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You Rejoice My Heart
This book is based on a quest made by the author to find Turkey's hidden Armenians, those who survived the Armenain Genocide of 1915 and remained in Turkey. Yalcin is a very sympathetic observer, which maked his account all the more powerful.
His account finds crypto-Armenians and donmes, people who survived discrimination and anti-Armenian riots in Istanbul, as well as others who eloped with Muslim Turks.
You Rejoice My Heart is probably the first critical attempt to look at the social history of Armenians in modern Turkey.
His account finds crypto-Armenians and donmes, people who survived discrimination and anti-Armenian riots in Istanbul, as well as others who eloped with Muslim Turks.
You Rejoice My Heart is probably the first critical attempt to look at the social history of Armenians in modern Turkey.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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July 28, 2011Turkish author and somewhat dissident leaves Turkey ands decides to live in in Germany. During the 1980's he was a student protestor who witnes the derath of his two friends by a Turkish soldier. In his his new homeland Kemal become a Turkish Language instructor. It is while going through a professional developem,ent course that Kemal meets Meline an Armenian from Istanbul who is in charge of the course. The two become good friends and it is during a time of sickness that Kemal decide to investigate the stories of Armenians who chose to reside in Turkey after the 1915 Genocide which decimated the Armenain, Greek and Assyrian populations.
For the Armenians ( as well as Assyrians and Greeks) life was very difficult. During the second world war young males were drafted into the Turkish military. THe Armenians were place in what was called Infidel units. They are given brown uniforms and sent into non combat roles. They were slave labor andd their job was to build road and perform various other act of contruction. Conditions were harsh as there was not enough food andd sleeping accomodations were sub human.
In 1942 the Turkish government passed the Capital Tax Law. This was aimed primarily at the wealthy. It was enforced mainly on the Greeks, Armenians and Jews who were wwelathy merchants. If they could not afford the tax they were sent to the City of Askale to perfrom forced labor in freezing cold weather. THey were underclothed, underfed and slep with out the benefit of blankets. Many people died as a result.
During the 1950's all citizens of the Turkish Republic were forced to Turkify their names. LAter another initiative would pass requiring al citizens to speak Turkish in public. To this day most Armenians will not speak Armenian in public. Armenians who live in Eastern Anatolia often do not know how to speak Armenian. They do know Kurdish or Turkish though. In Eatern Anatolia sometimes there is only one or two Armenian families per village. They practice their Christianity secretly.
During September 6-7 1965 There was a conflict with Greece over who should possess the island of Cyprus. It was rumored that the Greeks burned down the house of Kemal Ataturk, which was located in Greece. In a retaaliation forr this mobs stormed through Istanbul smashing the shop and burning the homes of the Greeks. The Armenian shop and home were also ruined. The only houses saveed were those belonging to Turks.
Kemal Yalcin interviews many people. Some are openly Armenian others are disguised as Turks or Kurds even to the point of professing Islam. All things being the same they still suffer discrimination. Theyare denied jobs in Universities and in the government because they are Armenians. In prison they have faced arbitrary arrests adn been tortured during their period of incarceration.
In Eastern Turkey their situation is so precarious that many have chosen to relocate to Istanbul. They are still discriminated against even in Istanbul so many have chose to move abroad. It is important to note that Turks learn nothing about Armenians or the Genocide in their schoools. THE author coulld not get this book published in Turkey due to censorship rules.
For the Armenians ( as well as Assyrians and Greeks) life was very difficult. During the second world war young males were drafted into the Turkish military. THe Armenians were place in what was called Infidel units. They are given brown uniforms and sent into non combat roles. They were slave labor andd their job was to build road and perform various other act of contruction. Conditions were harsh as there was not enough food andd sleeping accomodations were sub human.
In 1942 the Turkish government passed the Capital Tax Law. This was aimed primarily at the wealthy. It was enforced mainly on the Greeks, Armenians and Jews who were wwelathy merchants. If they could not afford the tax they were sent to the City of Askale to perfrom forced labor in freezing cold weather. THey were underclothed, underfed and slep with out the benefit of blankets. Many people died as a result.
During the 1950's all citizens of the Turkish Republic were forced to Turkify their names. LAter another initiative would pass requiring al citizens to speak Turkish in public. To this day most Armenians will not speak Armenian in public. Armenians who live in Eastern Anatolia often do not know how to speak Armenian. They do know Kurdish or Turkish though. In Eatern Anatolia sometimes there is only one or two Armenian families per village. They practice their Christianity secretly.
During September 6-7 1965 There was a conflict with Greece over who should possess the island of Cyprus. It was rumored that the Greeks burned down the house of Kemal Ataturk, which was located in Greece. In a retaaliation forr this mobs stormed through Istanbul smashing the shop and burning the homes of the Greeks. The Armenian shop and home were also ruined. The only houses saveed were those belonging to Turks.
Kemal Yalcin interviews many people. Some are openly Armenian others are disguised as Turks or Kurds even to the point of professing Islam. All things being the same they still suffer discrimination. Theyare denied jobs in Universities and in the government because they are Armenians. In prison they have faced arbitrary arrests adn been tortured during their period of incarceration.
In Eastern Turkey their situation is so precarious that many have chosen to relocate to Istanbul. They are still discriminated against even in Istanbul so many have chose to move abroad. It is important to note that Turks learn nothing about Armenians or the Genocide in their schoools. THE author coulld not get this book published in Turkey due to censorship rules.
March 17, 2017
You have done a great job, but stop calling it a Deportation. It was not simply a Deportation, it was a GENOCIDE!!!! The Genocide of the Armenians carried out by Ottoman Turks!!
April 8, 2020
This book is a privileged journey into worlds few can ever access. This book delves into world and fascinating story of the Armenians who remained in Turkey after the Armenian Genocide, both the ones who are publicly Armenian and the entire community of secret crypto-Armenians in Anatolia. It also tells the story of the author's personal journey of discovery and growth as he gets deeper and deeper into the community - a risky endeavor at the time he was undertaking this challenge.
April 17, 2022
Genuinely the best and most emotionally moving book I have ever read. It gives me hope that one day Armenians and Turks will be able to live side by side peacefully.
Want to Read
August 17, 2008I started to read this but I think I need to put it back in the to read shelf. I'm not in the mindset for this book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews