1915: The teacher and most of the 120 children of the school were murdered –

“One of the classes in the day-school in Mush with their teacher Margarid…. The teacher Margarid Nalbanchian and most of the 120 children of the day-school were murdered in 1915.”

Norwegian Missionary Bodil Biorn

Photo by Bodil Biorn

Photo Norwegian State archive

 Norwegian Missionary Bodil Biorn

Bodil Katharine Biørn was born on January 27th of 1871 in Kragerø, Norway. In 1905, the “Women Missionary Organization” sent Biørn to the Ottoman Empire as a missionary nurse.

 In 1915, she witnessed the Mush massacres, including the persecution and annihilation of the orphans in her custody and the murder of numerous Armenian priests, teachers and assistants. She saved the lives of hundreds of homeless Armenian women and children. 

Bodil Biørn documented the events she witnessed through her testimonial diary and her photography. Her photographic album consists of various images of the genocide with descriptive comments on the back of each photo print.