For the first time ever, the Armenian community of Germany celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Musaler with an event that featured performances of Armenian songs and dances, songs played on the traditional Armenian zurna and dhol and serving of Armenian harisa.

The Tovmasyan family, which is the only Armenian family residing in the city of Leer of Lower Saxony (Germany), in association with the communities of Ostfrisland, Emsland and Lauenburg, organized an event devoted to the Battle of Musaler. It should be mentioned that the event was held in the park adjacent to the cross-stone eternalizing the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide placed in 2015. On this special occasion, the authorities of Leer permitted the placement of the Armenian tricolor flag on the façade of the municipality. The event was heralded with a ��?car march’ (instead of license plates, nearly 20 drivers placed the inscriptions “Musa Ler” and “Armenia” on their cars, waved Armenian tricolor flags and toured the city, after which the event began in the park near the cross-stone, reported the event’s organizers to Hayern Aysor.

Among the participants of the event were not only the Armenians from all parts of Germany, but also German state officials whom the Armenian community greeted with salt and bread and to the sounds of Armenian music performed on the Armenian zurna and dhol. In the beginning, the history of the Battle of Musaler was presented in German and Armenian, and representatives of various communities of Germany expressed greetings to the attendees, attaching importance to the positive impact of such events on the development of the Armenian community in Germany. “The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide in the world during which the Turks tried to massacre an entire nation. Let us note that Franz Werfel’s book “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” was prohibited in Nazi Germany since Nazi Germany was trying to do everything it could to conceal the truth. Today, this book is very popular in Germany. Moreover, Leer is hosting an event devoted to this battle. I thank Albert Tovmasyan, who is the father of the only Armenian family living in Leer and who opened our eyes with this event,” one of the attendees said.

“Mr. Tovmasyan is rightfully considered the ambassador of the cultural life and unity of the Armenians and Germans in our region,” said special guest of the event, President of the Christian-Jewish Unified Labor Organization, former mayor Keller, who had permitted the placement of the cross-stone. In closing, he added the following words in Armenian: “Harisa, we all want to taste harisa”. After the speeches, spiritual pastor of central and northern Germany, Fr. Priest Gnel Gabrielyan blessed the harisa and heralded the launch of the main event.

Former mayor of Leer Wolfgang Keller; Armenologist, journalist and prose writer Jochen Mangelsen and President of the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions Uve Viarda were among the first who tried the harisa made with the special recipe of the Armenians of Musaler. The event featured performances of traditional Armenian songs and dances, and Armenian children, who have never been to Armenia, recited excerpts from the famous poems of Armenian writers. Besides the harisa, the attendees also tasted a cake that was devoted to the topic and was made by an Armenian chef from Vilem Safen.