Aram Andonian (; 1875 – 23 December 1951) was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

journalist, historian and writer.

Biography

Andonian was born in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and was ethnic

. There he edited the Armenian journals ''Luys'' (''Light'') and ''Dzaghik'' (''Flower'') and the newspaper ''Surhandak'' (''Herald''). Andonian then went on to serve in the department of military censorship of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He was arrested by order of interior minister

Talat Pasha Mehmed Talât (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha, was an Ottoman Young Turk activist, revolutionary, politician, and convicted war criminal who served as the leader of the Ottoman Empire from 191 ...

of the Ottoman Empire on the eve of 24 April 1915, and joined the large number of Armenian notables who were deported from the Ottoman capital. Andonian was deported to Chankiri, then, halfway there, returned to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and was deported again to the camps in the

Ra's al-'Ayn Ras al-Ayn (, , ), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey border. One of the oldest cities in Upper Mesopotamia, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least the Neol ...

and Meskene. However, Andonian survived in Aleppo in the underground. When British forces occupied

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, a lower-level Turkish official, Naim Bey collaborated with Aram Andonian in publishing his memoirs, an account of the deportation of the Armenians. '' The Memoirs of Naim Bey'' were published in 1920, and are sometimes referred to as the "Andonian Telegrams" or the "Talat Pasha Telegrams." The telegrams are purported to constitute direct evidence that the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

of 1915–1917 was state policy of the Ottoman Empire. They were introduced as evidence in the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian. According to Robert Melson, Andonian's report on post-1915 deportations and killings of Armenians are crucial for the research of that period. From 1928 to 1951 Andonian directed the Nubarian Library in Paris, and succeeded in hiding and saving most of the collection during the German occupation of Paris. He also worked to collect eyewitness testimonies of the genocide. He is the author of a ''Complete Illustrated History of the Balkan War'' (Vol. 1–5, 1912–1913), published originally in Armenian.

Works

* (), Constantinople, 1911. A biography of Alexander Shirvanzade. * ( (Complete Illustrated History of the Balkan War)), 5 vols., Constantinople, 1912-1913. Published in Turkish translation as , Istanbul: Aras Yayincilik, 1999 (1st ed.). * ( (In Those Dark Days)), Boston, 1919. * ( (The Great Crime)), Boston, 1921. * '' The Memoirs of Naim Bey'', London, 1920.

References

External links

Aram Andonian's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andonian, Aram Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian genocide survivors Political people from the Ottoman Empire 1875 births 1951 deaths Writers from Istanbul Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France Ethnic Armenian journalists 19th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links