Unknown Syrian - Part 2: More information

OK, by giving so little information, I may have been a bit nasty. Sorry. OK, here are more details which, I am afraid, will not be of much more help. However, the extraordinary story of that Unknown Syrian is worth the patience, believe me. Anyway, here we go:

• Our man was born in 1910 and died in 1997. He spent his childhood and teenage in Damascus, then left for France where he lived until his death.

• He studied medieval theatre history at the Sorbonne (University of Paris.)
  

• The portrait of him which I included in my earlier message (part 1) was taken in France in 1948.

• He was neither a politician nor a military.

• He is not a well-known figure in Syria, and only theatre specialists in France know his name.

• He saved lives indeed but when? Where and how? That is going to be partly revealed in part 3.

The plot thickens!