Arsène Tchakarian
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Arsène Tchakarian (21 December 1916 – 4 August 2018) was a French-Armenian historian, former tailor and member of the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
. He was a member of the
Manouchian Group The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an ar ...
of the
FTP-MOI The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an ar ...
, a wing of the larger
Francs-Tireurs et Partisans The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (, FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist ...
(FTP) composed of fighters of foreign immigrant origin. Tchakarian was the last surviving member of the Manouchian Group (''Groupe Manouchian''), a Paris-based resistance cell led by
Missak Manouchian Missak Manouchian (; , 1 September 1909 – 21 February 1944) was an Armenians, Armenian poet and communist activist. A survivor of the 1915–1916 Armenian genocide, he Armenians in France, moved to France from an orphanage in Lebanon in 1 ...
.


Biography

Tchakarian was born to an ethnic Armenian family in
Sapanca Sapanca is a municipality and district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 173 km2, and its population is 46,847 (2024). It lies on the south bank of Lake Sapanca. The town's mayor is Nihat Arda Şahin ( CHP). Sapanca has recently beco ...
, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(present-day
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
) on 21 December 1916. Tchakarian arrived in France in 1930 with his family and settled permanently in the country. He worked as a tailor. In 1937, Tchakarian was conscripted into the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
, where he served until 1940. He was discharged from the Army in 1940 following the defeat and occupation of France by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. He then became active in the nascent
French resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
.


Manouchian Group and the French Resistance

In 1942, Tchakarian joined the
Manouchian Group The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an ar ...
, a small armed group within the larger
FTP-MOI The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an ar ...
that was composed primarily of immigrant and foreign-origin resistance fighters. The group was commanded by
Missak Manouchian Missak Manouchian (; , 1 September 1909 – 21 February 1944) was an Armenians, Armenian poet and communist activist. A survivor of the 1915–1916 Armenian genocide, he Armenians in France, moved to France from an orphanage in Lebanon in 1 ...
, an ethnic Armenian communist and poet. In addition to
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
, like himself, the Manouchian Group contained immigrants and refugees from other countries invaded by Nazi Germany, as well as
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. According to Tchakarian, immigrants from fascist countries and those occupied by Nazi Germany were drawn to the resistance and cells like the Manouchian Group, "They were immigrants who had come from countries that were becoming fascist, like
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, Bulgaria...From all those countries, there were immigrants who were kind of hunted out." Together, the Manouchian Group, which was based in the Paris region, carried out resistance attacks, assassinations, and acts of sabotage across the country. In 1944, German authorities captured 23 Manouchian members, including their leader, Missak Manouchian. The members were sentenced to death and executed following a high-profile
show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
. Following their executions, German and
Vichy French Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against G ...
authorities launched a propaganda campaign against the Manouchian Group. Red posters, which became infamously known as " Affiche Rouge", were hung in Paris during the spring of 1944. The Affiche Rouge depicted the Manouchian Group and its members as "the army of crime" in a bid to turn French
public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...
against the resistance. Unlike his 23 Manouchian colleagues, Tchakarian managed to escape capture and execution in 1944. He fled to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, where he was hidden by other French resistance members. However, he remained an active resistance member until the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1945.


Post-war

In 1950, Arsène Tchakarian moved to the Parisian suburb of
Vitry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Name Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin ''Vitriacum'', and before that ''Victori ...
, where he lived until his death in 2018. Tchakarian was granted
French citizenship French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', (Latin for "right of blood") according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nat ...
in 1958. Tchakarian became a respected historian in the decades following World War II. His writings focused on the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
and
French history The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age. What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul. Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic groups in the area: t ...
. Tchakarian campaigned for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, from which he and his family had fled as refugees. He visited schools and universities to speak about his experiences during the genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the Nazi German occupation of France. Additionally, Tchakarian authored several memoirs. The French newspaper ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' quoted Tchakarian as saying, "I'm sort of the
last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the ''Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder'', p ...
, as they say," as he noted that he was one of the last surviving members of the FTP-MOI and the resistance. In 2012, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
awarded him the
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
. Most recently, Tchakarian attended a ceremony in commoration of the French Resistance on 18 June 2018. Arsène Tchakarian, the last surviving member of the
Manouchian Group The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an ar ...
, died at the Hôpital Paul-Brousse in
Villejuif Villejuif () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Name The earliest reference to Villejuif appears in a bill signed by the Pope Callixtus II on 27 November 1119. It refers to Villa J ...
, France, on 4 August 2018, at the age of 101. In a Twitter post, French President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
paid tribute to his time in the resistance and work as a historian, calling Tchakarian "a hero of the resistance and a tireless witness whose voice resounded with force until the end."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tchakarian, Arsene 1916 births 2018 deaths French Resistance members FTP-MOI 20th-century French historians French tailors 20th-century tailors Commanders of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Armenian genocide survivors Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Centenarians from the Ottoman Empire Stateless people People from Sapanca Armenian men centenarians French men centenarians French Army personnel of World War II