The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) bestowed the “Raoul Wallenberg Medal” upon the siblings Aida and Charles Aznavour. This prestigious award is a token of recognition to the Aznavour family, mother Knar, father Mischa and their aforementioned daughter and son, who during the dark days of the Nazi occupation in France, reached-out to those persecuted by the Nazis.
The ceremony of bestowal took place on 26 October 2017, at the Official Residence of the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.
The Aznavours were closely linked to the Missak Manouchian Resistance Group and in this context they have offered shelter to Armenians, Jews and others at their own Paris flat, risking their own lives.
This story of solidarity and civic courage was conveyed by Charles Aznavour to Professor Yair Auron, a world-renowned Israeli scholar specialized in Holocaust and Genocide studies.
Among the attendants were Helene Le Gal, Ambassador of France; Magnus Hellgren, Ambassador of Sweden and Eli Yerushalmi, Ambassador of Israel in Armenia.
Abigail Tenembaum, Vicepresident of the IRWF, conducted the ceremony. She thanked President Rivlin for hosting the event and Professor Auron for disclosing the feats of the Aznavours during the Nazi occupation, how they gave shelter to people persecuted by the Nazis, at their own Paris flat, putting the whole story in the context of the Foundation’s Houses of Life program.