Thread by @AcarUmut

While many heroes of the #Holocaust have been immortalized in movies and books, a handful of courageous #Muslims who saved the lives of hundreds of #Jews are less frequently remembered. As #HolocaustRemembranceDay nears let’s remember those heroes.

dailysabah.com/history/2018/0…

Selahattin Ülkümen, Turkish consul in Rhodes, Greece in July 1944 when Germans began deporting 1,700 Jews, incl Turkish citizens. Ülkümen stood up to the Gestapo, stating: "Under Turkish law all citizens were equal. We didn't differentiate btw citizens” and saved dozens of lives.

Behiç Erkin was Turkey’s Ambassador to #France under the #German occupation. Erkin used his position to issue Turkish passports to any #Jews who could indicate even the weakest Turkish connection, later arranging their evacuation to Turkey and saving them from #Nazi persecution.

Another heto who acted to save #Jews was Necdet Kent, the Turkish CG in Marseille,1941-1944. In 1943, Kent was alerted that 80 Turkish Jews in the port city had been packed onto a train bound for #Germany. He rushed to the St. Charles train station and saved many of them.

Namık Kemal Yolga who was with Turkey’s Embassy in Paris during the #Holocaust issued passports and documentation to Turkish citizens with Jewish heritage. Yolga and others have been rewarded with @MFATurkey’s Ourstanding Services Award.

The award winning documentary “Turkish Passport’’  tells the story of the brave Turkish diplomats in several European countries, whose courageous acts saved numerous Jews during the Second World War.

Full w/ English subtitles 👇

The heartfelt story told by the 81-year-old Lina Amato is honoring a Turkish diplomat, Selahattin Ülkümen the Consul of Turkey at Rhodes Island, Greece at the time of the war.

salom.com.tr/salomturkey/ha…

As #HolocaustRemembranceDay nears we should also refer to the fact that Einstein wrote a letter to Ataturk&asked him to let Jewish scientists work in Turkey as Germany was not safe. As a result, so many of them arrived in 🇹🇷worked freely, helped Turkish universities grow.

#Holocaust was one of the darkest days in the history of mankind. Millions of ppl were killed brutally just because who they were. I remember all the victims with respect.