Exclusive Interview with Marc Deleuze, First Memoirist of the Manouchians (video)

In an exclusive interview, Marc Deleuze recalls his time with Méliné Manouchian half a century ago. They met at her apartment on Rue Condorcet in Paris’s 9th arrondissement.

“These are 50 years of memories—a long time to carry such stories. Méliné would make tea and serve little cookies, arranging them on a small round table. We’d sit by the window, I’d turn on my tape recorder, which she amusingly called ‘your car.’ Sometimes she’d say, ‘Turn off your car,’ because she wanted to tell me something without recording.”

Méliné’s memoirs about Misak were first published in 1974 under the title “Manouchian”. Now republished by Newmag, the new edition includes never-before-seen documents, facts, and discoveries about Misak Manouchian, one of France’s most celebrated resistance heroes of Armenian descent.

“I saw Méliné cry twice. The first time was when she told me about her decision to terminate a pregnancy during the war—a decision Misak did not agree with. The second time was when she described leaving Armenia. A man gave her violets, saying the flowers matched the color of her eyes.”

Deleuze emphasizes that this memoir will help readers see Manouchian as more than a freedom fighter.

“Misak was a poet and an intellectual. It’s tragic that France mainly remembers him as a resistance hero. He wasn’t a soldier by nature. He took up arms out of necessity, not desire. The image of the hero has overshadowed the humanist, and that’s something I find deeply painful.”

The original memoir has been out of print for decades, but in 2023, the French publishing house Parentez reissued it, enriched with new materials. Translator and publishing head Houri Varzhapetyan explains the enhancements:

“The first part remains Méliné’s memoir, but now includes annotations. The second part features exclusive documents—many previously unpublished—that reveal new insights into Missak Manouchian’s life and legacy.”

The book, “Missak Manouchian: Through the Eyes of an Eyewitness”, delves into how Misak became a central figure in the French resistance. A blend of historical, investigative, and journalistic writing, it paints a detailed picture of Missak and Méliné, the challenges they faced, and the extraordinary times they lived through.