On November 14th, the Institute of European Studies (IES) at UC Berkeley, in collaboration with the Armenian Studies Program under the Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ISEEES), hosted Dr. Lerna Ekmekçioğlu, McMillan-Stewart Associate Professor of History and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ekmekçioğlu, a prominent historian specializing in Armenian history and diaspora studies, delivered a lecture based on her latest research paper. The paper explores the role of Armenian women in French Communist circles and their efforts in promoting the repatriation of Armenians to the Soviet Union. Approximately 15 participants attended the lecture.
Professor Dzovinar Derderian, Executive Director of the Armenian Studies Program, introduced Ekmekçioğlu to the audience. After outlining Ekmekçioğlu’s extensive research background, Derderian invited her to present specific insights from her latest work.
Ekmekçioğlu began by contextualizing her research, which examines the French-Armenian women’s movement in Paris during World War II (WWII)—a topic she noted has been largely overlooked in academic discourse. She focused on the life and legacy of Louisa Aslanian (known by the pseudonym LAS), a prominent French-Armenian Ccommunist and anti-fascist activist.
A significant portion of the lecture centered on the French Armenian Women’s Union (FAWU), a pro-Soviet Ccommunist organization active in France during and after WWII. The FAWU, which embraced what Ekmekçioğlu described as “pragmatic feminism,” honored LAS as a martyr after her execution in a Nazi concentration camp. The organisation demonstrated how traditional notions of femininity—through activities such as embroidery, cooking, and fashion—could coexist alongside feminist ideals and liberation efforts.
Ekmekçioğlu also recounted the story of Mélinée Manouchian, widow of Missak Manouchian and, a leader of Ccommunist guerrilla forces in the French Resistance. Invited directly by Soviet authorities, Mélinée repatriated to Soviet Armenia, where she contributed to the inaugural edition of the Armenian national women’s journal. Ekmekçioğlu underscored how the FAWU supported such repatriation efforts, providing aid and supplies to immigrants. One poignant example she shared was of diaspora women in France sending books and gifts on a ship bound for the Soviet port of Batumi—a testament to what she described as “transnational Armenian Ccommunist feminist solidarity.”
The lecture also touched on the lives of notable Soviet Armenian figures, including artist sisters Yeranuhi and Mariam Aslamazyan, as well as writer Zabel Yesayan, who survived the Armenian genocide, lived in France, and expressed admiration for her visits to Soviet Armenia.
While Ekmekçioğlu’s research demonstrated that Armenian diaspora women were instrumental in advocating for repatriation and generally aligned with pro-Soviet sentiments, she also acknowledged the complexities of this movement. She noted that Stalinist purges eventually curtailed mass repatriation, and that many French-Armenian women, including staunch Ccommunists like Manouchian, ultimately left the Soviet Union.
The lecture concluded with a robust Q&A session, during which attendees posed questions about Soviet repatriation policies. Ekmekçioğlu answered these inquiries at length, drawing on her research and broader historical knowledge.