF WORLD WAR II.

 

TO COMPARE A TRAGIC CIVIL WAR (PERPETRATED BY MISGUIDED ARMENIAN

NATIONALISTS) AND THE HUMAN SUFFERING IT WROUGHT ON BOTH THE MUSLIM AND

CHRISTIAN POPULATIONS, WITH THE HORRORS OF A PREMEDITATED ATTEMPT TO

SYSTEMATICALLY ERADICATE A PEOPLE, IS, TO ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE HISTORY IN

QUESTION, SIMPLY LUDICROUS

 

I AM ENCLOSING COPIES OF WORKS BY TWO AMERICAN EXPERTS ON THE HISTORY

OF TURCO ARMENIAN RELATIONS, PROFESSORS JUSTIN MCCARTHY AND HEATH LOWRY, AND

WOULD HOPE THAT IN THE INTERESTS OF OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS YOU WILL NOT ONLY

READ THEM, BUT REFLECT HAVING DONE SO IN ANY FUTURE WORKS YOU MAY PUBLISH.

 

SINCERELY YOURS,

 

NUZHET KANDEMIR

AMBASSADOR, REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

WASHINGTON, D.C."

[MJ]

Thanks, Domino. Do you have the link for this material, too?

 

I have promised it to someone.

[Guest Fadi]

Here a link for it.

 

http://users.ids.net/~gregan/ethics.html

[MJ]

Thanks again.