Film and Panel Discussion by Descendents of Survivors
BOCA RATON, FL – As part of the ongoing Armenian Genocide exhibition at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Wimberly Library in Boca Raton, FL, two high-profile South Florida community activists will lead a discussion following the screening of a 30-minute excerpt from the PBS documentary, “The Armenian Genocide.” The film and panel discussion will take place on Tuesday, April 12 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm on the 5th floor of the FAU Wimberly Library and is free and open to the public.
Marta Batmasian, a member of the Florida Department of Education Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education, will share her family’s experience in Turkey and the effects of the Armenian Genocide on her family. Armenian Assembly of America Grassroots Director Taniel Koushakjian, an FAU alumnus, will discuss the Armenian-American identity and the post-genocidal effects on the Armenian community in the United States.
”We live in a community in which there are thousands of survivors of modern genocides and their descendants. Our community has played an active role in attempts to intervene against genocide in Darfur. St. David’s Armenian Church, Congregation B’Nai Israel and the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education have been at the forefront of the these community efforts. It is important for our community to learn about and memorialize the Armenian victims just as we memorialize and educate about the Shoah. Remembering both strengthens our commitment to prevent and intervene against genocide,” said Dr. Rose Gatens, Director of the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE).
“The Armenian Genocide” film and panel discussion is being sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University in conjunction with “The Greatest Crime of the War: Armenian Genocide During World War I,” an exhibition on display through Wednesday, April 27, at the Wimberly Library. The exhibition displays the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Anatolia during the middle of World War I, between 1915 and 1916. The story is told through 21 free-standing panels that showcase photographs, quotes from witnesses, and the history and legacy of the genocide. The events and the exhibition, which is on loan from the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, are being hosted by FAU Libraries as part of Genocide Awareness Month, an observance during April to increase awareness and prevention of genocides. The Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnian, Rwandan and Darfur genocides occurred within the last 100 years and are all commemorated in the month of April.
Small groups of 10-15 wishing to receive a docent-led tour may book their tour by contacting the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at 561-297-2929. Dr. Rose Gatens will offer these group tours on Wednesdays, April 6, 13 and 20th between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.
The exhibit will close with a special guest lecture by Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian with Facing History and Ourselves and curator of the Armenian Genocide exhibit, on Monday, April 25 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Following the lecture will be the Armenian Genocide Commemoration and Memorial service to the victims conducted by clergy from St. David’s Armenian Church of Boca Raton and St. Mary’s Armenian Church in Cooper City.
