Sarkis Bedikian

Sarkis Bedikian
Other nameSarkis Bedoukian
Bornc. 1908
Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire
Died21 August 1944(1944-08-21) (aged 35–36)
Marseille, France
AllegianceFrance
Branch
French Resistance
UnitCompagnie Marat
Conflicts

Sarkis Bedikian (Armenian: Սարգիս Պետիկեան; 1908 – 21 August 1944), also known as Sarkis Bedoukian, was a French Resistance fighter of Armenian descent. Born in Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire, he moved to France in the wake of the Armenian genocide and resided in Marseille. During World War II, he joined the FTP-MOI and was killed in the Battle of Marseille, designated as mort pour la France posthumously.

Youth and settlement in Marseille

Sarkis Bedikian was born in Zeitoun, Ottoman Empire, around 1908.[1][2] 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.[3][4]

Bedikian settled in Traverse Chevalier[1] in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille.

Resistance and death

During World War II, Bedikian joined the Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) and specifically served in the Compagnie Marat,[1][5] a detachment in Bouches-du-Rhône.[6] 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.[7]

As the Allied invasion of Provence began with Operation Dragoon, the FTP-MOI in Bouches-du-Rhône rose up militarily to capture strongholds, create chaos in the defensive lines of Nazi Germany,[5] and facilitate the successful landing.[8] Sarkis Bedikian was among the uprising fighters. On 21 August 1944, Julia Pirotte photographed him alongside one of his Greek comrades, Vassilias Stamboulis.[5]

A few hours later, Sarkis Bedikian was killed in combat while launching an assault on the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône.[5][7] Edmon Perian, Samoue Topalian, and Veravant Kechikian were also killed in Marseille during the Battle of Marseille.[7]

Legacy

Bedikian was recognised as being mort pour la France.[7][8][9] Additionally, his detachment was renamed Detachment Sarkis in his honour.[5][9]

He is one of the characters in the 2009 novel Missak by Didier Daeninckx about Missak Manouchian.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Prieur, Benoît (3 August 2021). "BEDOUKIAN [ou BEDIKIAN] Sarkis". Le Maitron (in French). Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Titres, homologations et services pour faits de résistance - Sarkis BEDOUKIAN". Mémoire des Hommes (in French). Ministry of Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Castelle, Mélanie (Autumn–Winter 2011). "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". Le bulletin de l'AFAS (in French) (37): 25–28. doi:10.4000/afas.2819. ISSN 1246-7529.
  4. ↑ Belmonte, Lydie (1999). 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 (in French). Marseille: Paul Tacussel, Éditeur. ISBN 978-2-903963-96-5. OCLC 606779702.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Le combattant FTP-MOI Sarkis Bedoukian, durant l'insurrection de Marseille". Musée de la Résistance en ligne (in French). Foundation of the Resistance. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Le groupe MARAT". groupemarat.com (in French). Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Various groups of resistance in Marseilles". desinroc.free.fr. Archived from the original on 28 August 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 "ANCIENS COMBATTANTS & RESISTANTS ARMENIENS 1939 - 1945". anciens-combattants-armeniens.org (in French). Armenian Institute of France. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 Les Arméniens au service de la France (Brochure) (in French). National Association of Armenian Veterans and Resistance Fighters. October 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via Issuu.
  10. ↑ Daeninckx, Didier (2009). Missak: roman. Singulier (in French). Paris: Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-02802-2.
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