Zaruhy "Sara" Chitjian was an educator, immigrant, and daughter to survivors of the Armenian genocide. The Zaruhy "Sara" Chitjian Collection was created to preserve the material content of the Harry and Ovsanna Chitjian Family Foundation, which works to increase awareness and promote recognition of the Armenian genocide. The materials detail the timeframe before and after the genocide, starting in 1914 and continuing until 2020, and also document the Chitjian family immigrant experience. The collection contains photographs, oral histories, correspondence, collages, artifacts, clothing, clippings, periodicals, books, curriculum, memorabilia, ephemera, and writing by many members of the Chitjian and Piloyan families.

In 2001, Sara and Hampartzoum formed the Harry and Ovsanna Chitjian Family Foundation in an effort to spread awareness about the Armenian genocide, share the legacy of its survivors, and preserve their collection of family materials. It also served to consolidate the records of Hampartzoum's experience of the genocide into his memoir, A Hair's Breadth from Death. The Zaruhy "Sara" Chitjian Collection contains accounts of the experience of survivors of the genocide, their descendants, and the community of survivors to which they belonged. It consists of materials that were gathered to preserve the legacy of survivors Hampartzoum Chitjian and Ovsanna Piloyan Chitjian, as well as the Indigenous Armenian people of Anatolia.

84 linear feet

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

This collection is open for research use.