Armin T. Wegner Military person

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 the end of World War I, Wegner also voiced his opposition, at great risk to his own life, against 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, for his efforts, is recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.