Tag #125334 - Interview #97653 (Rebeka Evgin)

When the events of the Second World War broke out, we were all scared.  Our friends in Adana took us under their wings, and said nothing would happen.  My stepbrother who lived in Istanbul came to Adana to check on us.  The rumor that there were even ovens being prepared in Istanbul [referring to the gas chambers used to kill Jews during World War II due to Hitler’s politics, mentioned by the Jews living around Balat] struck terror in our hearts.  During those days, our elders who were policitically savvy said “Don’t be afraid, Ismet Pasha [8] is going to get out of this with the minimum amount of damage”.  Truthfully, Turkish Jews were spared the horrors of the second World War with the attitude of Ismet Pasha.