NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL CENTERS ON TALAAT ASSASSINATION

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NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL CENTERS ON TALAAT ASSASSINATION -

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One day in March, 1921, a young man burst into Hardenberg Street, Berlin, trailing a neighborhood resident who was out for a stroll. Minutes later, he struck down his target with a bullet to the head. 

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At his trial, the young Armenian, Soghomon Tehlirian, acknowledged the killing but claimed he was no murderer. It was the victim, Talaat Pasha, who had orchestrated the massacre of Tehlirian’s family and the annihilation of his people.

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This true-crime drama unfolds in Special Mission–Nemesis, a 68-page graphic novel by Paolo Cossi, J. B. Djian and Jan Varoujan ($19.95). Newly translated from the French by Lou Ann Matossian, Special Mission–Nemesis is available from publisher Editions Sigest (http://editions.sigest.net) and wherever Armenian books are sold.

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The trial became a focal point for many Armenians and non-Armenians who learned about the Genocide because of it. In fact, Raphael Lemkin, the lawyer who coined the term “genocide”, said “The trial of Talaat Pasha in 1921 in Berlin is very instructive. A man (Soghomon Tehlirian) whose mother was killed in the genocide, killed Talaat Pasha…So, you see, as a lawyer, I thought that a crime should not be punished by the victims, but should be punished by a court, by a national law.”

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