Description
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.
Background
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.
Restrictions
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of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.