Armenian politicians, diplomats, journalists, social media users share several photos or videos depicting the so-called Armenian genocide. Of these photos, the photo "Crucified Women" attracts more attention.
Armenians share this photo as a confirmation of the so-called "genocide":
Faktyoxla Lab. (Factcheking Lab.) has investigated whether this photo is real.
During the investigation, it becomes clear that this photo is not original, but taken from the movie "Auction of Souls", dedicated to the so-called Armenian genocide and based on the statements of Arshalyus (Aurora) Mardiganian, a "witness" of those events.
Aurora Mardiganian, the protagonist of the film "Auction of Souls", presented by Armenians as a symbol of the events of 1915, was born in 1901 in the Derzim region of the Ottoman Empire (now Tunceli-ed.). They migrated to Syria during the "events of 1915".
According to Armenian sources, when they lived in the desert, 14-year-old Arshalyus was kidnapped and sold in the slave market for 85 US cents. "After two years, she escaped from slavery, but was caught again and worked as a slave. She traveled more than 1,500 km from Derzim mountains for 18 months by eating plants and plant roots, hiding in forests and caves, and reached Erzurum, which is under the control of the Russian army. With the help of the Armenian National Union and the aid department of the American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief, she first went to Tbilisi, then to St. Petersburg, from there to Oslo, and then to New York (US). She was adopted by an Armenian family in New York and narrated "what happened" to journalists. There were articles about it in New York and Los Angeles newspapers. source
As can be seen from the text, the fate of Aurora Mardiganian is far from reality and is more a product of the writer's imagination and script. On the basis of what she said, the book "Conquered Armenia" was written (1919) and the film "Auction of Souls" was shot by the company "Selig Polyscope" owned by an Armenian millionaire (1919). Both the book and the film are not based on real events, but based on the motives of a girl who described herself as an eyewitness.
A 14-year-old girl is sold as a slave twice in the Syrian deserts, she escapes from slavery both times, she walks 1,500 km from Tunceli to Erzurum, which for some reason is under the control of Russian troops, from there to Tbilisi, St. Petersburg, Oslo, and finally arrives in New York. Articles, books are written about her (900,000 copies were sold) and a movie is made (grossing $30 million).
Aurora Mardiganian managed to invent new legends over time to increase the impact of the events she talked about. For example, 70 years after the shooting of that film, she told historian Anthony Slide that the film's script was even worse, and told incredible stories about women being put on small crosses and burned. link
Thus,
The photo presented by the Armenians as a symbol of the "genocide" is not real, but taken from a film based on the motives of a girl who described herself as a witness of the event.
