“Auction of Souls” or “Memorial of Truth”
The poster of the film “Auction of Souls”
“Ravished Armenia”, one of the first documentary memoirs of an
eyewitness of Armenian Genocide was published in 1918, in New York. In
this book Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian, a girl from Chmshkatsag,
Armenian populated town in the Ottoman Empire, gave a detailed account
of the terrible experiences she endured during the genocide.
At the age of fourteen Arshaluys was beaten and tortured in harems of
Turkish officials and Kurdish tribesmen. The most traumatic of all,
though, was the fact that she lost her parents, sisters and three
brothers who were viciously killed in front of her eyes. After two years
of those horrors Arshaluys Mardiganian, or Armenian Janna d’Ark, as she
was called in America, resisted the conversion of her faith, escaped
from the harem of Kemal Efendi, her Turkish lord. In the beginning of
spring in 1917, after long-lasting wandering she reached Erzrum, which
had already been occupied by Russian forces. There Arshaluys was
sheltered by American missionaries. Later by the help of Armenian
National Union and American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief she
moved to Peterograd, Russia, then to New York USA and settled there.
Despite all the sufferings Mardiganian stayed unbending. She had a
mission to tell the world about the atrocities committed against
Armenians in Turkey.
The book “Ravished Armenia” was completed when American Committee for
Armenian and Syrian Relief offered to create a film based on the
scenario of the book. It was agreed that all the profit which reached
$30 million would be given for relief purposes of 60.000 Armenian
orphans gathered in the Near East.
In 1918, at Metro Goldwin Mayer studio, director Oscar Apfel made a
silent film “Auction of Souls”, which actually became the first genocide
movie ever made. More than 10.000 Armenian residents of Southern
California, including 200 deported children, participated in the scenes.
The script of the film had 3 versions. First version consisted of 675
frames, and the last, restored one – 531. The frames were investigated
by Viscount James Bryce, the President of American Committee for
Armenian and Syrian Relief, former ambassador of Great Britain to USA
and Henry Morgenthau, American ambassador to Turkey, from 1913 to 1916.
All gentlemen gave high appraisal to all the frames. The film is
especially remarkable due to the fact that Arshaluys Mardiganian was the
author of the scenario as well as played the leading role. Her input
regarding the accuracy of the costumes, characters, settings and
backgrounds was incredible.
Oscar Apfel the director of the film took into consideration the great
political importance of the film and chose Mardiganian to play the
leading role. Apfel was convinced that Mariganian’s participation would
be appealing not only to one nation, but for entire humanity.
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