A Tale of the Other Holocaust - The Forty Days of Musa Dagh

Nearly a century ago, dolorous caravans of Armenians plodded wearily through the desert, on their way to "relocation camps" following a deportation order from a despotic government. Forced to abandon their homes and most of their possessions, they were escorted by police and military officials who were quick to take a cudgel to any who lagged behind the main group. In addition to the indignities suffered at the hands of their cruel overseers, they were preyed upon by roving bands of brigands, to whom their escorts turned a blind eye. Many perished along the way, their bodies left to rot in the scorching sand. Thousands more Armenian men were drafted into the army and assigned to grueling work battalions, or deliberately sent into battle with insufficient ammunition. Those who survived the death marches and the military enlistments were often shot, hanged or starved. Some brave Armenians, however, chose to defy their persecutors, knowing that obedience to the dreadful mandate meant almost certain death. Based on actual events, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is the story of the inhabitants of seven Armenian villages who dared defend themselves, establishing a makeshift fortress on a Mountain known as Musa Dagh (meaning "Mountain of Moses.")

Readers will benefit from some background information prior to reading Franz Werfel's epic novel, beautifully translated from the German by Geoffrey Dunlop. In 1915 a faction known as the Young Turks seized power in the Ottoman Empire, whose territory then also encompassed Armenia and Syria. The upstarts orchestrated the mass deportation and massacre of their Armenian subjects. Tensions had always been high between the Orthodox Christian Armenians and the Muslim Turks, and this was not the first time that the Armenians had suffered under Turkish persecution; previous massacres several years before and after the 1905 Balkan War had claimed thousands of lives. But the worst was yet to come. As of 1923, over one million Armenians had perished in what has been called the first holocaust of the 20th century. Incredibly, to this day the Turkish government angrily denies this. But Werfel's impressive research on the Armenian Genocide incorporates many historical details, events and individuals whose significance can hardly be ignored or attenuated. His book, published in 1933, was eerily portentous. An Austrian Jew, Werfel himself fled his native country in 1940 to escape the Nazis.

Insofar as possible, Werfel is impartial in his treatment of both Turks and Armenians, not depicting the former as wholly evil nor the latter as wholly good. There are Turks who are shocked and saddened by the plight of the hapless Armenians, and some who, at great personal risk, even offer them comfort and aid, albeit very few. Werfel even suggests that other Turks are misled by government propaganda denouncing the Armenians as insurgents and traitors. The Turkish characters in The Forty Days of Musa Dagh run the gamut from the benevolent, nameless old peasant who hides a young Armenian boy in his mule-drawn cart to the politely-condescending Minister of War Enver Pasha (who was a real person), who coldly tells a worried German pastor that "the Armenian problem" is not the pastor's concern. Also, some unsavory Armenians populate the pages -jaded soldiers, opportunists, or just plain criminals.

Most of Werfel's tale is set on Musa Dagh, located in southern Turkey by the Mediterranean coast, near the Syrian border. The principal character is Gabriel Bagardian, a former officer in the Turkish army and a veteran of the Balkan War. The villagers choose him as their military leader. In addition to the obvious threat from the Turkish forces, Bagradian and the villagers must contend with hunger, disease, and internecine conflicts that threaten to tear their hastily-built compound apart. The wealthier evacuees bicker about the loss of their property following Bagradian's order that all food and supplies be divided among the 5,000 refugees. As food supplies dwindle, suggestions surface that maybe surrendering to the Turks is preferable than starvation. Confidence and open defiance of the ad hoc officials erupt. And over the mountain compound loom the shadows of betrayal, mutiny and even adultery.

Besides Bagradian, some other major characters include:

Juliette, his French wife. As the siege of Musa Dagh drags on, Juliette begins to feel more and more like a foreigner. Despite her marriage to an Armenian, she looks down on them, believing that by virtue of her French birth she is more cultured. The Armenians are not oblivious to her attitude.

Stephan, the 13-year old son of Gabriel and Juliette. A spirited, somewhat-rebellious youth. A good shot with a Mauser rifle, Stephan single-handedly dispatches five Turkish soldiers guarding a pair of howitzers. This Stephan does partly to win the respect of Haik, the leader of the boys on Musa Dagh.

Aram Tomasian, a pastor, and refugee from Zeitun (not one of the seven villages near Musa Dagh). Tomasian, his wife Hovsannah, and his sister Iskuhi have survived one death march. The villagers elect Tomasian as mayor of Musa Dagh.

Iskuhi, Aram's 19-year old sister. An attack by a would-be rapist during the death march from Zeitun has left Iskuhi with a crippled arm. She falls in love with Gabriel. Juliette grows to despise her.

Thomas Kebussyan, mayor of the village of Yoghonoluk, where the Bagradians' home was.

Bedros Altouni, a doctor, who must minister to the ever-growing population of sick and injured on Musa Dagh.

Johannes Lepsius, a German pastor who has taken up the cause of the Armenian deportees. He appeals to both Turkish and German officials, to little avail. He is the aforementioned pastor who meets with Turkish Minister of War Enver Pasha. Like Pasha, Lepsius was also a real person.

Wartuk, Manushak and Nunik, shunned old women who live in the graveyard of Yoghonoluk. They pray for the dead, and prepare them for burial. Tolerated at first by the Turks, they are eventually forced to flee and join the encampment on Musa Dagh.

Sarkis Kilikian, an Armenian national and army deserter, who is already on Musa Dagh when the villagers arrive. His parents were murdered by the Turks when he was a child. He and a band of other deserters reluctantly join the villagers. A dark, dangerous man.

The overlapping of Armenian and Turkish cultures results in some vocabulary that might prove confusing to readers. The Cardinal Books edition published in 1962 includes a glossary of terms, as well as a glossary of characters. Frequently-used words include: saptieh, a Turkish police officer, similar to a French gendarme; effendi, a term of respect for a man; hanum, a term of respect for a woman; mukhtar, which means mayor; kaimakan, a governor; onbashi, a military rank equivalent to a sergeant-major.

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a heroic tale that explores the deepest recesses of the human spirit. Werfel skillfully illustrates what happens when the best and worst of humanity come together in desperate times. He shows that survivors of a terrible ordeal do not always react with joy or gratitude, but are instead numb, confused, and even plagued by guilt. Not an easy ready, either for the eyes (the book is nearly 700 pages) or the heart, but nevertheless a tale of inspiration, triumph and tragedy, and laced delicately with a touch of final irony. Deep and disturbing, painfully enlightening, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh will stay with the reader for a long time.