Mehmed Talat Pasha
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| Armenian Genocide |
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| Early elements |
| Hamidian Massacres · 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover · Adana Massacre · Young Turk Revolution |
| The Genocide |
| April 24, 1915 · Armenian notables deported from the Ottoman capital · Tehcir Law · Armenian casualties of deportations · Ottoman Armenian casualties |
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| Responsible parties |
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Mehmed Talat Pasha (Turkish: Mehmet Talat 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 alleged to have ordered "Kill every Armenian man, woman, and child without concern."[1]
Mehmed Talat, born in Kırcaali, province Edirne in 1874, was the son of a prominent member of the Ottoman army. 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.
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 for 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 Mahmut 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 three men became the effective rulers of the Ottoman government from this point until the end of war in October, 1918.
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.[2][3]
In 1917, Talat became the grand vizier, but he was unable to reverse the downward spiral of Ottoman fortunes in his new position.
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[edit] The end of the war
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 killed by an Armenian named Soghomon Tehlirian in March 1921 for his role in ordering the massacre of Armenians in his village.
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.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rep. Weiner Commemorates Armenian Genocide
- ^ 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
