Топик: Naval Museum

Van

450

537

192

197,000

Diarbekir

249

158

122

124,000

Kharput

279

307

204

204,000

Bitlis

618

671

207

220,000

Sivas

241

219

204

225,000

Trebizond

118

109

190

73,390

Western Anatolia

237

281

300

371,800

Cilicia & Northern Syria

187

537

176

309,000

European Turkey

58

67

79

194,000

TOTAL

2,925

3,368

1,996

2,133,190

The second exhibit hall (700 square meters) presents eyewitness reports and documents about the massacres and atrocities perpetrated against the Armenians. The exhibit has many large photographs taken during 1915-1917, archival documents, portraits of prominent Armenians, victims of the atrocities, friends of the Armenian people, and documentary films.

A special part of the exhibit is reserved for the original documents issued by international organizations and parliaments of foreign countries condemning the Genocide.

Numerous different publications about the Armenian genocide written in many languages are also exhibited.

This hall also shows tables with data on the number of Armenians living in different countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia after the Genocide. In the same hall a granite pedestal supports crystal vases which hold earth from historic Armenian regions: Erzerum, Van, Baghesh (Bitlis), Sebastia (Sivas), Kharpert, and Tigranakert (Diarbekir). It also holds the skull and bones of a young Armenian killed in the Der Zor desert. In the same hall, a granite tree with spreading branches symbolizes the eternity and rebirth of the Armenian people.

TOP

The tables displayed in the third hall show the Armenian population figures in 1914 and 1922 (See chart below).

Name of the Region	Population in 1914	Deported or Killed	Population in 1922
Erzerum	215,000	213,500	1,500
Van	197,000	196,000	500
Diarbekir	124,000	121,000	3,000
Kharput	204,000	169,000	35,000
Bitlis	220,000	164,000	56,000
Sivas	225,000	208,200	16,800
Trebizond	73,390	58,390	5,000
Western Anatolia	371,800	344,800	27,000
Cilicia & Northern Syria	309,000	239,000	70,000
European Turkey	194,000	31,000	163,000
TOTAL	2,133,190	1,745,390	387,800

The last hall of the Museum is essentially an outdoor patio, a traditional feature in old Armenian structures. A semicircular basalt wall is divided into twelve equal segments. Each of the segments contains a sentence condemning the Armenian Genocide by prominent foreign politicians, diplomats, scientists, and writers of that period. The hall looks like a courtroom where eyewitnesses present their condemning evidence. The last word belongs to the visitor, who can make a judgement based on the materials presented.