Mehmet Celal Bey
Governor of Aleppo and Konya
Celal Bey was known for saving thousands of lives during the Armenian Genocide and is often called Turkish Oscar Schindler. During his time as governor of Aleppo, Mehmet Celal Bey did not believe that the deportations were meant to "annihilate" the Armenians:
"I admit, I did not believe that these orders, these actions revolved around the annihilation of the Armenians. I never imagined that any government could take upon itself to annihilate its own citizens in this manner, in effect destroying its human capital, which must be seen as the country's greatest treasure. I presumed that the actions being carried out were measures deriving from a desire to temporarily remove the Armenians from the theater of war and taken as the result of wartime exigencies."
Celal Bey had later admitted that he was mistaken and that the goal was "to attempt to annihilate" the Armenians. When defying the orders of deportation, Celal Bey was removed from his post as governor of Aleppo and transferred to Konya. As deportations continued, he repeatedly demanded from the central authorities that shelter be provided for the deportees. In addition to these demands, Celal Bey sent many telegraphs and letters of protest to the Sublime Porte stating that the "measures taken against the Armenians were, from every point of view, contrary to the higher interests of the fatherland." His demands, however, were ignored. Mehmet Celal Bey compared himself to "a person sitting by the side of a river, with absolute no means of saving anyone. Blood was flowing in the river and thousands of innocent children, irreproachable old people, helpless women, strong young men, were streaming down this river towards oblivion. Anyone I could save with my bare hands I saved, and the others, I think they streamed down the river never to return."
Governor of Aleppo and Konya
Celal Bey was known for saving thousands of lives during the Armenian Genocide and is often called Turkish Oscar Schindler. During his time as governor of Aleppo, Mehmet Celal Bey did not believe that the deportations were meant to "annihilate" the Armenians:
"I admit, I did not believe that these orders, these actions revolved around the annihilation of the Armenians. I never imagined that any government could take upon itself to annihilate its own citizens in this manner, in effect destroying its human capital, which must be seen as the country's greatest treasure. I presumed that the actions being carried out were measures deriving from a desire to temporarily remove the Armenians from the theater of war and taken as the result of wartime exigencies."
Celal Bey had later admitted that he was mistaken and that the goal was "to attempt to annihilate" the Armenians. When defying the orders of deportation, Celal Bey was removed from his post as governor of Aleppo and transferred to Konya. As deportations continued, he repeatedly demanded from the central authorities that shelter be provided for the deportees. In addition to these demands, Celal Bey sent many telegraphs and letters of protest to the Sublime Porte stating that the "measures taken against the Armenians were, from every point of view, contrary to the higher interests of the fatherland." His demands, however, were ignored. Mehmet Celal Bey compared himself to "a person sitting by the side of a river, with absolute no means of saving anyone. Blood was flowing in the river and thousands of innocent children, irreproachable old people, helpless women, strong young men, were streaming down this river towards oblivion. Anyone I could save with my bare hands I saved, and the others, I think they streamed down the river never to return."