Kühlmann was born in Constantinople . From 1908 to 1914 , he was councillor of the German embassy in London , and was very active in the study of all phases of contemporary political and social life in Great Britain and even in Ireland . During World War I , he was initially councillor of embassy at Constantinople . In October 1914 he founded the '' News Bureau '' which became a vehicle for German propaganda in the Ottoman Empire . This included postcards of ruined Belgian churches , which were used to appeal to the Jihadist sentiments held by those who had participated in massacres of Christians in Constantinople in 1896 During the Armenian Genocide , Kühlmann was initially reluctant to expose the massacres against the Armenian population . Kühlmann , who held sympathetic beliefs toward Turkish nationalism , repeatedly used the term " alleged " and excused the Turkish government for the massacres . Kühlmann , in defense of the Turkish government and the German-Turkish World War alliance , stated that the policies against the Armenians was a matter of " internal politics " . However , Kühlmann eventually stated that , " The destruction of the Armenians was undertaken on a massive scale . This policy of extermination will for a long time stain the name of Turkey . " He was subsequently minister at The Hague , and from September 1916 until August 1917 , ambassador at Constantinople
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Richard von Kühlmann