"AUCTION OF SOULS" OR "MEMORIAL OF TRUTH"
"Ravished Armenia", one of the first documentary memoirs of an eyewitness of was published in 1918, in New York. In this book Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian, a girl from Chmshkatsag, Armenian populated town in the Ottoman Empire, gave a detailed account of the terrible experiences she endured during the deportations. At the age of fourteen Arshaluys was beaten and tortured in harems of Turkish officials and Kurdish tribesmen.
The book "Ravished Armenia" was completed when American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief offered to create a film based on the scenario of the book and all the profit, which later on reached $30 million, would be given to 60.000 Armenian orphans in the Near East for relief purposes. In 1918, at Metro Goldwin Mayer studio, director Oscar Apfel made "Auction of Souls" silent film, which actually became not only the first movie on the Armenian genocide, but also the first genocide movie ever made. More than 10.000 Armenian residents of Southern California, including 200 deported children, participated in the scenes.
The premiere of the "Auction of Souls" was held on February 16, 1919, in Plaza Hotel, New York under the auspices of Oliver Harriman and George Vanderbilt, members of American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief.
The film was shown in large cities of 23 U.S. states, in several countries of Latin America, including Mexico and Cuba. It was a success everywhere and was estimated as "epoch-making film".
The "Auction of Souls" was taken to Great Britain in December, 1919, and censured. After long lasting negotiations the film was shown in Royal Albert Hall, by the permission of Scotland Yard and played for three weeks. At the beginning of 1920s Mardiganian's "Ravished Armenia" was censured and taken off the British and American libraries.
For over eighty years film historians have been searching the world for the nine reels of Ravished Armenia but failed to find any trace. The remaining reels of the rare nitrate based film were lost. Some say the reels presumably sunk with a ship on their way to the port of Batoum, Georgia, or stolen by thieves. The full-length version of the film, which lasting 85 minutes, unfortunately, hasn't been saved. With the efforts of Eduard Gozanlian, an Armenian from Argentina, a 20 minute segment of the reel was found in 1994. One copy of that segment is kept in the funds of Museum-Institute. The film included English, French and Armenian subtitles for every scene. The list of the original subtitles for Ravished Armenia is preserved in The Selig Collection at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They are also reproduced in Anthony Slide's book "Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian". This book was published by Scarecrow Press in 1997. It tells the story of the making of the film and reveals the young girl's survival story.
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the "Ravished Armenia", the AGMI has issued a memorial postcard and has created an on-line exhibition at www.genocide-museum.am.
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By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California CourierTurkey's two top leaders were elated that Pres. Obama called them last week. Pres. Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan used glowing terms to describe their talks with the President of the United States. At ...ANCC CHALLENGES PROF. ATAOV'S ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL CAMPAIGN
5Toronto -- The Armenian National Committee of Canada's (ANCC) Executive Director Aris Babikian challenged Turkish professor Turkkaya Ataov's attempt to deny the historic reality of the during the latter's lecture ..."AUCTION OF SOULS" OR "MEMORIAL OF TRUTH"
"Ravished Armenia", one of the first documentary memoirs of an eyewitness of was published in 1918, in New York. In this book Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian, a girl from Chmshkatsag, Armenian populated ...
ANCC CHALLENGES PROF. ATAOV'S ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL CAMPAIGN
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"AUCTION OF SOULS" OR "MEMORIAL OF TRUTH"
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- 1826 Birth of Vardges Soorenyan (artist). He died in 1921.
- 1833 Tsar Nicholas the First confirms the Armenian Province's coat-of-arms.
- 1845 Birth of Grigor Artsruni (public figure) in Moscow (Russia). He died in 1892 in Tbilissi (Georgia).
- 1858 Death of architect Nikoghayos Palyan in Constantinople. He was born in 1826.
- 1873 Birth of Armen Gabo. He died in 1923.
- 1917 Tsarism overthrown in Russia with the victory of the second democratic revolution.
- 1917 The February Revolution took placed in Russia.
- 1988 The Azeri Turks organize the three-day Sumgait Massacres in retaliation for the Artsakh movement.
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