Armin Theophil Wegner ( October 16 , 1886 – May 17 , 1978 ) was a German soldier and medic in World War I , a prolific author , and a human rights activist . Stationed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I , Wegner was a witness to the Armenian Genocide and the photographs he took documenting the plight of the Armenians today " comprises the core of witness images of the Genocide . " In the years following World War I , Wegner also voiced his opposition , at great risk to his own life , to the anti-semitic policies of the Nazis . In 1933 , he authored an impassioned plea to Adolf Hitler on behalf of the Jews of Germany . He suggested that the persecution of the Jews was not just a question of " the fate of our Jewish brothers alone , but also the fate of Germany . " Noting that he was writing the letter as a proud German who could himself trace his Prussian familial roots back to the time of the Crusades , Wegner asked Hitler what would become of Germany if it continued its persecution of Jews . Answering his own question , Wegner declared , " There is no Fatherland without justice ! " He was persecuted by the Nazis and fled after release from concentration camps
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armin T. Wegner