Ararat on the North Sea: caught in the dilemma of death

After a failed escape attempt to the allies, the Armenians were executed by the Germans on December 9, 1944 in Middelharnis: Grischa engineer, Ruben engineer, Volodya engineer, Gora engineer, Sascha engineer, Hayrapet student, Hratschik journalist. This brief inscription is engraved on a monument in Middelharnis, the Netherlands, erected at the execution site of seven soldiers from the Armenian Battalion who, after being taken prisoner by the Nazi army during World War II, organized an underground partisan uprising.These names might have simply faded into the cold generalizations and linear timelines of history. However, thanks to years of dedicated research by Dutch journalist Joris Versteeg, their trajectories reveal extraordinary human stories not only about surviving the horrors of Nazi camps, but also about the courage to continue the struggle while fully aware they were marching toward their deaths.Versteeg has already uncovered the historical fates of three of these seven men. He is now seeking information about a fourth partisan, known as Gora/Jora (or Goga/Grigorii). What is known is that he was a Red Army soldier captured by the Nazis, who arrived in the Netherlands in 1943. As a leading member of the underground resistance group, he was executed by the fascists in Middelharnis on December 9, 1944. Born around 1920 in Armenia, he had a secondary education. A photograph taken in 1944 is likely his last.If this Armenian partisan's relatives can be found, Versteeg hopes to gather enough information to complete his documentary record of the Armenians in the Netherlands and their underground networks during WW2 under the research project Ararat on the North Sea. Anyone possessing relevant information is encouraged to contact the project via email at info@ararat-aan-de-noordzee.nl.Mediamax spoke with Joris Versteeg about the broader project, the tragic fates of the Armenian partisans, and what it takes to remain human in inhumane times.A letter from father t