On Tuesday, July 23, 2024, the Educational Committee of the Crescenta Valley Meher & Satig Der Ohanessian Youth Center will host a lecture on “The 90 Years of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh and Its Relevance Today” presented by Prof. Vahram Shemmassian. The presentation will begin at 7:30 pm Pacific Time at Crescenta Valley Youth Center located at 2633 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020.
Austrian writer Franz Werfel’s historical novel, titled The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, was published in 1933. Ever since its release in German, it has been translated to about 40 languages including Armenia and Turkish. It is considered the most important novel about the Armenian Genocide written by a non-Armenian.
This lecture will address the following issues: Who were the Armenians of Musa Dagh? Why and how did Werfel write the book? How was the projected film sabotaged by the Turkish government? What is the relevance of the novel today? How can it be popularized to promote Armenian ethnic identity and the Armenian Cause?
Vahram Shemmassian is a Professor and the Director of the Armenian Studies Program at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His book, The Armenians of Musa Dagh: From Obscurity to Genocide Resistance and Fame, 1840-1915, was published in 2020 by the Armenian Series of The Press, California State University, Fresno, CA. Another book,The Musa Dagh Armenians: A Socioeconomic and Cultural History, 1919-1939, was published in 2015 by the Haigazian University Press, Beirut.
He has given many lectures, organized and participated in international academic conferences, and published scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals and as book chapters on the fate of Armenian Genocide survivors in the Middle East between the two World Wars.
He has received a number of awards for his academic endeavors, dissemination of Armenian culture, and community involvement such as: Certificate of Special U.S. Congressional Recognition (2019), Franz Werfel Medal from the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Yerevan, Armenia (2015), Certificate of Recognition from the California State Assembly (2012), and William Saroyan Medal from the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia (2010).
The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Please reserve the date and time by attending the meeting.
