A Tale of the Other Holocaust - The Forty Days of Musa Dagh

Nearly a century ago, dolorous caravans of Armenians plodded wearily through the desert, on their way to "relocation camps" following a deportation order from a despotic government. Forced to abandon their homes and most of their possessions, they were escorted by police and military officials who were quick to take a cudgel to any who lagged behind the main group. In addition to the indignities suffered at the hands of their cruel overseers, they were preyed upon by roving bands of brigands, to whom their escorts turned a blind eye. Many perished along the way, their bodies left to rot in the scorching sand. Thousands more Armenian men were drafted into the army and assigned to grueling work battalions, or deliberately sent into battle with insufficient ammunition. Those who survived the death marches and the military enlistments were often shot, hanged or starved. Some brave Armenians, however, chose to defy their persecutors, knowing that obedience to the dreadful mandate meant almost certain death. Based on actual events, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is the story of the inhabitants of seven Armenian villages who dared defend themselves, establishing a makeshift fortress on a Mountain known as Musa Dagh (meaning "Mountain of Moses.")