Not all Armenians could express their support for the book; some were forced to protest against its publication and any attempt to turn it into a movie, notably the surviving Armenian community of Istanbul, which denounced Werfel's book and burned it in public rituals, similar to contemporary Nazi book burning ceremonies in Germany and elsewhere. Armenians would normally gather around in the courtyard of Istanbul's Pangalti Armenian Church and set fire to copies of the book. The Jewish community of Istanbul similarly denounced Werfel in 1934. According to Ascherson, the Armenian and Jewish communities in Istanbul were coerced into criticizing the novel.