Drastamat Kanayan Դրաստամատ Կանայան
May 31, 1884 - March 8, 1956
General Drastamat "Dro" Kanayan
Nickname	General Dro
Place of birth	Iğdır, Russian Empire
Place of death	Boston, United States
Allegiance	Democratic Republic of Armenia, Axis powers
Years of service	1914-1945
Commands	Armed Forces of Yerevan, 812th Armenian Battalion
Battles/wars	World War I, Battle of Bash Abaran, Turkish-Armenian War, Georgian-Armenian War, World War II
Other work	Politician

General Drastamat Kanayan (Armenian: Դրաստամատ Կանայան, known as General Dro, Դրո, May 31, 1884 – March 8, 1956), was an Armenian politician, revolutionary, general and commander of the Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany. May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in leap years). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 250 × 295 pixelsFull resolution (250 × 295 pixel, file size: 18 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) General Dro when he was a fedayee. ... IÄŸdır (Ô»Õ£Õ¤Õ«Ö€ in Armenian) is a city in eastern Turkey, close to the border with Armenia. ... Anthem God Save the Tsar! The Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great (first)  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II (last) History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... National motto: n/a Language Armenian (official) Capital Yerevan Independence From Imperial Russia, 1918 Currency Armenian dram National anthem Mer Hayrenik The Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA; Armenian: Ô´Õ¥Õ´Õ¸Õ¯Ö€Õ¡Õ¿Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Õ€Õ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ€Õ¡Õ¶Ö€Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¸Ö‚Õ¶, Demokratakan Hayastani Hanrapetutyun; also known as the First Republic of Armenia), 1918–1922, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Location Location of Yerevan in Armenia Government Country Armenia Established 782 BC Mayor Yervand Zakharyan Geographical characteristics Area  - City 227 km² Population  - City (2004)    - Density 1,088,000   5196. ... The Armenian Legion was the name given to the 812th Armenian Battalion which was a foreign unit comprised of about 18,000 Armenians that were conscripted into the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Many of these soldiers were Soviet Red Army POWs. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Combatants Ottoman Empire Democratic Republic of Armenia Commanders  ? Drastamat Kanayan Strength Third Army  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Battle of Bash Abaran was a battle of Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place in the vicinity of Bash Abaran, in 1918. ... Combatants   Democratic Republic of Armenia   Turkish Revolutionaries Commanders Kazim Karabekir, Albay Halit Bey Beginning on 24 July 1920, the Turkish-Armenian War was a series of four battles and many small skirmishes between the Democratic Republic of Armenia and groups of the Turkish National Movement. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in leap years). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Armenian Legion was the name given to the 812th Armenian Battalion which was a foreign unit comprised of about 18,000 Armenians that were conscripted into the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Many of these soldiers were Soviet Red Army POWs. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of Germany. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Early life

Drastamat Kanayan was born in Iğdır, Surmalu, Russian Empire (present-day Turkey) in 1884. He was the son of Martiros Kanayan, the head of the Kanayan, or "Gago", family clan in Iğdır and Horom Kanayan, Drastamat's mother. At an early age, Martiros Kanayan enrolled his son to the parish school of Iğdır. Drastamat would skip school to hang out near the military barracks of Iğdır because of his interest in the military excercises held there.^[1] Noticing that Drastamat had no interest in books and learning, Martiros Kanayan pulled him out of the village school and enrolled him to the Yerevan Gymnasium school. Drastamat was no better in the Yerevan Gymanisium school as the grades he achieved were barely enough for a promotion. Like all government schools in the provinces of Russia, there was a policy of Russification that limited education in the Armenian language to religion only. Inspired by stories of General Andranik's triumphs in the Ottoman Empire, Drastamat joined a secret youth movement in his school that opposed the Czar's government and promoted Armenian nationalism.^[2] IÄŸdır (Ô»Õ£Õ¤Õ«Ö€ in Armenian) is a city in eastern Turkey, close to the border with Armenia. ... Anthem God Save the Tsar! The Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great (first)  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II (last) History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq... Location Location of Yerevan in Armenia Government Country Armenia Established 782 BC Mayor Yervand Zakharyan Geographical characteristics Area  - City 227 km² Population  - City (2004)    - Density 1,088,000   5196. ... The Armenian language (Armenian: , IPA: — hayeren lezu, conventional short form hayeren) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people in the Republic of Armenia, in Georgia (especially in Samtskhe-Javakheti), Mountainous Karabakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and also used by the Armenian diaspora. ... Andranik Toros Ozanian, or Zoravar Andranik, (Armenian: or Ô¶Õ¸Ö€Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Ö€ Ô±Õ¶Õ¤Ö€Õ¡Õ¶Õ«Õ¯) (February 25, 1865 – August 31, 1927) was an Armenian general, politician, freedom fighter, greatly admired as a national hero. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... Tsar, (Bulgarian цар�, Russian царь; often spelled Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution. ...

Activism

On June 12, 1903, the czarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control, which led to a swift condemnation by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. This prompted Drastamat Kanayan to join the ranks of the Dashnaktsutiun in order to actively defend the churches from being confiscated through public demonstrations and guard duty.^[2] June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Foundation: 1890 Founders: Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, Simon Zavarian Head: Hrant Markarian Ideology: Socialism,[1] Nationalism[2] International alignment: Socialist International[1] Colours: Red Seats: Armenia – 11 seats out of 131 Nagorno-Karabakh – 3 seats out of 33 Lebanon – 2 seats out of 128 Website: Partys Official Web Site...

World War I

He served in the Russian army during World War I. During the Armenian Genocide, Kanayan fought off Turkish aggression against Armenian civilians. In 1918-1920, Kanayan became the Defense Minister of the short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia and commanded Armenian troops in various successful wars against Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Kanayan had already became a popular military leader after the victories over the Turkish forces in 1918 which essentially saved the Armenian Republic from total destruction. In 1920, after the incorporation of the Republic of Armenia into the Soviet Union, Drastamat Kanayan immigrated to Iran and later to Germany. This article is becoming very long. ... Armenian Genocide photo. ... National motto: n/a Language Armenian (official) Capital Yerevan Independence From Imperial Russia, 1918 Currency Armenian dram National anthem Mer Hayrenik The Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA; Armenian: Դեմոկրատական Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Demokratakan Hayastani Hanrapetutyun; also known as the First Republic of Armenia), 1918–1922, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of...

World War II

During World War II, representatives of the Armenian Dashnaks within Europe decided to ally themselves with the German war effort and fight the Soviet Union with hopes of liberating the Armenian Republic from under Bolshevik rule. In 1941, the Armenian volunteers formed the "812th Armenian Battalion" within the German Wehrmacht and, as their numbers grew, they eventually became known as the "Armenian Legion." The Armenian Legion was put under the command of Drastamat Kanayan and was made up of a number of committed Armenian political activists and a larger number of Armenian POWs (prisoners of war) taken by the Germans in their sweep eastwards. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Foundation: 1890 Founders: Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, Simon Zavarian Head: Hrant Markarian Ideology: Socialism,[1] Nationalism[2] International alignment: Socialist International[1] Colours: Red Seats: Armenia – 11 seats out of 131 Nagorno-Karabakh – 3 seats out of 33 Lebanon – 2 seats out of 128 Website: Partys Official Web Site... Armenian battalions were battle groups formed by Armenian volunteer conscripts during the period of Balkan Wars and World War I, between 1912-1920. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The Armenian Legion was the name given to the 812th Armenian Battalion which was a foreign unit comprised of about 18,000 Armenians that were conscripted into the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Many of these soldiers were Soviet Red Army POWs. ...

Drastamat Kanayan during the 1940s

Early on, the total number of Armenian volenteers within the German Wehrmacht was approximately 8,000. The Armenian Legion was credited with saving the lives of many thousands of Armenian POWs on the Eastern Front.^{[citation needed]} These troops fought in Crimea, North Caucasus and served as police units for internal security duties in the occupied territories, and later on in Western Europe against the Allies. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 223 × 254 pixelsFull resolution (223 × 254 pixel, file size: 10 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)General Dro around 1940s, image scanned from Karnig Sarkissians 25th anniversary music memorabilia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 223 × 254 pixelsFull resolution (223 × 254 pixel, file size: 10 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)General Dro around 1940s, image scanned from Karnig Sarkissians 25th anniversary music memorabilia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this... Combatants Soviet Union,1 Poland (from January 1945) Germany,1 Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia Commanders Aleksei Antonov, Azi Aslanov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Pavel Rotmistrov, Semyon Timoshenko, Fyodor Tolbukhin, Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Nikolai Vatutin... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... North Caucasus in Russia The North Caucasus (sometimes referred to as Ciscaucasia or Ciscaucasus) is the northern part of the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia. ... A common post-WWII understanding of Western Europe Western Europe in its most common understanding is a socio-political concept coined and used during the Cold War. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Death and burial

With the end of the World War II, Drastamat Kanayan was arrested by American forces, but soon released. Kanayan settled within the large Armenian Diaspora of Lebanon. When traveling to the U.S. for medical treatment, he died in Boston on 8 March 1956. Map of the Armenian diaspora. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ...

With much pomp and ceremony, Kanayan's remains were taken to Armenia for final burial after Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union. Drastamat Kanayan, along with his famous comrades in arms Garegin Njdeh and Andranik Toros Ozanian, is considered to be a great Armenian leader by Armenians worldwide. While his reputation is so high in his native country, Turks and Azerbaijanis have a very negative opinion about Drastamat Kanayan ( they call him "the butcher" ) and also many Russians (in particular World War Two veterans) consider him a collaborationist of the Nazis. Garegin Njdeh Garegin Njdeh (Armenian: , real name Garegin Ter-Harutiunian, 1 January 1886 - late 1955) was an Armenian statesman, military, and political thinker, native of Nakhichevan. ... Andranik Toros Ozanian, or Zoravar Andranik, (Armenian: or Զորավար Անդրանիկ) (February 25, 1865 – August 31, 1927) was an Armenian general and freedom fighter who was a national hero with big admiration. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A veteran refers to a person who is experienced in a particular area, particularly referring to people in the armed forces. ... Collaboration, literally, consists of working together with one or more other people. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

Dro's Mausoleum in Aparan, Armenia.

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 638 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Drastamat Kanayan Metadata This file contains... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 638 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Drastamat Kanayan Metadata This file contains... Aparan (Armenian: Ապարան, Aparan or Abaran) is a village in Armenia, located in the Aragatsotn province. ...

Reference

• Dimensions of Democracy and Authority in Caucasian Armenia, 1917-1920, Richard G. Hovannisian, Russian Review, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan., 1974)

External links

• Gayane Kanayan, Wife of Armenian Hero General Dro, Honored by Defense Ministry