It's warning the move could have repercussions for bilateral relations at a time when Germany is relying on Turkey to help it control the arrival of refugees and migrants to Europe.
"Who is in favour of the motion? Who is against the motion? The motion is passed with a remarkable majority."
There was only one vote against, and one abstaining, in the Bundestag's lower house vote to declare the World War One killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish soldiers an act of genocide.
The resolution says the Armenians' fate exemplified "the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and genocide which marked the 20th century in such a terrible way."
And it acknowledged that the German Empire, then a military ally of the Ottomans, did nothing to stop the killings.
"We Germans know, maybe better than anyone, because of the dark chapters of our history, how painful it can be to deal with the past. But we also know that an honest self-criticism of the past doesn't damage relationships with other countries. The Turkish government is not responsible for what happened 100 years ago, but it shares responsibility in what happens in the future."
The words of the German Parliament's president, Norbert Lammert, make reference to his country's responsibility for the mass extermination of Jews during the Holocaust.
But they also look to Turkey's reaction to what is a symbolic resolution.
In the immediate aftermath, Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Germany and summoned the German charge d'affaires to the foreign ministry in the capital, Ankara.
It's also described the German parliament's recognition of what it says are distorted and groundless allegations as an historic mistake.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded while on a visit to Kenya.
"I've recently consulted the prime minister and we've agreed on the fact that we are currently in the process of calling back the ambassador for further consultations. When he comes back we're going to sit down and discuss these issues, which have the potential of affecting relations between Turkey and Germany."
The resolution comes at a time when the European Union's largest economy needs Turkey to abide by an agreement helping stem the number of refugees and migrants entering Europe from the Middle East.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was absent from the vote, says her priority is to strengthen ties.
"There are many things that connect Turkey and Germany and even if you have a different opinion regarding one particular issue, the breadth of our friendly and strategic partnership, from defence cooperation to the 3 million ethnic Turks living in Germany, is great. And that's why I, myself, and the whole German government want to contribute toward promoting dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, regarding the events of 101 years ago."
Armenian MP Samvel Farmanyan has welcomed the outcome.
"Armenia welcomes recognition by German parliament of the Armenian genocide, which Pope Francis called the first genocide in the history of humanity. The recognition of the Armenian genocide by the German Bundestag is a turning point in the process of international recognition of the first crime against humanity."
Germany joins more than 20 countries that officially recognise what is referred to as the 'Armenian Genocide'.
Armenia puts the number of its people killed by the Turks between 1915 and 1922 at around 1.5 million.
It says many more were forcibly deported from territories held by Ottoman Turk forces.
Historians tell of other minorities -- the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and Greeks -- as being targeted.
Turkey does not dispute that many deaths and what it calls 'relocations' did occur, but it does dispute the Armenians' estimated death toll, and rejects outright the use of the word 'genocide'.
Lawyer Geoffrey Robertson has represented the Armenian government in a free speech case at the European Court of Human Rights.
He's previously told SBS when it comes to the Armenians, Turkey struggles to acknowledge events of the past.
"There's a deal of nationalism in Turkey that doesn't want to acknowledge a crime that the whole world saw. We've all seen the pictures of the Armenian women and children who were cast off into the desert and forced to walk for hundreds of miles without medicine, without food -- most of them died on that terrible death march. And the evidence is overwhelming. It was -- as Britain, France and Russia declared in 1915 -- a crime against humanity. But there is something in the Turkish government that doesn't want to acknowledge the crimes of its past."
