Armenian genocide scholar Tessa Hofmann is awarded Germany’s highest honor
The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warmly congratulates its long-standing volunteer Armenia coordinator, human rights activist and scholar Dr. Tessa Hofmann on receiving the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The award was presented on Monday, October 20, 2025, following its approval by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in June.
“We are extremely pleased about this well-deserved honor,” said Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work at the STP. “With her scientific expertise and tireless commitment, Tessa Hofmann has made a significant contribution to ensuring that the genocide of the Armenians is not only known in Germany, but also politically recognized.”
For decades, Dr. Tessa Hofmann has been dedicated to addressing and raising awareness of genocides — in particular, the genocide of Armenian, Assyrian/Aramaic and Greek Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Her commitment extends far beyond the boundaries of academic work. As founder of the Arbeitsgruppe Anerkennung, gegen Genozid, für Völkerverständigung (AGA) (Working Group for Recognition, Against Genocide, for International Understanding), she played a key role in the German Bundestag’s recognition of the genocide in 2016. When Azerbaijan began its nine-month hunger blockade of Artsakh in 2022, Hofmann was among the first to warn of the threat of genocide. Once again, she tirelessly campaigns for reappraisal and recognition, urgently warning against ongoing violence toward Armenians.
Numerous publications, lectures and campaigns can be traced back to her work. Her books, such as Der Völkermord an den Armeniern vor Gericht (The Armenian Genocide in Court, 1980) and Das Verbrechen des Schweigens (The Crime of Silence, 1985), remain standard works today. At the same time, she played a leading role in the establishment of the Berlin Memorial for the Victims of the Genocide of Christians in the Ottoman Empire — the first of its kind in Germany.
“Tessa Hofmann is not only a scholar but also a bridge builder,” Reinke continued. “She creates connections between academia and civil society, between the diaspora and the political public sphere — and in doing so, she always remains humane, respectful and uncompromising in her work.”
With Tessa Hofmann, the Office of the Federal President honors a woman whose work has not only had a lasting impact on the Society for Threatened Peoples, but who also serves as a role model for civic engagement and historical responsibility. Hofmann lives and works in Berlin.
This article was originally published on the Society for Threatened Peoples website.
