Aurora (Arshaluys) Mardiganian ( hy, Աուրորա �րշալոյսՄարտիկանեան; January 12, 1901 – February 6, 1994) was an Armenian-American author, actress, and a survivor of the

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

Biography

Aurora Mardiganian was the daughter of a prosperous Armenian family living in Chmshgatsak (Çemişgezek), Mamuret-ül Aziz, north of

Harput Harpoot ( tr, Harput) or Kharberd ( hy, Խարբերդ, translit=Kharberd) is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. She witnessed the deaths of her family members and was forced to march over , during which she was kidnapped and sold into the slave markets of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

. Mardiganian escaped to Tiflis (modern

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

), then to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, from where she traveled to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and finally, with the help of

Near East Relief The Near East Foundation (NEF), founded in 1915 as the American Committee on Armenian Atrocities, later the American Committee for Relief in the Near East (ACRNE), and after that Near East Relief, is a Syracuse, New York-based American internation ...

, to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

''Ravished Armenia (Auction of Souls)''

In New York, she was approached by Harvey Gates, a young screenwriter, who helped her write and publish a narrative that is often described as a memoir titled ''

Ravished Armenia ''Ravished Armenia'' (full title: ''Ravished Armenia: The Story of Aurora Mardiganian, the Christian Girl, Who Survived the Great Massacres'') is a book written in 1918 by Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian about her experiences in the Armenian gen ...

'' (full title ''Ravished Armenia; the Story of Aurora Mardiganian, the Christian Girl, Who Survived the Great Massacres'').

Balakian, Peter Peter Balakian, born June 13, 1951, is an American poet, prose writer, and scholar. He is the author of many books including the 2016 Pulitzer prize winning book of poems ''Ozone Journal'', the memoir ''Black Dog of Fate'', winner of the PEN/Alb ...

(2003) '' The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response''. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 313–14. The narrative ''Ravished Armenia'' was used for writing a film script that was produced in 1919, Mardiganian playing herself, and first screened in London as the '' Auction of Souls''. The first New York performance of the silent film, entitled ''

'' took place on February 16, 1919, in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, with society leaders, Mrs. Oliver Harriman and Mrs. George W. Vanderbilt, serving as co-hostesses on behalf of the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. Aurora Mardiganian recalled sixteen young Armenian girls being "crucified" by their Ottoman tormentors. ''Auction of Souls'' showed the victims nailed to crosses. However, almost 70 years later Mardiganian revealed to film historian Anthony Slide that the scene was inaccurate: Mardiganian was referred to in the press as the

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

, describing her role as the spokesperson for the victims of the horrors that were then taking place in Turkey and the catalyst for the humanist movement in America. In the 1920s Mardiganian married and lived in Los Angeles until her death on February 6, 1994, aged 93. The animated film Aurora's Sunrise about her life premiered in June 2022. It also includes scenes of the film Auction of Souls and it was Armenias entry to the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for 2023.

Aurora prize

In honor of Aurora Mardiganian the Aurora Prize was established by 100 LIVES. The Aurora prize is the vision of

Vartan Gregorian Vartan Gregorian; fa, وارتان گرگوریان (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. An Armenian born in Ir ...

, Noubar Afeyan, and Ruben Vardanian. The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a humanitarian award founded on behalf of the survivors of the

and in gratitude to their saviors. The prize is awarded in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

, to an individual whose actions have – at their personal peril – had an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes.

References

External links

*
Ravished Armenia

Aurora Mardiganian's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mardiganian, Aurora Witnesses of the Armenian genocide Armenian genocide survivors Armenians from the Ottoman Empire American people of Armenian descent Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States 20th-century American memoirists Armenian memoirists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Armenian women writers 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Armenian actresses American silent film actresses Armenian silent film actresses 1901 births 1994 deaths American women non-fiction writers

Biography

''Ravished Armenia (Auction of Souls)''

Aurora prize

References

Further reading

External links