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I became a soldier in April of 1943. I had just turned 19 years of age.
I was in a division for working in the airports of Malatya. There, there were a lot of nonMuslims and we were treated quite well. The military meant discipline. I had put myself under discipline too.
And this military service had a lot of benefits of course. I served in the military close to four years. Not only in Malatya, I did my service in different cities like Adana and Kayseri too. The captains treated us very well.
There was no discrimination among the soldiers. My duty there was pouring concrete on the airport field. I worked in the supplies department too. I did different jobs too.
My rank did not go up in the military. I was a private till the end. There were no high-ranked soldiers among the nonMuslims anyways. Except for doctors. When they became private soldiers, they continued as lieutenants. But our relationship with our superiors was very good.
Furthermore, before a Yom Kippur day, an orthodox Jew among us had gone to our colonel and procured permission for the Jewish soldiers to perform their religious worshipping, meaning being able to fast. And a week later, on Yom Kippur day, we congregated in a place with the order of the colonel, recited our prayers, a fasting meal was prepared for us and we fasted the following day. Very smoothly, we experienced the warmth that the soldiers could not receive in Europe, in our own military organization.
I was in a division for working in the airports of Malatya. There, there were a lot of nonMuslims and we were treated quite well. The military meant discipline. I had put myself under discipline too.
And this military service had a lot of benefits of course. I served in the military close to four years. Not only in Malatya, I did my service in different cities like Adana and Kayseri too. The captains treated us very well.
There was no discrimination among the soldiers. My duty there was pouring concrete on the airport field. I worked in the supplies department too. I did different jobs too.
My rank did not go up in the military. I was a private till the end. There were no high-ranked soldiers among the nonMuslims anyways. Except for doctors. When they became private soldiers, they continued as lieutenants. But our relationship with our superiors was very good.
Furthermore, before a Yom Kippur day, an orthodox Jew among us had gone to our colonel and procured permission for the Jewish soldiers to perform their religious worshipping, meaning being able to fast. And a week later, on Yom Kippur day, we congregated in a place with the order of the colonel, recited our prayers, a fasting meal was prepared for us and we fasted the following day. Very smoothly, we experienced the warmth that the soldiers could not receive in Europe, in our own military organization.
Period
Location
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Türkiye
Interview
Nesim Levi