Sarkis Bedikian Explained

Sarkis Bedikian
Birth Date:1908
Birth Place:Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire
Death Date:August 21, 1944
Death Place:Marseille, France
Occupation:Resistance fighter
Nationality:Armenian
Known For:FTP-MOI resistance activities, Battle of Marseille

Sarkis Bedikian (in Armenian: Սարգիս Պետիկեան), also known as Sarkis Bedoukian (1908–August 21, 1944), was born around 1908 in Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire, and died on August 21, 1944, in Marseille. He was an Armenian FTP-MOI resistance fighter who was a mort pour la France during the Battle of Marseille.

Youth and settlement in Marseille

Sarkis Bedikian was born in Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire, around 1908.[1] He settled in France after the Armenian genocide. Marseille was a preferred destination for Armenian refugees, who mostly arrived by sea from the Middle East.[2] [3]

Sarkis settled in Traverse Chevalier in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille.

Resistance and death

During World War II, Bedikian joined the FTP-MOI and specifically served in the "Compagnie Marat",[4] a detachment of the FTP-MOI in Bouches-du-Rhône.[5] In this group, many Armenians found themselves, including others morts pour la France, such as Azad Niguerresian, Nechan Dermardirossian, Edmon Perian, Samoue Topalian, and Veravant Kechikian.[6]

As the Operation Dragoon, or the Allied invasion of Provence, began, the FTP-MOI in Bouches-du-Rhône rose up militarily to capture strongholds, create chaos in the defensive lines of Nazi Germany, and facilitate the successful landing.[7] Sarkis Bedikian was among the uprising fighters. On August 21, 1944, Julia Pirotte photographed him alongside one of his Greek comrades, Vassilias Stamboulis.

A few hours later, Sarkis Bedikian was killed in combat while launching an assault on the Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône. Edmon Perian, Samoue Topalian, and Veravant Kechikian were also killed in Marseille during the Battle of Marseille.

Legacy

Bedikian was recognized as being a mort pour la France.[8] Additionally, his detachment was renamed "Detachment Sarkis" in his honor.

He is one of the characters in the novel "Missak" by Didier Daeninckx about Missak Manouchian.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Biographical file from the French Ministry of Defence on the governmental site Mémoire des hommes : https://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/fr/arkotheque/client/mdh/base_resistants/detail_fiche.php?ref=2676368
  2. Castelle . Mélanie . 2011-11-15 . La collection d'archives orales "Mémoire des Arméniens des quartiers de Marseille et des Bouches-du-Rhône" : comment la valoriser, comment la faire évoluer ? Étude d'un corpus sonore en ligne . Bulletin de l'AFAS . 37 . 37 . 25–28 . 10.4000/afas.2819 . 1246-7529 . 2023-05-09 . 2023-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230509162205/https://journals.openedition.org/afas/2819 . live .
  3. Web site: De "La petite Arménie" au Boulevard des Grands Pins : évolution de l'espace communautaire arménien d'un quartier de Marseille des origines à nos jours WorldCat.org . 2023-05-09 . www.worldcat.org . fr . 2023-06-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230618015629/https://worldcat.org/title/606779702 . live .
  4. Web site: Musée de la résistance en ligne . 2023-05-09 . museedelaresistanceenligne.org . 2023-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230509162209/https://museedelaresistanceenligne.org/media6639-Le-combattant-FTP-MOI-Sarkis-Bedoukian-durant-linsurrection-de-Marseille . live .
  5. Web site: Le groupe MARAT . 2023-05-09 . www.groupemarat.com . 2023-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230509162205/http://www.groupemarat.com/MARAT.html . live .
  6. Web site: La résistance à Marseille . 2023-05-09 . desinroc.free.fr . 2005-08-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050828011345/http://desinroc.free.fr/anglais/chrono3/resistance.html . live .
  7. Web site: Morts pour la France . 2023-05-09 . www.anciens-combattants-armeniens.org . 2023-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230509162211/http://www.anciens-combattants-armeniens.org/1939.htm . live .
  8. Web site: LES ARMÉNIENS au service de la France by Président AALEME - Issuu . 2023-05-09 . issuu.com . en . 2023-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230509164149/https://issuu.com/aaleme/docs/armeniensauservicedelafrance . live .
  9. Book: Daeninckx, Didier . Missak: roman . 2009 . Perrin . 978-2-262-02802-2 . Singulier . Paris.