Գերմանական միսիոներների որբախնամ գործունեությունը XIX դարի երկրորդ կեսին

Abstract

In the second half of the XIX century, Protestantism became widespread in Western Armenia due to the heavy legal, political and socio-economic situation of Western Armenians. Initially, despite the considerable amount of material investments and the establishment of various educational and other institutions, they were not able to obtain a significant number of supporters. However, the situation changed in the 1890's during the massacres organized by Abdul Hamid. During this period, the German missionaries also began their activities. For the organization of activities for the care of orphans, they officially form ''The German Aid Society for Armenian Relief'', which had its centers in Berlin and Frankfurt. As of May 1, 1897 14 orphanages and 1250 orphans were kept on German allowances, and the total amount raised was 1,072,000 marks or about half a million rubles. Despite the fact that the assistance of German missionaries in this period was a truly humane act for the Armenian people, they pursued their long-term goals – to raise Armenian orphans in the spirit of Protestantism.