The French-Armenian poet and communist activist Missak Manouchian was a hero of the French Resistance during WW2. Tortured and shot by the Nazis on February 21, 1944, along with 22 other members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans français (FTPF)— an armed organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party—Manouchian became a martyr who is honored by the French to this day.
At the same time, his death was exploited by the Germans for propaganda purposes via the infamous “Affiche Rouge,” a poster distributed by the Vichy government in a bid to discredit the Resistance movement in the eyes of the French people.
An extraordinary story that will surely hit the headlines again in February 2024, when Missak and his wife, Mélinée, will be interred in the Panthéon in Paris.
