YEREVAN — The Hayastan All Armenian Fund recently congratulated all the winners of the 2008 President’s Prize, including academics Vahakn Dadrian and Wolfgang Gust, who were awarded the prestigious prize for their contributions to the study of the Armenian Genocide as well as efforts to secure its worldwide recognition.
Gust received the President’s Prize for his groundbreaking research of German state archives pertaining to the 1915 Genocide. His landmark 2005 study, The Armenian Genocide During the First World War: Documents from German State Archives, reveals the deep-rooted relations between imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire during the first part of the 20th century, particularly as documented in the secret correspondence of the German consul and ambassador in Istanbul with the Turkish government.
Gust’s 675-page volume includes 218 secret and top-secret telegrams, letters and communiqués, most of which have never been published previously.
A renowned journalist and scholar, Gust has long been dedicated to the study of the Genocide. An Armenian translation of his first work related to the subject, 1993’s The Armenian Genocide: The Tragedy of the Oldest Christian Nation, was published in Armenia in 2002. In recognition of Gust’s achievement, Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, bestowed on him the St. Sahag and St. Mashtots medal in 2001.
Dadrian, who has devoted his entire career to the study of the Genocide, received the President’s Prize not only for his past achievements but ongoing research within his field. Currently serving as director of genocide research at the Zoryan Institute, Dadrian is the author of numerous pioneering studies on the Genocide, German complicity, Turkish denial, parallels between the Genocide and the Holocaust and related topics.
The special category of the President’s Prize, Valuable Contribution to the Recognition of the Genocide, was instituted in 2005. The prize includes a certificate of achievement, a medal and a monetary award in the amount of $10,000. To date, nine scholars and public figures, including four Armenians, have received the President’s Prize in this category.
