Nazi collaborator monuments in Armenia
Left: Garegin Nzhdeh monument, Gyumri (Wikimedia Commons). Right: Nzhdeh monument, Kapan (Wikimedia Commons). Image by Forward collage
By Lev Golinkin January 27, 2021
This list is part of an ongoing investigative project the Forward first published in January 2021 documenting hundreds of monuments around the world to people involved in the Holocaust. We are continuing to update each country’s list; if you know of any not included here, or of statues that have been removed or streets renamed, please email editorial@forward.com, subject line: Nazi monument project.
Yerevan — In 2016, Armenia’s capital triggered international headlines after erecting this giant monument to nationalist Garegin Nzhdeh (1886–1955) in the center of Yerevan, where Nzhdeh also has a street and a central square.
Nzhdeh placed the Armenian Legion at the disposal of the Nazis; these soldiers served the Third Reich in the Caucasus, Crimea and France. See report in the Jerusalem Post.
Gyumri, Kapan and eighteen other locations — Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, honors Nzhdeh with a street, prominent statue (above left) and bust in the city’s Victory Park (below left). Kapan, above right, also has a Nzhdeh street and a memorial, erected 2003.
There are additional Nzhdeh streets in Agarak, Aparan, Artik, Ashtarak, Burastan, Byuravan, Chambarak, Dvin, Goris, (which also has a memorial, bottom right, and separate plaque), Mrgavan, Mrgavet, Nshavan, Sisian, Stepanavan, Vanadzor, Verin Artashat and Yeghvard. Nzhdeh also has a village named after him. See the Bulgaria section for a Nzhdeh plaque.
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