Germany's Foreign Ministry has canceled a planned concert at its consulate in Istanbul about the World War I-era mass slaughter and deportation of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
The decision has sparked accusations that Berlin was giving in to pressure from Turkey.
The mass killings are considered by many historians and several countries to have been genocide. Turkey objects, saying that Armenians died in much smaller numbers and because of civil strife rather than a planned Ottoman government effort to annihilate the Christian minority.
The German Foreign Ministry said that it had informed the Dresden Symphony Orchestra that the venue would not be available on November 13, the date of the planned concert.
The orchestra has said the concert aimed to "heal the wounds of the Turkish and Armenian past."
The Dresden Symphony Orchestra had sent invitations the concert to top Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, German media reported.
The sensitive historical question has strained relations between Berlin and Ankara at time when the European Union is relying on Turkey's help to contain the huge influx of refugees to the continent.