SURVIVORS OF THE Armenian Genocide: 31 ORAL HISTORY PROJECT WITNESSES DEPICTED

Armenian National Institute 1334 G Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005  www.Armenian-Genocide.org

ARMENIAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: April 20, 2015 Contact: Press Office Telephone: (202) 383-9009 Email: ani@agmm.org       Web: www.armenian-genocide.org  SURVIVORS OF THE Armenian Genocide: 31 ORAL HISTORY PROJECT WITNESSES DEPICTED   WASHINGTON, DC - On the occasion of the beginning of the week of centennial commemorations, the Armenian National Institute (ANI), Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), and Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) announced the release of a one-panel exhibit titled "Survivors of the Armenian Genocide." The exhibit features 31 survivors who participated in the Armenian Assembly of America Oral History Project in the 1970s and 1980s. The portraits were retrieved from the Assembly's archives and illustrates survivors from across the United States. Each individual is identified by name, place, year of birth, and their residence at the time of the interviews. They hailed from Afion-Karahissar, Aintab, Akshehir, Arabkir, Behesni, Charsanjak, Diayrbakir, Denizli, Hadjin, Harput, Kayseri, Kamakh, Keghi, Khjilar, Malatia, Manissa, Sivas, Tomarza, and Van. These survivors were living in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, and Wisconsin. They had been born in Armenia and Anatolia and became the founders of the Armenian American diaspora. "We remember and pay tribute to the survivors who participated in the Armenian Assembly of America Oral History Project," reads the inscription on the panel, which goes on to explain that the portraits of the 31 survivors are representative of the hundreds who were interviewed and gave oral testimony. "We cherish and honor their memory for taking the time to provide permanent witness to the fate of their friends and families, and for sharing their recollection of historic Armenia before its destruction in 1915," the inscription concludes. As with the four exhibits previously released jointly by ANI, AGMA, and the Assembly, titled Witness to the Armenian Genocide: Photographs by the Perpetrators' German and Austro-Hungarian Allies; The First Refuge and the Last Defense: The Armenian Church, Etchmiadzin, and The Armenian Genocide; The First Deportation: The German Railroad, the American Hospital, and the Armenian Genocide; and Iconic Images of the Armenian Genocide; "Survivors of the Armenian Genocide" is also being issued in digital format for worldwide distribution free of charge on the occasion of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.  Founded in 1997, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) is a 501(c)(3) educational charity based in Washington, DC, and is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.