Some authors defended the Sultan and denied or downplayed the extent of mass violence, while others condemned the massacres. Newspapers and public figures raised awareness of the atrocities and their human and political implications, laying the foundation for the substantial missionary and relief work that would last through the Armenian Genocide and beyond. The most important Scandinavian missionary effort at aiding and proselytizing among Ottoman Armenians was to a large degree coordinated between the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish Women Missionary Workers. Scandinavian and U.S. missionaries were often able to speak more freely that other ‘Westerners’ returning from the Ottoman Empire. In his paper, Matthias Bjørnlund will explore the background and the extent of cooperation between, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish witnesses to the Armenian genocide. His broader question is, however, what was known about the genocide, and how it was perceived in Scandinavian countries.

Matthias Bjørnlund is a Danish historian working on mass violence in the late Ottoman Empire, with an emphasis on the Armenian genocide. He has published articles on the coverage of the Armenian genocide in Danish diplomatic sources; the 1914 ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Greeks, Danish missionaries and relief workers in the Ottoman Empire; sexual violence during the Armenian genocide; Rwanda genocide; and the concept of genocide. He is currently working on a book-length manuscript on Denmark/Scandinavia and the Ottoman Armenians, 1900-1940.

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