A grant from Aurora will help the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute to republish Aurora Mardiganian’s book with additional notes

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is glad to announce that it will support the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in its unprecedented efforts to republish “Ravished Armenia” by Aurora Mardiganian with additional references and explanatory notes. This unique publication in Armenian and English will mark the symbolic start of the Mémoires of Survivors of the Armenian Genocide Series, a milestone project of the Museum-Institute.

“Аurora Humanitarian Initiative has been closely collaborating with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute for many years and is especially delighted to support this project in particular, as our Initiative was inspired by the story of Aurora Mardiganian and named after her. As a child, she was subjected to the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide and not only survived but went on to relive the trauma as she told her story to the world on stage and in film, raising awareness of the Genocide. This year, we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, and this reprint couldn’t have come along in a better time to highlight the importance of shedding light on the resilience and generosity of the human spirit,” said Tom Catena, Chair of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

This effort is part of the Mémoires of Survivors of the Armenian Genocide Series, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute’s new publishing project that will feature the memoirs of the Genocide survivors that have never been published before. The re-print of “Ravished Armenia” in English and Armenian, featuring 20 additional pages of references and explanatory notes, will be the first two volumes of the Memoirs Series. The English edition will be published in 2,000 copies and the Armenian one in 1,000 copies.

“More than a hundred years have passed since the Armenian Genocide, and today’s readers are not familiar with many terms and geographical denominations, so these references and explanatory notes are a necessity. In this regard, the collaboration with the Aurora is very symbolic. Both the Genocide Museum-Institute and the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative aim to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide, to fight and prevent modern-day genocides, and to help people going through similar tragedies. This is where our goals and visions align,” emphasized Harutyun Marutyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

Aurora supports Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute through the Aurora Grants, a program that allows the descendants of the Armenian Genocide survivors to honor the memory of their ancestors’ saviors by helping educational initiatives, promoting Armenian heritage and raising awareness of humanitarian efforts. In accordance with the Memory Act, the Aurora Grants collaborates with the Armenian Genocide Museum-institute, contributing to the preservation of Armenian culture and history.

Photo: Aurora Mardiganian on the cover of her book “Ravished Armenia” written in 1918.