Armin T. Wegner, Photographer of the Genocide

Armin T. Wegner was a German soldier, medic, and an amateur photographer in the years of WWI. Accidentally becoming a witness to the Armenian Genocide, Wegner took photographs that now comprise “the core of witness images of the Genocide.”

During his service in the Ottoman Empire, Wegner took hundreds of photos and attempted to introduce the world community to the tragic reality. He also addressed the President of the United States Woodrow Wilson with a request to aid the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. After the war, he became a renowned human rights activist and publicist. Since 1933, Wegner has been fighting against antisemitism in Nazi Germany.

When the Jewish massacres began, Wegner wrote an open condemning letter to Adolf Hitler. He was sent to a concentration camp, but he would soon miraculously escape.

This film by Tigran Kzhmalyan is based on Wegner’s unique photos and letters that captured the tragic outlines of the first Genocide of the 20th century.

Armin Wegner and the Armenian Genocide

Armin T. Wegner – Der Fotograf des Genozids [Völkermord an den Armeniern]