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'''Selahattin Ülkümen''' (14 January 1914 in [[Antakya]] – 7 July 2003 in [[Istanbul]]) was a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[diplomat]] and [[consul]] in [[Rhodes]] during the [[Second World War]], who assisted many local [[Jews]] to escape the [[Holocaust]]. In 1989 Israel recognized him as among the [[Righteous Among the Nations]] and listed his name at [[Yad Vashem]]. |
'''Selahattin Ülkümen''' (14 January 1914 in [[Antakya]] – 7 July 2003 in [[Istanbul]]) was a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[diplomat]] and [[consul]] in [[Rhodes]] during the [[Second World War]], who assisted many local [[Jews]] to escape the [[Holocaust]]. In 1989 Israel recognized him as among the [[Righteous Among the Nations]] and listed his name at [[Yad Vashem]]. |
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Turkish and [[Greek people|Greek]] Jews alike were deported to the [[death camp]]s from the island of [[Corfu]]. But on the island of Rhodes, [[Turkey]]’s Consul, Selahattin Ülkümen, saved the lives of some 42 Turkish Jewish families, totaling more than 200 persons, among a Jewish community of some 2000 after the [[Germany|Germans]] took over the island. The German occupation followed [[Italy]]'s removal of [[Mussolini]] from power and its [[armistice]] with the [[Allies]]. |
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==Background== |
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Jews had prospered on Rhodes during 390 years of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule until 1917, and under the succeeding [[Italy|Italian]] occupation until 1943, when the Germans took over. By the 1940s, the [[ethnic]] Jewish community numbered about 2000, made up of people from Turkey, Greece, Italy and other [[Mediterranean]] countries, as well as those native to the island. |
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==Ülkümen's interventions== |
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On 19 July 1944, the [[Gestapo]] ordered all of the island’s Jewish population to gather at its headquarters: ostensibly they were to register for "temporary transportation to a small island nearby", but in reality they were gathered for transport to [[Auschwitz]] and its [[gas chamber]]s. Ülkümen went to the German commanding officer, General Kleeman, to remind him that Turkey was [[neutral country|neutral]] in the [[World War II|war]]. He asked for release of the Jews, including not only Turkish citizens but also their spouses and relatives, even though many of the latter were Italian and Greek citizens.<ref>[http://www.hurriyetusa.com/haber/haber_detay.asp?id=5743]</ref> At first the commander refused, stating that under [[Nazism|Nazi]] law, all Jews were Jews and had to go to the [[concentration camp]]s. Ülkümen responded with "under Turkish law all citizens were equal. We didn’t differentiate between citizens who were Jewish, Christian or Muslim."<ref>Stanford J. Shaw, ''Turkey and the Holocaust: Turkey's Role in Rescuing Turkish and European Jewry from Nazi Persecution, 1933-1945'', New York: New York University Press; London, MacMillan Press, 1993</ref> |
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Ülkümen told Kleeman that "I would advise my Government if he didn’t release the Jewish Turks it would cause an international incident. Then he agreed."<ref>Ibid</ref> The Jews protected by Ülkümen were released, though not until they were subjected to considerable additional harassment by the Nazi authorities. Ülkümen continued to provide protection and moral support to those whom he had rescued and other Jews who remained on the island. They feared suffering deportation, as they were required to report to the Gestapo daily and never knew whether or not they would be able to return home. |
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Soon after Ülkümen's gaining release of Turkish Jews, the Germans rounded up the Greek Jews on Rhodes, numbering 673 in all, and deported them to [[Greece]]. From there, the Germans had them transported to [[extermination]] camps; only 151 of the group survived the war.<ref>Stanford J. Shaw, ''Turkey and the Holocaust: Turkey's Role in Rescuing Turkish and European Jewry from Nazi Persecution, 1933-1945'', New York: New York University Press; London, MacMillan Press, 1993</ref> |
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==Nazi retaliation== |
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In retaliation German planes bombed the Turkish [[consulate]] on Rhodes. Killed in the bombing were Ülkümen’s pregnant wife Mihrinissa Hanim, as well as two consular employees. The Germans quickly detained and deported Ülkümen to [[Piraeus]] on mainland Greece and confined him there for the remainder of the war. |
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During the next six months, Jewish Turks remaining on Rhodes were subjected to almost constant harassment by the Gestapo, which often detained them for long periods of time. It did not deport them to concentration camps as earlier planned, presumably because of the disorder and other requirements for transport in the [[Third Reich]] during the last days of the war. |
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Finally, early in January 1945, the German commander Kleeman learned that representatives of the [[International Red Cross]] were to visit Rhodes to look into the situation of its population. He ordered the remaining Jews on the island to go to Turkey, which they did the next day, traveling in small boats across a stormy sea to safety at the port of [[Marmaris]]. Kleeman likely wanted to avoid their giving damaging testimony to the Red Cross about treatment at German hands. |
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==After the war== |
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Released at the end of the war, Ülkümen returned to Turkey. |
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He died in his sleep on July 7, 2003 in [[Istanbul]], Turkey at the age of 89. |
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==Legacy and honors== |
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Maurice Sauriano, the head of the 35-person Jewish community who remained in Rhodes after the war, recently stated, "I am indebted to the Turkish consul who made extraordinary efforts to save my life and those of my fellow countrymen."<ref>Ibid</ref>. |
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*Quincentennial Foundation Vice President, historian Naim Guleryuz, collected testimony from living survivors and applied to Israel for recognition of Ülkümen’s actions during the war. On 13 December 1989, the ''[[Yad Vashem]]'' Foundation of Israel declared Ülkümen one of the [[Righteous Among the Nations]]. His name was inscribed at the memorial and a tree planted in his honor at the "Path of the Righteous."<ref>[http://www.adl.org/education/edu_holocaust/courage_to_care.asp]</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Namık Kemal Yolga]] |
* [[Namık Kemal Yolga]] |
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* [[List of Turkish diplomats]] |
* [[List of Turkish diplomats]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*{{cite web|url=http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/?en/saviors/diplomats/turkey-served-safe-haven-jews.2110.htm|title=Turkey Served As Safe Haven For Jews During The Holocaust|last=Burns|first=Margie|date=18 January 2005|publisher=The International Raoul Wallenburg Foundation|accessdate=12 March 2010}} |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Revision as of 21:32, 12 March 2010
Selahattin Ülkümen | |
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File:SEU.jpg | |
Born | |
Died | July 1, 2003 | (aged 89)
Nationality | Turkish |
Occupation | Diplomat |
Known for | saving lives of Jews during World War II |
Selahattin Ülkümen (14 January 1914 in Antakya – 7 July 2003 in Istanbul) was a Turkish diplomat and consul in Rhodes during the Second World War, who assisted many local Jews to escape the Holocaust. In 1989 Israel recognized him as among the Righteous Among the Nations and listed his name at Yad Vashem.
In 1990 Israel issued a postage stamp in Ülkümen's honor.
See also
Further reading
- Stanford J. Shaw, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, New York: New York University Press
References
- Burns, Margie (18 January 2005). "Turkey Served As Safe Haven For Jews During The Holocaust". The International Raoul Wallenburg Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2010.