On March 29, the presentation of the republished Hungarian version of the novel “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” was held with the support of the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

The book was republished under the sponsorship of Vice-President of the Armenian National Autonomy of Hungary Alex Avanesyan. The 100 copies of the book feature 100 glass Armenian miniature paintings imprinted on the book.

RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan gave his opening remarks at the event. “On behalf of RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, I would like to express gratitude to Alex Avanesyan, who took the initiative to republish the book and doesn’t spare any effort to present Armenian culture to the Hungarian people and government. This splendid publication of Franz Werfel’s book is brilliant evidence of that. Of course, we know that the Armenian-Hungarian interstate relations were frozen after the Azerbaijani having axed a person was extradited and declared a hero, but we are certain that those relations don’t concern the Armenian and Hungarian nations. We must do everything we can to present the issue of the Armenian Genocide to the Hungarians the right way and continue our friendship. Mr. Avanesyan’s wonderful initiative is a contribution to that,” Srapionyan particularly stated.

Director of the National Archives of the Republic of Armenia Amatuni Virabyan stated that the novel was first translated and published in Hungary in 1945 and has been republished several times after that. Each republication shows that the novel ��?lives’ and helps Franz Werfel ��?live’ as well. “The novel was first published in 1933, and only a year later, it received the Best Novel of the Year international award. Released in nearly 1 million copies, it became a unique tribute to the 1.5 million victims,” Virabyan stated, adding: “No book or film about the Armenian Genocide has been received by the international community the way Werfel’s novel has been received.”

Director of the Museum of the History of the Battle of Musaler and the Ethnography of the Armenians of Musaler David Sargsyan gave a speech in which he emphasized the fact that it was this novel by Werfel that helped internationalize the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

Head of the Chair for Turkish Studies of the Department of Oriental Studies at Yerevan State University Alexander Safaryan expressed gratitude to the RA Ministry of Diaspora for properly organizing the presentation of the republished book. Safaryan attached importance to the fact that Werfel was of Jewish descent, something that people often avoid mentioning. “Today Armenian literary critics need to fill the gap that was left open in the Soviet era. On behalf of all the professors and lecturers of Yerevan State University, I would like to thank you, Mr. Avanesyan for organizing the republication of Werfel’s novel with honor,” Safaryan said.

Director of the Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) Vardan Devrikyan, Head of the Division of Armenian Genocide History of the Institute of History of the NAS RA Armen Marukyan, the Institute’s researcher Hovhannes Alexanyan and member of “”Musaler” Compatriotic Union and descendant of an Armenian of Musaler Gabriel Panosyan praised the republication in their speeches.

Afterwards, Vice-President of the Armenian Autonomy of Hungary Alex Avanesyan addressed the attendees, expressed gratitude for the high appreciation, talked about not only the film showing the events organized by the Armenian community of Hungary on the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the future actions and the republication of the novel. Later, the attendees watched a short video with interest.

Touching upon the book, Avanesyan attached importance to the marvelous work that miniature painter, teacher of miniature painting of the Armenian Art Center of Budapest Yermone Zabel Martayan and her students did to design the cover of the book, thanks to which the splendid novel will soon be available for Hungarian state officials, Hungarians supporting the Armenian community of Hungary and the leaders of communities, as well as museums and state institutions..

Avanesyan also stated that they wouldn’t stop with the republication of Werfel’s novel. “We know that youth today have a hard time reading heavy books. With that said, we also plan on producing a musical film with the plot based on the novel. We have finished the preliminary work and have planned to show the film on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence in Budapest on September 21,” Avanesyan stated.

At the end of the presentation, Deputy Minister Serzh Srapionyan granted certificates of appreciation of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to those who organized the republication of the Hungarian version of Franz Werfel’s novel “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh”, including Alex Avanesyan, Sevan Sarkisyan, Nikoghos Hakobyan and Sosi Susani.