Armenian orphans waiting to be admitted to an orphanage

This photograph, taken in 1915–1916 by the German medic and human-rights advocate Armin T. Wegner, shows Armenian orphans waiting their turn to be admitted to an orphanage in Alexandropol (Gyumri). According to the source, it was taken during the First World War, probably in the winter of 1915–1916, when Alexandropol was part of the Russian Empire. Later the American Near East Relief committee worked here and opened the largest orphanage in history, the “City of Orphans”.

Wegner served in the German medical corps and witnessed the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Despite prohibitions, he secretly photographed what was happening. His photographs are among the most important visual testimonies of the Armenian Genocide and were used as evidence in court.

The photograph shows children in worn clothes standing in a line; the girls wear headscarves.