In the latter stages of the 19th century, many European countries including various Scandinavian states went through a social and moral revolution where the awareness and protection of human rights took center stage. During this period of time, many human rights advocates emerged from the Scandinavian states of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Moreover, learning about the fate of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the horrible conditions imposed upon them, these human rights advocates took it upon themselves to visit East Anatolia and assist the tormented Armenians. One of these champions of humanitarianism is the Norwegian missionary Bodil Katharine Biørn.

Bodil Katharine Biørn was born on January 27th of 1871 in Kragerø, Norway. In 1905, the “Women Missionary Organization” sent Biørn to the Ottoman Empire as a missionary nurse. She was first based in the town of Mezereh in the Kharberd province and later in Mush. During her tenure in the Ottoman Empire, she cooperated with the German missionaries of Hülfsbund in an effort to help the widows and orphans. In 1915, she witnessed the Mush massacres, including the persecution and annihilation of the orphans in her custody and the murder of numerous Armenian priests, teachers and assistants. During the genocide, while many of her colleagues reverted to the role of bystander, Bodil Katharine Biørn became a witness and a messiah; saving the lives of hundreds of homeless Armenian women and children.

Furthermore, Bodil Biørn documented the events she witnessed through her testimonial diary and her photography. Her photographic album consists of various images of the genocide with descriptive comments on the back of each photo print.

Moreover, Biørn adopted a 2 years old Armenian orphan, who survived the genocide and in 1917, she took the boy named Rafael with her to Norway and baptized him as Nansen. Nansen (originally named Rafael) became her only son, as Biørn never got married in her life.

Going back to the Near East, Bodil took care of Armenian orphans in Syria, Lebanon and Constantinople. In 1922, while leaving her son behind at the Beirut French School, Bjorn moved to Soviet Armenia and founded an orphanage named “Lusaghbyur” in Alexandrapole. At the “Lusaghbyur” orphanage, she was known as “Mother Katharine” by the 33 orphans she took care of. Additionally, in 1924, the government of Soviet Armenia closed her small orphanage transferring the orphans to orphanages of Amercom, forcing Biørn to move to Syria and continue her noble work by aiding the Armenian refugees/survivors in Syria and Lebanon. Until 1935 Bodil Biørn worked with the Armenian refugees in Syria and Lebanon.

Last but not least, Bodil Biørn past away in 1960, leaving behind a legacy that will live forever.

. The footnotes of the photos were written by Bodil Biorn in verso of the photos.

. Selected photos are included in the online exhibition out of 300 archival photos made by Bodil Biørn .

Haykazn Mihrdat was born in 1864 in Constantinople (Ottoman Empire), social-political figure, national deputy, president of the “Aharonyan akumb” (Aharonyan club) in Peshiqtash. He was a victim of the Armenian genocide.

November 10, 2011On November 9, 2011, the granddaughter of Fridtjof Nansen Marit Greve, with the Norwegian delegation, visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex ...

November 10, 2011On November 7, 2011, Asya Darbinyan, a graduate research fellow at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, recently spent four days at the Armenian Research Center conducting research for her dissertation on Near East Relief orphanages ...

November 9, 2011On November 6, 2011, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Head of the Russian Imperial House visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, put flowers at the eternal fire and honored the memory of the innocent victims with a minute of silence ...

October 25, 2011On October 25, 2011, the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John A. Heffern accompanied by his spouse Mrs. Libby Dowling Heffern, visited ...

October 13, 2011 On October 13, 2011, Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex and put flowers at the memorial of the Armenian Genocide victims ...

August 31, 2011 On August 30, 2011, the regular meeting of the MFA senior staff and the heads of the diplomatic missions started in the Conference Hall of the K. Demirjian Sports and Concert Complex ...

August 27, 2011 Dr. Hayk Demoyan, director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, has become a new member of the Genocide Education Project’s (GenEd) advisory board ...

July 11, 2011 Fanny Ardant, the world known French actress, who visited Yerevan in the framework of the 8th edition of “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival, visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial ...

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June 17, 2011 Minister of French Cooperation Henri de Raincourt visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, within the framework of his official visit to Armenia on June 16-17, and put a wreath at the memorial of the Armenian Genocide victims ...

June 17, 2011 The delegation headed by President of Brest Regional Executive Committee in Belarus Konstantin Sumar visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. Mr. Konstantin Sumar put a wreath at the memorial of the Armenian Genocide victims ...

June 10, 2011 Thomas O. Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of USA, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, put flowers at the eternal fire ...

June 09, 2011 Dr. Ara Sanjian, the Associate Professor in Armenian and Middle Eastern History from University of Michigan - Dearborn had a meeting in the Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute with the staff of AGMI ...

June 01, 2011 The deputy-director of AGMI Suren Manukyan participated on conference dedicated to 150th anniversary of Fridtjof Nansens held in a city of Kharkiv, Ukraine ...