Swiss Eyewitnesses of the Armenian Genocide Remembered by TCA Metro Los Angeles Chapter

On April 27, the Tekeyan Cultural Association Metro Los Angeles Chapter organized a kinetson (book dedication) at the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church in Burbank, CA. Dr. Dora Sakayan’s book titled “Death Marches Past the Front Door: Clara and Fritz Sigrist-Hilty, Swiss Eyewitnesses to the Armenian Dante-Inferno in Turkey (1915-1918)” was the subject of the kinetson.

 

In his welcoming remarks, Master of Ceremonies and TCA Metro LA Chapter board member, Mihran Toumajan, praised the National Council of Switzerland, which represents the people of Switzerland, for recognizing the Armenian Genocide on December 16, 2003.Toumajan remembered Swiss eyewitnesses, diplomats, physicians and missionaries by name, who helped save the lives of orphaned Armenian children, in particular. He also highlighted the names of organizations, such as the Conference of Swiss Armenian Aid, the Cantonal Aid Committee for Armenia, and the Swiss Aid 1915 for Armenia, which mobilized the people of Switzerland to raise significant relief funds – amounting to hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs – not only during the genocide, but also, in the case of the Conference of Swiss Armenian Aid, during the Hamidian Massacres of 1895-96 and the Cilician Massacres of 1909.

 

Dr. Sakayan’s book was presented by co-editor and keynote speaker Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian of Fresno State University. Der Mugrdechian noted that Swiss eyewitnesses, civil engineer Fritz Sigrist, who worked on the Berlin to Baghdad Railway, and his wife, Clara Hilty, a nurse, chronicled the unfolding of the Armenian Genocide. The mass deportations literally passed by their front door in Cilicia for three years. Fritz Sigrist unsuccessfully appealed to German and Turkish authorities in an attempt to save the lives of Armenians, some of whom worked on the construction of the railway. Der Mugrdechian credited the couple for saving the life of Haigazun Aramian, the railway’s warehouse manager. With Turkish gendarmes searching for Aramian’s whereabouts, Aramian was able to escape certain death by finding refuge in the Sigrist-Hilty’s home, and specifically under Clara’s bed during the latter’s pregnancy. In that era, it was anathema for Turkish men to enter the bedroom of a pregnant woman.

 

Der Mugrdechian stated that Clara recorded the atrocities, first in her journal, and later as a memoir or special eyewitness account. On his part, Fritz wrote two stories and a letter about the atrocities. Der Mugrdechian commended the author, Dr. Dora Sakayan, for meticulously deciphering Swiss archival documents. He stressed the importance of Sakayan’s research and translations of the Sigrist-Hilty couple’s written testimony from Gothic and Old German to English. Der Mugrdechian dedicated his presentation to the Swiss and Armenian people.

 

The Counselor of the Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles,Nazeli Hambardzumyan, provided brief remarks in Armenian and English. She noted the importance of the book, and the heroic deeds of Swiss eyewitnesses and humanitarians in saving lives and providing relief assistance to Armenian survivors. Retired Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia, Valery Mkrtumyan, a former Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles, also attended the kinetson.

 

Franco Zimmerli, the Honorary Consul of the Consulate of Switzerland in Los Angeles, was recognized at the event as an “Honored Guest” by the TCA Metro Los Angeles Chapter. In his remarks, Consul Zimmerli praised the book’s author, Dr. Dora Sakayan, and co-editor Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian for publishing the book and making it accessible to the public. Consul Zimmerli stressed that the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians was “a dark chapter in history,” and how inspiring it was to read about the heroic deeds of the Sigrist-Hilty couple to risk their own lives, in order to save several Armenians, including Haigazun Aramian, during their time in Cilicia.

 

During the program, Rev. Fr. Njteh Keshishyan, Pastor, Armenian Church of North Hollywood, represented Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. In his remarks, Fr. Keshishyan praised Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian for his informative presentation, and commended the TCA Metro Los Angeles Chapter for organizing the kinetson. Fr. Njteh directed his concluding remarks at Honorary Consul Zimmerli by expressing his gratitude to the Swiss people for their contributions in aiding Armenians during the genocide.

 

The program concluded with the kinetson itself led by Fr. Njteh and accompanied by Honorary Consul Zimmerli, Counselor Hambardzumyan, retired Ambassador Mkrtumyan, Prof. Der Mugrdechian and representatives of the Tekeyan Cultural Association. Also participating in the kinetson were special guests, including retired Professor of History at Glendale Community College, Levon Marashlian, and the Director of the Ararat-Eskijian Museum and Research Center, Maggie Mangasarian-Goschin.