Armenian women and children deported from Marash, 1920

The photograph shows Armenian women and children from Marash (Kahramanmaraş), survivors of the Armenian Genocide, who were forcibly deported to Syria and Lebanon in February 1920. The genocide in the Ottoman Empire lasted from 1915 to 1923.

The Armenian Genocide was the systematic extermination and deportation of the Armenian population by the Ottoman Empire. More than 1 million Armenians died in mass killings and forced marches, including the so-called “death marches”. The Young Turk government used the First World War as a pretext.

In front are 2 women in headscarves and wide trousers, each holding a small child. The trousers of the woman on the right are torn and patched; other women stand behind.