Arsène Tchakarian

Arsène Tchakarian (2013)

Arsène Tchakarian ( Armenian Արսեն Չաքարյան Arsen Tschakarjan ; born December 21, 1916 in Sapanca , Ottoman Empire ; † August 4, 2018 ) was a member of the French Resistance of Armenian origin. He was the last living member of the Manouchian resistance group (also called groupe de l'Affiche rouge ).

biography

Early life

Tchakarian was born in Turkey to an Armenian family who first fled to Bulgaria , where Arsène Tchakarian went to school, before persecution by Turkish nationalists , and to France in 1930 . In Paris he then did an apprenticeship as a tailor.

Resistance

After his participation in demonstrations of the Popular Front ( Popular Front ) graduated he joined the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) (General Confederation of Labor), where he Missak Manouchian met. He served in the French army , which was partially demobilized in connection with the armistice in 1940 . After his discharge from the army, he joined the French resistance against the German occupation forces. Tchakarian became a member of the Francs-tireurs et partisans - Main-d'œuvre immigrée , in the Paris group led by Missak Manouchian .

New “recruits” of the FTP initially had to carry out a probation campaign under guidance and supervision. Tchakarian's trial was to take part in an attack on around 20 German military policemen , which was successful. He participated in the distribution of leaflets , in military actions and acts of sabotage . After Manouchian's arrest, he joined the Maquis des Départements Loiret and took part in the liberation of Montargis .

After the Second World War

After the liberation of France, Tchakarian volunteered to identify exhumed dead Resistance comrades. After 1950 he was appointed historian by the Minister of Defense , a member of the Commission des fusillés du Mont-Valérien (Commission of those shot at Mont Valérien) and the French Ministry of Defense to research the events of the time. Those who were shot at Mont Valérien were his ex-comrades from the Manouchian group.

Publications

Les Francs-tireurs de l'affiche rouge. Les Éditions sociales, Paris 1986, ISBN 2-209-05794-9 .
Les Fusillés du Mont-Valérien. Comité national du souvenir des fusillés du Mont Valérien, Nanterre 1991.
Les Commandos de l'Affiche Rouge. with Hélène Kosséian-Bairamian, Éditions du Rocher, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-268-07406-1 .

Web links

Gérard Devienne: L'Armée du crime: An Interview with Arsène Tchakarian. In: L'Humanité in English . October 8, 2009 (English).; accessed on August 6, 2018
Pascal Bernard: Arsène Tchakarian le dernier survivant du groupe Manouchian. Pascal Bernard website (French).; accessed on August 6, 2018

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Pascal Bernard: Tchakarian Arsène La Vérité, toute la Vérité de l'Histoire de l'Affiche 1ère partie. (Video on Dailymotion , 18:04 minutes) August 20, 2010, accessed on August 6, 2018 (French, interview with Arsène Tchakarian).
↑ «Aucun groupe de resistants n'a fait trembler les Nazis comme nous! ». In: Le Journal de Saint-Denis. March 11, 2009, archived from the original on October 20, 2013 ; accessed on August 6, 2018 (French).

personal data
SURNAME	Tchakarian, Arsene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Չաքարյան, Արսեն (Armenian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Armenian-French Resistance member and historian
DATE OF BIRTH	December 21, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ottoman Empire
DATE OF DEATH	4th August 2018

[videointerview-1] Pascal Bernard: Tchakarian Arsène La Vérité, toute la Vérité de l'Histoire de l'Affiche 1ère partie. (Video on Dailymotion , 18:04 minutes) August 20, 2010, accessed on August 6, 2018 (French, interview with Arsène Tchakarian).

[2] «Aucun groupe de resistants n'a fait trembler les Nazis comme nous! ». In: Le Journal de Saint-Denis. March 11, 2009, archived from the original on October 20, 2013 ; accessed on August 6, 2018 (French).