Namik Kemal Yolga
Encyclopedia
Namık Kemal Yolga was a Turkish
diplomat and statesman, known as the Turkish
Schindler
. During World War II
, Yolga was the Vice-Consul at the Turkish Embassy in Paris, France
. His efforts to save the lives of Turkish Jews from the Nazi
concentration camps earned him the title of "Turkish Schindler", and he received recognition from the Turkish and Israeli governments in the late 20th century.
in 1940 as the Vice-Consul, his first diplomatic post in a foreign country. Two months later the Nazis invaded and occupied France. They forced the roundup of Jews, sending those from the Paris area to the Drancy deportation camp. From there they were to be sent east to concentration camps.
Young Yolga saved Turkish Jews one by one from the Nazi authorities, by picking them up from Drancy, driving them in his own car and hiding them in safe places.
In his autobiography, Yolga described his efforts as:
In fact, according to Serge Klarsfeld's "Mémorial de la Déportation des Juifs de France", 1300 Turkish Jews, among which 939 officially recognized as Turkish by the Nazis, were deported.
Their fate depended entirely of the versatile decision of the Turkish bureau staff. According to the restrictive and anti-Jewish laws edicted by Turkey during the 30s, all the emigrated citizens who did not register regularly at the Consulates, or did not fulfill their military duty, lost their Turkish nationality, and this was the situation for the majority of the Jews.
Thanks to the efforts of the well known Auschwitz survivor Haim Vidal Sephiha, a Turkish Jew deported from Belgium, monuments, plaques and listings of Turkish Jews names are now present on the main extermination sites.
See also Benjamin Schatzma's "Journal d'un interné, Volume II", the works of historian and university scholar Esther Benbassa, and the article by Claude Wainstain on Necdet Kent, another "Turkish Schindler", whose biography seems also legendary.
Namık Kemal Yolga later served as an Ambassador in Rome
, Paris
, Caracas
, Tehran
and Moscow
. In addition he served as General Secretary in the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
diplomat and statesman, known as the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Schindler
Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist born in Moravia. He is credited with saving over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.He is the subject of the...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Yolga was the Vice-Consul at the Turkish Embassy in Paris, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His efforts to save the lives of Turkish Jews from the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
concentration camps earned him the title of "Turkish Schindler", and he received recognition from the Turkish and Israeli governments in the late 20th century.
Career
Namık Kemal Yolga was posted to the Turkish Embassy in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1940 as the Vice-Consul, his first diplomatic post in a foreign country. Two months later the Nazis invaded and occupied France. They forced the roundup of Jews, sending those from the Paris area to the Drancy deportation camp. From there they were to be sent east to concentration camps.
Young Yolga saved Turkish Jews one by one from the Nazi authorities, by picking them up from Drancy, driving them in his own car and hiding them in safe places.
In his autobiography, Yolga described his efforts as:
In fact, according to Serge Klarsfeld's "Mémorial de la Déportation des Juifs de France", 1300 Turkish Jews, among which 939 officially recognized as Turkish by the Nazis, were deported.
Their fate depended entirely of the versatile decision of the Turkish bureau staff. According to the restrictive and anti-Jewish laws edicted by Turkey during the 30s, all the emigrated citizens who did not register regularly at the Consulates, or did not fulfill their military duty, lost their Turkish nationality, and this was the situation for the majority of the Jews.
Thanks to the efforts of the well known Auschwitz survivor Haim Vidal Sephiha, a Turkish Jew deported from Belgium, monuments, plaques and listings of Turkish Jews names are now present on the main extermination sites.
See also Benjamin Schatzma's "Journal d'un interné, Volume II", the works of historian and university scholar Esther Benbassa, and the article by Claude Wainstain on Necdet Kent, another "Turkish Schindler", whose biography seems also legendary.
Namık Kemal Yolga later served as an Ambassador in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In addition he served as General Secretary in the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Legacy and honors
- Yolga was honored by the "500. Yıl Vakfı" (Quincentennial Foundation) in 1998.
- Yolga, Selahattin ÜlkümenSelahattin ÜlkümenSelahattin Ülkümen was a Turkish diplomat and consul in Rhodes during the Second World War, who assisted many local Jews to escape the Holocaust...
and Necdet KentNecdet Kentİsmail Necdet Kent was a Turkish diplomat who risked his life to save Jews during World War II. While vice consul-general in Marseilles, France between 1941 and 1944, he gave Turkish citizenship to dozens of Turkish Jews living in France who did not have proper identity papers, to save them from...
were honored with Turkey's Supreme Service Medal for rescuing Jews during the Holocaust. - Israel gave Yolga a special medal to recognize his work to save Jews during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
See also
- List of Turkish diplomats
- History of the Jews in TurkeyHistory of the Jews in TurkeyTurkish Jews The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the...
- Necdet KentNecdet Kentİsmail Necdet Kent was a Turkish diplomat who risked his life to save Jews during World War II. While vice consul-general in Marseilles, France between 1941 and 1944, he gave Turkish citizenship to dozens of Turkish Jews living in France who did not have proper identity papers, to save them from...
- Behiç ErkinBehiç ErkinBehiç Erkin was a career Army officer; first director of the Turkish State Railways, nationalized under his auspices; and statesman with the Turkish government who helped save almost 20,000 of ethnic Turkish Jews in France during World War II...
- Selahattin ÜlkümenSelahattin ÜlkümenSelahattin Ülkümen was a Turkish diplomat and consul in Rhodes during the Second World War, who assisted many local Jews to escape the Holocaust...
Further reading
- 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
- Stanford J. Shaw, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, New York: New York University Press