Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos: WHEN WAS IT?

He [German Admiral Usedom] said that the Armenians were in the way, that they were an obstacle to German success, and that it had therefore been necessary to remove them, just like so much useless lumber. He spoke about them as detachedly as one would speak about removing a row of houses in order to bombard a city.
—Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story by Henry Morgenthau

            
               

When was it? 
                      that Germans and Turks,
Central Powers, too—
pulled from their uniforms,
ORDERS FROM CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS: 
 
    “Start from the East; sweep to the Black Sea; 
     continue through to Cappadosía; later—
     swing towards the Ionian West.
     There’s a shortage of bullets, 
     take as long as it takes—be thorough!  
 
 Phase I:
   “Release your lusts. 
     Rip! Rape! Plunder!
     Chop all useless lumber. (1)
     Without mercy: Stab, 
     kick, drown, burn!
     Strip trunks, roots,
     branches. Tear! Uproot! Bury!
     Clear the land—no twigs, 
     nor splinters leave.  
  
  “Sticks and stones 
    will break their bones, 
    and names will mark them.
    Call them useless lumber(1) —
    until all Armenians, Greeks, 
    Assyrians, are diminished. 
   
Phase II: 
  “Prevent Ambassador Morgenthau from  
    publishing particulars of our crimes! 
    Render him and his protests useless. 
    Confiscate all witness books,
    remain unrepentant—
   ‘Was Their Fault’ must be our motto. 
    Carry on, until the job is done!”
  For the lure of coveted minerals, 
and the Baghdad Railway Lines—
church bells toll no longer. And,
names like: 
Moskarópoulos – Papazián – Pincáro, 
cannot be not be heard either. 

When hell fell over Asia Minor,(2)
pain knew no bounds
—in the land of their mothers, 
and their mothers’ mothers 
                                              before them.

So it was for in 1914 
                               through to 1923.          
                 
                  —SOFIA KONTOGEORGE KOSTOS 

German: (1)nutzloses bauholtz  (1)English: useless lumber
Turkish: (1)faydasiz kereste   (1)English: useless lumber

(2)Asia Minor (Turkey now)