06/02/2026
In a previous post (H is for the Haroutunian Family), we learned about Angel Adjemian Haroutunian, the daughter of Alem Oskian and Neshan Oskian. Alem Oskian was a young woman in Constantinople when the Armenian Genocide began in 1915. Both she and her sister Zarouhi were well-educated, and Zarouhi (pictured above, along with her diploma) served as principal of the well-respected Avedaranagan Varjaran Evangelical School.
When Turkish troops forcibly occupied Zarouhi’s school, Zarouhi went to the Turkish Commander’s office to plead for her school’s safety. The Commander was so moved by Zarouhi’s commitment to her students and school that he had his troops removed, and the children were safe for the duration of the Genocide.
Before the Genocide, Neshan Oskian courted his future bride, Alem, with beautiful handmade Turkish bath shoes, currently on display in Chhange’s exhibit. Together, they had a daughter whom they named Angel. Neshan, a suspected Armenian nationalist, was targeted by the Ottomans. He was arrested once as a young man, and later, when the Genocide began, he was arrested again and forcibly drafted into the Turkish Army. Neshan died fighting for the Turks, though his family never learned the exact circumstances of his death.
Alem and her daughter stayed close to Zarouhi and Zarouhi’s husband, John Adjemian, during the Genocide. Toward the end of the Genocide, Alem contracted the Spanish Flu and died at the age of 31, leaving behind her young daughter. Zarouhi and John adopted Angel and raised her in Constantinople. Later, after they fled increased oppression and anti-Armenian violence, they continued to raise her in Greece.
