Armin Wegner; A Man for All Seasons

Armin T Wegner was neither Jewish nor Armenian, yet many Jews and Armenians consider this German writer, poet, soldier, and peace activist a hero. Wegner risked his life and social standing for Armenians and Jews between 1915 and the 1930s, transforming from a bestselling author in Nazi Germany to a prisoner and then an exile. Through his photographs, Wegner revealed the torture and massacre of Armenians in 1915 and 1916, which many historians refer to as 'the first genocide of the twentieth century.' A visual report: Photos that shocked the world. Armin T Wegner, a soldier and a member of the medical team of the German army, an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, acquainted the world with what many historians consider 'the first genocide' of the twentieth century through his numerous photos of the massacre and suffering of Armenians in 1915 and 1916. Photographing Armenians was prohibited, and Wegner was arrested and later returned to Germany. Photos of children dying of hunger on the roads and parents digging graves are among the images captured by this eyewitness. At that time, photographing Armenians was forbidden, which is why Wegner was arrested and subsequently returned to Germany. In one of his memoirs, he recounts: 'The [Armenian] priest told me, once I was a priest, but now I am a lamb going to be slaughtered.' In 1919, he wrote the letter 'The Point of No Return' regarding the situation of Armenians to Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States, urging him to work towards the establishment of an independent Armenia. Wegner's photographs have been published in many magazines and books worldwide, including 'Photos that Shocked the World.' In the 1920s, Wegner reached the peak of his popularity as a writer with a bestselling book titled 'At the Crossroads of the World,' which sold 200,000 copies. Wegner, a pacifist, was regarded by many as the first German writer to challenge Adolf Hitler by writing a letter to him, questioning the Nazi regime's policies of repression against Jews. In this letter, Wegner referred to Jews as brothers and stated that what happens to them ultimately affects the fate of Germany. The once bestselling author ended up imprisoned in Nazi Germany and found himself in forced labor camps. He eventually managed to escape to Italy and died in Rome in 1978. Memorials for Wegner exist in both Armenia and Israel.