Ravished Armenia, also known as
Auction of Souls, is a 1919 American
silent film directed by
Oscar Apfel and based on the autobiographical book
Ravished Armenia by
Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the
Armenian genocide. Mardiganian portrayed herself in the film, which depicts her experiences of deportation, persecution and enslavement during the genocide. Filmed in
California, it used thousands of Armenians as extras, many of whom had survived similar events. The film was exhibited internationally and helped raise funds for Armenian and Syrian relief efforts. Long thought lost, it survives only in a 14- to 15-minute fragment rediscovered in
Yerevan in 1994. This theatrical poster was produced at the time of
Ravished Armenia's release in 1919. The poster features an illustration of a young woman being carried forcefully by a soldier, with a bloodied sword in his other hand.
Poster credit: Guenther, after Dan Smith
