Bedros Haroian’s Memoirs of a Soldier about the Days of Tragedy Translated into English

While still in school, 15-year-old Haroian joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) political party, became a proud Dashnak and soon after decided that reading about the Armenian culture and studying history might be useful, but “to fight and to die — that was my sacred responsibility, instead of sitting at the school table, passive and indifferent” (p. 39). Haroian’s conflicts with the local Kurdish aghas and Kurdish and Turkish neighbors, however, resulted in his temporary exile, since he was not safe in Tadem anymore. He sailed to America.

In the United States, Haroian immediately joined the ARF and even became the Secretary of the Dashnaktsutiun Committee in Watertown (p. 69). Yet, as soon as opportunity presented itself, he returned to Constantinople (in 1912) with a “large package full of guns, bullets, daggers,” and revolutionary plans (p. 73). Upon his arrival, Haroian was jailed and eventually released with the help of the ARF’s Central Committee and Krikor Zohrab. Not only does this incident testify to his revolutionary character and to some extent the recklessness of Haroian’s actions, but it also demonstrates quite unique aspect of his experiences. Haroian’s account describes his interactions with such historic figures and prominent Armenians as Krikor Zohrab, General Andranik, Vahan Totovents, and Gevorg Chavush.

After a couple of relatively peaceful years back in Tadem, with his new wife Anna, in July 1914, Haroian was conscripted into the Ottoman Army and sent to fight Russian troops at the Caucasus battlefront of the First World War. He gives detailed testimony of Ottoman troops’ movements towards Sarikamish. He describes the “empty” villages of Armenians and emphasizes that “the Turks had also disappeared” from those border regions following Russian advances in the fall-winter of 1914 (p. 136).

Haroian participated in the Battle of Sarikamish, where the Armenian soldiers “distinguished” themselves “with brave fighting from the other Turkish and Kurdish soldiers” (p. 139), despite numerous challenges and hardships of the severe winter weather in the mountains and endless Russian attacks. “Our hands were frozen so we could hardly carry our arms. The cold crushed our bodies; we could not move,” laments Haroian (p. 142). However, following the Ottoman defeat in Sarikamish, Armenian soldiers received new orders from their commanders. Haroian and the other Armenian soldiers were forced to surrender their weapons and join the laborers performing road construction and move away from the frontlines back into the interior of the country.

It was during this ordeal, in spring and summer 1915, that Haroian transformed from a soldier into an eyewitness of the Genocide. In Garin “a monstrous scene opened to our eyes: a huge, armed army had surrounded the Armenians and was slaughtering them,” recalls Haroian. After this massacre, the Ottoman commander ordered the disarmed Armenian soldiers working on the roads to “dig holes to bury the dead” (p. 154). Witnessing another such carnage at the Keotur Bridge and forced to bury the bodies of the raped and slaughtered Armenian women and girls, Haroian describes how himself and “all the [former] soldiers wept in silence” (p. 156). Hence, as soon as they approached the villages in Kharpert they were familiar with, Haroian and a couple of his friends escaped. Haroian was filled with a desire for revenge. His goal was to reach and join the Armenian volunteers and Russian troops, which he accomplished not without the assistance of some Kurdish neighbors.