Talaat Pasha: Difference between revisions
m rvv; revisionist removal of genocide |
Added cited information regarding his early years |
||
| Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
==Early life== |
==Early life== |
||
Mehmed Talat born in [[1874]] in [[Kardzhali|Kırcaali]] town of [[Edirne Province]] from a family of junior civil servant working for the Ottoman Empire. His father was from a village in the mountainous south-eastern corner of present day [[Bulgaria]]. He had powerful build and a dark complexion <ref name="mango67">{{cite book |last=Mango|first=Andrew|authorlink=Andrew Mango|title=Atatürk|publisher=John Murray |location=London|year=2004 |page=67 |isbn= 978-0719565922}}</ref>. His manners were bluff, which caused him to leave the civil preparatory school without a certificate after having a conflict with his teacher. Without having the degree, he joined the staff of the telegraph company as a postal clerk in [[Edirne]]. His salary was not high, so he worked after hours as a Turkish language teacher in the Alliance Israelite School. Alliance Israelite School served the Jewish community of Edirne<ref name="mango67" />. |
|||
Mehmed Talat, born in [[Kardzhali|Kırcaali]], province [[Edirne Province|Edirne]] in [[1874]], was the son of a prominent member of the Ottoman army purportedly of [[Dönmeh]] origin. His position in society allowed him to receive a top quality education. He was graduated from Edirne High School. He joined the staff of the telegraph company in [[Edirne]], but he was soon arrested in [[1893]] for subversive political activity. He was actively involved in the resistance movement against the despotic regime of [[Sultan Abdülhamit II]]. Released two years later, he was appointed chief secretary of posts and telegraphs in [[Salonika]] and rendered important services to the Young Turk cause. Between [[1898]] and [[1908]] he served as a postman, on the staff of the Selanik Post Office, and eventually Head of Selanik Post Office. He also became a [[Freemason]] during this period laying the foundation for his [[secular]] views and his [[atheism]]. |
|||
At the age of 21, he had a love affair with the daughter of the Jewish headmaster that he worked for. He was caught sending a telegraph, which said "Things are going well. I'll soon reach my goal." With two of his friends of the post office, he was charged with tempering the official telegraph and arrested in [[1893]]. He claimed that the message in question was to his girl friend. The Jewish girl come forward to defend him. He was pardoned from two years of jail time but exiled to Salonica as a postal clerk<ref name="mango67" />. |
|||
Between [[1898]] and [[1908]] he served as a postman, on the staff of the Selanik Post Office. Eventually, with his 10 years at this postal unit, he became the Head of Selanik Post Office. |
|||
==Young Turk Revolution== |
==Young Turk Revolution== |
||
Revision as of 20:25, 20 November 2007
Mehmed Talat Pasha | |
|---|---|
 Office | |
| 280th Grand Vizier | |
| Preceded by | Said Halim Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed İzzet Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1874 Kırcaali (Edirne) |
| Died | March 15th 1921 Berlin, Germany |
| Nationality | Ottoman |
| Political party | Committee of Union and Progress |
Mehmed Talat Pasha (Turkish: Mehmet Tâlât Paşa) (1874-1921) was one of the leaders of the Young Turks, an Ottoman statesman, grand vizier (1917) , and leading member of the Sublime Porte from 1913 until 1918. He is infamously tied to the Armenian Genocide possibly even more than the other two "Pashas" and is known to have ordered "Kill every Armenian man, woman, and child without concern",[1] a quote from the "Andonian Telegrams".
Early life
Mehmed Talat born in 1874 in Kırcaali town of Edirne Province from a family of junior civil servant working for the Ottoman Empire. His father was from a village in the mountainous south-eastern corner of present day Bulgaria. He had powerful build and a dark complexion [2]. His manners were bluff, which caused him to leave the civil preparatory school without a certificate after having a conflict with his teacher. Without having the degree, he joined the staff of the telegraph company as a postal clerk in Edirne. His salary was not high, so he worked after hours as a Turkish language teacher in the Alliance Israelite School. Alliance Israelite School served the Jewish community of Edirne[2].
At the age of 21, he had a love affair with the daughter of the Jewish headmaster that he worked for. He was caught sending a telegraph, which said "Things are going well. I'll soon reach my goal." With two of his friends of the post office, he was charged with tempering the official telegraph and arrested in 1893. He claimed that the message in question was to his girl friend. The Jewish girl come forward to defend him. He was pardoned from two years of jail time but exiled to Salonica as a postal clerk[2].
Between 1898 and 1908 he served as a postman, on the staff of the Selanik Post Office. Eventually, with his 10 years at this postal unit, he became the Head of Selanik Post Office.
Young Turk Revolution
In 1908, he was dismissed for membership in the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), the conspiratorial nucleus of the Young Turk movement. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, however, he became deputy of Edirne in the Ottoman Parliament, and in July 1909, he was appointed Minister of Interior Affairs. He became Minister of Post and then the Secretary-General of the CUP in 1912.
After the assassination of the Prime Minister Mahmud Sevket Pasa in July 1913, Talat Pasha once again became Minister of Interior Affairs. Talat, along with Enver Pasha and Djemal Pasha formed a group called the Three Pashas. These men formed the triumvirate of the Ottoman government until the end of war in October, 1918.
The Armenian Genocide
Talat, as minister of the interior, bears much of the responsibility for the deportation of the Armenians from the empire's eastern provinces to Syria. Most historians blame him for the barbarity of the operation and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. For more on this see Armenian Genocide. Although Talat was the minister of the interior, many historians argue that Enver Pasha deserves equal blame for the deportations of the Armenians.[3][4]
The end of the war
In 1917, Talat became the grand vizier, but he was unable to reverse the downward spiral of Ottoman fortunes in his new position.
Over the next year, Jerusalem and Baghdad were lost and in October of 1918, the British shattered both Ottoman armies they faced. With defeat certain, Talat resigned on October 14, 1918. Just a week later the Ottoman government capitulated to the Allies and signed an armistice at the island of Mudros.
A week later, Talat Pasha, Enver Pasha and Djemal Pasha fled to Berlin. All three men would be dead by the end of 1922. Talat was assassinated by a survivor of the Armenian genocide named Soghomon Tehlirian on March 14, 1921 for his role in ordering the massacre of Armenians in his village. Even though Soghomon Tehlirian did conduct the murder, he was found Innocent by a German court; due to his war crimes, and the fact Talat Pasha was already sentenced to death in absentia by an Ottoman military tribunal. This was one of the few times the defendant admitted to murder, and was found innocent.
He was buried into the Turkish Cemetery in Berlin. In 1943, his remains were taken to Istanbul and reburied in Şişli. His war memories were published after his death.
The role of the British Intelligence service in the assassination
After the Mudros Armistice, the British had intelligence reports indicating that they had gone to Germany, and the British High Commissioner pressured Damad Ferit Pasha and the Sublime Porte to demand from Germany to return to Turkey Talat Pasha, Enver Pasha, Cemil Pasha, Said Halim Pasha, Dr. Nazim, Bahattin Sakir and Cemal Azmi. As a result of efforts pursued personally by (Sir) Andrew Ryan, a former Dragoman and now a member of the British intelligence service, Germany responded to Turkey stating that it was willing to be helpful if official papers could be produced showing these persons had been found guilty, and added that the presence of these persons in Germany could not as yet be ascertained.[5]
England was not pleased with this response, and embarked upon hunting down the Unionists with its own methods. The British intelligence services finally identified Talat Pasha in Stockholm where he had gone for a few days. The British intelligence first planned to apprehend him in Berlin where he was planning to return, but then changed its mind because it feared the complications this would create in Germany. Another view in the British intelligence was that Talat Pasha should be apprehended by the British navy in the sea while returning from Scandinavia by ship. At the end, it was decided to let him return to Berlin, find out what this famous Unionist was trying to accomplish with his activities abroad, and to establish direct contact with him before giving the final verdict. Nine days before Talat Pasha's assassination, Aubrey Herbert, a British intelligence agent had short meetings with him during three days in a park in a small German town. These meetings corroborated earlier intelligence to the effect that Talat Pasha was seeking support from Muslim countries to help Mustafa Kemal's movement, that he was organizing abroad a serious opposition movement against the Allied Powers, and that he was soon intending to take refuge in Ankara. Furthermore, Talat Pasha also dared to make the threat that he was going to incite the Pan-Turanist and Pan-Islamist movements against England, unless she signed a peace treaty favorable for Turkey. This action of Talat Pasha made the British very anxious. Their intelligence service established contact with its counterpart in the Soviet Union to evaluate the situation. Talat Pasha's plans made the Russian officials as anxious as the British. The two intelligence services collaborated and signed among them the 'death warrant of Talat Pasha. Information concerning his physical description and his whereabouts was forwarded to their men in Germany. However, it was decided that Armenian revolutionaries carry out the verdict. As a matter of fact, Talat Pasha was assassinated with a single bullet on 15 March 1921 as he came out of his house in Hardenbergstrasse, Charlottenburg..[6]
Famous Arab journalist Mustafa Amin's contention is that the British intelligence itself was behind the assassinations of exiled Young Turk leaders in the early 1920s: Talat Pasha, Jemal Pasha..[1] .[7]
Trivia
See also
References
- ^ Rep. Weiner Commemorates Armenian Genocide
- ^ a b c Mango, Andrew (2004). Atatürk. London: John Murray. p. 67. ISBN 978-0719565922.
- ^ David Fromkin "A Peace to End all Peace", pg 212-213
- ^ The Story of Enver Pasha and his Times Part 4: Armenians are nothing to me
- ^ Oke, Mim Kemal: The Armenian question 1914-1923. Nicosia: Oxford 1988 http://www.ataa.org/ataa/ref/armenian/oke.html
- ^ Oke, Mim Kemal: The Armenian question 1914-1923. Nicosia: Oxford 1988 http://www.ataa.org/ataa/ref/armenian/oke.html
- ^ Donald M. Reid, Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4 (1982), pp. 625-651
External links
"Interview with Talaat Pasha by Henry Morgenthau - American Ambassador to Contstantinople 1915