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During the period when the Holocaust was happening in Europe, there was an increase in antisemitism in Turkey. Unfortunately I have to talk about this. Before the war started, fear and panic spread with the reputation of Hitler in 1936. Nationalistic emotions were on the rise in Turkey.
Turkish people always favored Germans. They were together in the big war too, in World War I, but despite that there were no Hitler followers here, only the nationalists were with Hitler. I couldn’t figure it out, why do we, the Jews, have so many enemies?
As war approached, you could see antisemitism. Especially outside of Istanbul and Izmir, whether it was in the Dardanelles, in Gelibolu, in Tekirdag or Anatolia, anti-Jewish protests started. Slips of paper were pushed under the doors of the houses, “Go away” written on them. A current started from the provinces to Istanbul.
Migration started from Edirne, from Tekirdag etc. One of the floors of our house in Galata was empty. A family from Gelibolu rented the house and settled there. One boy was a year younger than me. Three older sisters, the mother and father, all lived together. And unfortunately the older girl, Roza, had died in 1943, when I was in the military, from tuberculosis. They were the Kandiyoti family. Now, I think most of them are dead.
They had told us then that they felt uncomfortable with some of the neighbors. They had yelled things like “Go away, get the hell out of here”. Of course not all the neighbors.. only some of them.
As it is well known, Hitler spread quickly. He crushed France. He invaded Rumania, Bulgaria and Greece. He almost was at the border of Edirne. The fear was great. The politics of Turkey was very good. They were using delay tactics. England and France started this war as losers... because Russia was also with the Germans. The Russians left the Germans toward the end of the war. They switched to the British side.
Turkish people always favored Germans. They were together in the big war too, in World War I, but despite that there were no Hitler followers here, only the nationalists were with Hitler. I couldn’t figure it out, why do we, the Jews, have so many enemies?
As war approached, you could see antisemitism. Especially outside of Istanbul and Izmir, whether it was in the Dardanelles, in Gelibolu, in Tekirdag or Anatolia, anti-Jewish protests started. Slips of paper were pushed under the doors of the houses, “Go away” written on them. A current started from the provinces to Istanbul.
Migration started from Edirne, from Tekirdag etc. One of the floors of our house in Galata was empty. A family from Gelibolu rented the house and settled there. One boy was a year younger than me. Three older sisters, the mother and father, all lived together. And unfortunately the older girl, Roza, had died in 1943, when I was in the military, from tuberculosis. They were the Kandiyoti family. Now, I think most of them are dead.
They had told us then that they felt uncomfortable with some of the neighbors. They had yelled things like “Go away, get the hell out of here”. Of course not all the neighbors.. only some of them.
As it is well known, Hitler spread quickly. He crushed France. He invaded Rumania, Bulgaria and Greece. He almost was at the border of Edirne. The fear was great. The politics of Turkey was very good. They were using delay tactics. England and France started this war as losers... because Russia was also with the Germans. The Russians left the Germans toward the end of the war. They switched to the British side.
Period
Location
Beyoğlu/İstanbul
Türkiye
Interview
Nesim Levi