Various historians writing on Talat Pasha refer to him as “the Soul of the Armenian Persecutions”. Influential in his being named the mastermind and perpetrator of the “Great Calamity” were both the fact that he was the Minister of the Interior in charge of the 1915-1917 Armenian Genocide and telegrams he sent to certain state and Union and Progress officials in Anatolia and the Ottoman territories in general on the Armenian issue, ordering them to “Take care of it” (“Bizzat Hallediniz”).
When it became clear that the Ottoman Empire was to be defeated in World War I, Talat Pasha escaped to Berlin on the 3rd of November 1918 along with other Committee of Union and Progress leaders aboard a German submarine waiting for them at the Istanbul Harbour. On the 5th of July 1919 he, İsmail Enver, Cemal Pasha and Dr. Nazım were sentenced to death in absentia by Ottoman Courts-Martial (also: “Special Military Tribunal”) for having planned and executed Armenian massacres in Trabzon, Yozgat and Boğazlıyan. The Ottoman government was twice denied by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in requests it made for his extradition. One allegation was that Talat Pasha was living under a fake name as a businessperson, and could not be extradited for this reason. It is of course still a matter of debate to what extent the Germans’ active or passive involvement in the Armenian genocide during the rule of Enver, Talat and Cemal Pasha has played a role in this.
Talat Pasha was assassinated by Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun party) member Soghomon Tehlirian on the 15th of March 1921 a short while after he left his home on Hardenberg Strasse, Charlottenburg, Berlin. His habit of taking a walk every morning at 11:00 provided the opportunity needed for this assassination. It is said that 25-year-old Tehlirian lost 85 family members during the genocide. Coming to Berlin months in advance for this operation, he apparently learned German here, scrutinized and memorized city maps, and shadowed Talat Pasha. One argument is that Talat Pasha’s death came as a result of an agreement reached between British and Soviet secret services regarding this assassination. Another interpretation is that Talat Pasha was killed as part of Operation Nemesis, started in order to avenge the Armenian Genocide by eliminating those responsible. It is believed that five other prominent leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress including Bahattin Şakir were later killed as part of the same operation. Tehlirian’s son claims that his father had previously also taken the life of Harutyun Mkrtchyan. It is alleged that Mkrtchyan collaborated with the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa (Ottoman Special Organization) in identifying the notable Armenian intellectuals, journalists, clergy and members of parliament who were to be arrested and sent on exile on the 24th of April 1915 so as to be exterminated. Caught by Germans on the street after shooting Talat Pasha, Tehlirian was put on trial in Berlin a couple of months later. Author of what is considered one of the most important sources on the Armenian Genocide, The Armenian Golgotha, father Grigoris Balakian testified in favour of Tehlirian in court. He was released within two days in view of what the Ottoman Empire had put its Armenian citizens through, and being judged mentally unstable. He passed away in San Francisco on the 23rd of May 1960.
Just as he had been while alive, Talat Pasha’s dead body too became a matter of various political disputes. After he was killed, his body was first placed in the cellar of the Berlin St. Matthäi Protestant Church. The reason stated for this was that Berlin’s Muslim Cemetery had been closed for renovations at the time by the Pan-Islamist Orient club founded by Talat Pasha himself. Once renovations were complete, Talat Pasha’s coffin was placed in a building here along with those of Cemal Azmi and Dr. Bahaddin Şakir, where it stayed from 1922 to 1930, until being interred in the Muslim Cemetery on the 9th of May 1930 as it was thought that the Republic of Turkey would not request the body after this point. Yet, later on, the Turkish Ambassador beseeched the German Minister of Foreign Affairs for the maintenance of the grave, which was in poor condition. As stated in a document dated 1941, “Grand Vizier Talat Pasha lies under a discoloured slab of marble”.
With a law passed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1926, Talat Pasha’s family were put on martyr’s salary. In addition to this lifelong salary, his wife Hayriye Hanım was also allocated property – a flat in a building belonging to Aram Fındıklıyan – that had been evacuated and confiscated by the state during the mass deportation. In 1943, his remains were transported to Turkey and reburied in the Abide-i Hürriyet martyrs’ cemetery upon decree by the Council of Ministers.
Due to the systematic denialism imbued in the official historiography of the Republic of Turkey, “the soul of the Armenian persecutions” Talat Pasha gained a positive reputation – even if not openly so. This is the case for all leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress responsible for massacres and bloodshed. The public was also made to forget that it was courts held here in Turkey that originally convicted an important portion of them for their responsibility in massacres. They continued being treated with respect as part of the systematic denial in effect. Today it is still possible to encounter Talat Pasha’s name on boulevards, streets, avenues, schools and mosques across Turkey.
Neighbourhoods
Edirne, Merkez (Center), Balıkpazarı – Istanbul, Esenyurt, Saadetdere – Istanbul, Kağıthane, Gültepe – Istanbul, Okmeydanı – İzmir, Bergama – Kayseri, Kocasinan, Argıncık – Tekirdağ, Çorlu, Şeyh Sinan.
Avenues, streets, boulevards
Ankara, Polatlı, Merkez (Center), Fatih Neighbourhood – Ankara, Çankaya, Sıhhiye, Ulus, Altındağ – Gündoğdu, Cebeci, Mamak – Balıkesir, Ayvalık – Bursa, Orhangazi, Merkez (Center), Hürriyet Neighbourhood – Edirne, Merkez (Center), İstasyon Neighbourhood – Eskişehir, Tepebaşı, Eskibağlar, Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Arnavutköy – Istanbul, Avcılar, Ambarlı Quarter, Cihangir Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Bahçelievler – Istanbul, Beşiktaş, Levent Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Üsküdar, Burhaniye – Istanbul, Büyükçekmece – Istanbul, Esenyurt, Esenkent, Bahçeşehir – Istanbul, Güngören – Istanbul Kağıthane, Harmantepe Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Maltepe, Cevizli Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Sarıyer, Yeniköy Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Zincirlikuyu, Esentepe – Istanbul, Ümraniye, Esenevler Neighbourhood – İzmir, Alsancak, Konak – Konya, Sarayönü – Muğla, Marmaris – Sakarya – Pamukova, Cumhuriyet Neighbourhood – Tekirdağ, Çorlu, Şeyh Sinan Neighbourhood – Tekirdağ, Merkez (Center), Aydoğdu Neighbourhood – Yalova Merkez (Center), Bahçelievler Neighbourhood – Yozgat, Yeniköy, Merkez (Center).
Mosques
Ankara, Dikmen, Gökkuşağı Neighbourhood – Istanbul, Kağıthane, Talatpaşa Neighbourhood – Istanbul Maltepe, Cevizli Neighbourhood.
Schools
Ankara, Çankaya, Primary School – Istanbul, Şişli, PrimarySchool – İzmir, Karşıyaka, Bayraklı, Primary School – Tekirdağ, Muratlı, Primary School – Konya, Ereğli, High School.
(Compiled from data provided by the Working Group Recognition – Against Genocide, For International Understanding-AGA.)
