Despite his rescue acts that command respect, history was not recognized as it should be, not only around the world but also in the US and Armenia. The Board of Directors of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has decided to pay tribute to his life in a series of events that will soon be made public. Jennings, a native of upstate New York, was a Minister of Disabled Cult of a small town. At the turn of the twentieth century,
Despite his rescue acts that command respect, history was not recognized as it should be, not only around the world but also in the US and Armenia.
The Board of Directors of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has decided to pay tribute to his life in a series of events that will soon be made public.
Jennings, a native of upstate New York, was a Minister of Disabled Cult of a small town. At the turn of the twentieth century, he worked as a clerk at the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in the prosperous city of Smyrna, Turkey.
In September 1922, the Turkish Nationalist army entered the city with the intent to massacre all Christians residents, Armenians and Greeks for most. A huge fire broke out in the city on September 13, trapping countless refugees in a narrow band near the sea. Hundreds of thousands were doomed to die on the shore of the city. Many of them succumbed to epidemics, hunger or thirst, besieged by the Turks.
Made aware of their plight, Jennings created a first aid center for pregnant women in an empty building on the coast. He then organized a fleet of boats with the help of the US Navy in a bold and creative bailout.
The evacuation and organized by Jennings transported 250,000 refugees from Smyrna to the Greek islands and the cities of Thessaloniki and Piraeus.
This blitz will be made only seven days, only Turkish city amid peril and deportations. His courage and imagination have saved a quarter of a million people a terrible death.
Published January 11, 2016
By Siranush Ghazanchyan
Translation Gilbert Béguian
http://www.armenianlife.com/2016/01/11/an-unsung-american-hero-to-be-honored-for-saving-250000-people-during-the-armenian-genocide/