Happiness to those who will survive us and taste the sweetness of Freedom and Peace of tomorrow. I am sure that the French people and all the Freedom Fighters will honor our memory with dignity. » Quote taken from Missak Manouchian's letter, the day before his execution, to his wife Mélinée.
Missak Manouchian, survivor of the Armenian genocide, shot on February 21, 1944 in Mont-Valérien, was a poet, worker, communist activist and a hero of the Resistance.
Arrested with his 22 comrades in arms, all foreigners, he told his judges during their parody trial: “You have inherited French nationality, we deserved it. » His photo and those of other defendants were the subject of a Nazi propaganda poster denouncing their alleged crimes, but which became a symbol of rallying for the Resistance.
This Red Poster inspired Aragon to write a poem (Strophes pour se souvenir, 1955), set to music and sung by Léo Ferré (L’Affiche rouge, 1961).
Through the figures of Missak and Mélinée Manouchian, it is also the unconditional dedication of Armenians to France which will be celebrated, on February 21, 2024, by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and by the entire Nation at the Pantheon.
