View of William Sachtleben (L) and Thomas Allen with their Humber bicycles on Philopappos Hill near the so-called Prison of Socrates, with the Acropolis in the distance
Photograph of the bodies of Armenian massacre victims laid out in an open area on the ground between a wall (L) and a stand of trees in the Armenian Cemetery in Erzurum, with people gathered around them along the wall and standing among the trees.
On Wednesday, October 30, 1895, Armenians were massacred in Erzurum and the surrounding Armenian villages. American journalist William Sachtleben happened to be in Erzurum at that time, investigating the disappearance of American cyclist Frank Lenz. During the massacre Sachtleben was in the American mission building, where over 200 Armenians fled for protection. Sachtleben witnessed the aftermath of the massacre; he took photographs of the victims in the Armenian Cemetery and wrote three lengthy and detailed letters about the massacre that were published, unsigned and attributed to an Occasional Correspondent, in the London Times on November 16, 27 and December 9. In the Nov. 16 letter he wrote: "Saturday, Nov. 2...I went with one of the cavasses of the English Legation, a soldier, my interpreter, and a photographer (Armenian) to the Armenian Gregorian Cemetery. The municipality had sent down a number of bodies, friends had brought more, and a horrible sight met my eyes. Along the wall on the north in a row 20ft. wide and 150ft. long, lay 321 dead bodies of the massacred Armenians..."
Photograph of the body of an Armenian massacre victim laid out on the ground in the Armenian Cemetery in Erzurum. The body of the deceased man is mutilated, recalling a passage in William Sachtleben's Nov. 16 letter in the London Times: "Many [of the massacred] were fearfully mangled and mutilated. I saw one with his face completely smashed in with a blow of some heavy weapon after he was killed."
Photograph of two little boys, victims of the October 30 massacre of Armenians in Erzurum, laid on the ground awaiting burial at the Armenian Cemetery.
Photograph of the bodies of Armenian massacre victims laid out on the ground near a wall in the Armenian Cemetery in Erzurum, with at least two men standing along the wall. A deceased man wears only undergarments, recalling a passage in William Sachtleben's Nov. 16 letter in the London Times: "All the corpses had been rifled of all their clothes except a cotton under-garment or two. These white under-clothes were stained with the blood of the dead, presenting a fearful sight."
Photograph of the body of an Armenian massacre victims laid out on blocks of stone in the Armenian Cemetery in Erzurum, with five men and one woman looking on. The deceased man wears undergarments, recalling a passage in William Sachtleben's Nov. 16 in the London Times: "All the corpses had been rifled of all their clothes except a cotton under-garment or two. These white under-clothes were stained with the blood of the dead, presenting a fearful sight."
On Wednesday, October 30, Armenians were massacred in Erzurum and the surrounding Armenian villages. American journalist William Sachtleben happened to be in Erzurum at that time, investigating the disappearance of American cyclist Frank Lenz. During the massacre Sachtleben was in the American mission building, where over 200 Armenians fled for protection. Sachtleben witnessed the aftermath of the massacre; he took photographs of the victims in the Armenian Cemetery and wrote three lengthy and detailed letters about the massacre that were published, unsigned and attributed to an Occasional Correspondent, in the London Times on November 16, 27 and December 9. In the Nov. 16 letter he wrote: "Saturday, Nov. 2...I went with one of the cavasses of the English Legation, a soldier, my interpreter, and a photographer (Armenian) to the Armenian Gregorian Cemetery. The municipality had sent down a number of bodies, friends had brought more, and a horrible sight met my eyes. Along the wall on the north in a row 20ft. wide and 150ft. long, lay 321 dead bodies of the massacred Armenians..." In the Times Nov. 27 letter, Sachtleben wrote: "The number of houses of Armenians in Erzerum is about 2,000...Of these 2,000 houses, about 1,500 to 1,800 are completely emptied of their contents. Many families, formerly well-to-do, are now completely in poverty, having lost all their goods in the shops and all their household articles as well..."