Categories: HistoryPeople

Notes of a Witness of the Armenian Genocide – “Four Years Beneath the Crescent”

By virtue of circumstances, Venezuelan “soldier of fortune” Rafael de Nogales Méndez became a witness and a participant of the Armenian Genocide, the first apparent modern ethnic cleansing, committed by the ruling elite of Turkey during World War I.

Conscience and guilt did not allow him to remain silent. In the “Four Years Beneath the Crescent” book, Nogales told the world about one of the greatest crimes against humanity.

He tore off the mask of the organizers of the genocide, showing that the Young Turks ruling the Ottoman Empire, the members of the Masonic Committee “Unity and Progress” Talaat, Enver, and Jemal did not pursue any patriotic ideas but rather robbed their population, which was a plan for seizing political and economic power in Turkey by Dönmeh (crypto-Jews who purposely and publicly converted to Islam).

The book was published in Venezuela in the 1920s. It became a bibliographic rarity because it was soon destroyed. Previously, many tried to assassinate the author as he had been a witness of the Armenian Genocide. The first time the book was translated into Russian was in 2006, when “Russkiy Vestnik” translated the 1936 second edition borrowed from Venezuela.

Here You can read the book in Russian

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

Stone Houses of the Ice Age: What We Know About the New Paleolithic Settlement Near Yerevan

Excavations on the northwestern edge of the Armenian capital have uncovered an open-air Upper Paleolithic…

11 hours ago

Who Is Buried in the Women’s Tomb of the Royal Family of Commagene

Karakuş ("Black Bird") — a hierothesion of the Orontid dynasty in the Nymphaios valley Introduction…

1 day ago

St. Sargis Church in Bjni (7th Century): History, Route and Practical Travel Guide

A tiny cross-domed church on a rocky outcrop above one of Armenia’s oldest villages —…

2 days ago

Svo Raf: The Thief-in-Law Whom Armenia Remembers as a Protector

Rafael Baghdasaryan (1930–1993) lived the life of a professional criminal and died a hero of…

3 days ago

If the Lawsuits Are Withdrawn: Legal Avenues for Artsakh’s Displaced and the Question of Armenia’s Occupied Territories

Status as of 6 November 2026. This is an analytical piece, not legal advice. The…

4 days ago