Dersim 1937-38 Oral History Project (DSTP)

The reasons for the need for Dersim organizations in Turkey and Europe were not only the loss of the mother tongue, faith and other cultural values and the endangerment of Dersim’s geography. There was another factor that was just as important as these main cultural elements:

There is a “milestone” like “1938” and the question of “coming to terms with” the “ethnic and cultural massacre” of a people that took place on this date! For this reason, for the people of Dersim, there are two important events in the last century that come to mind when talking about “history” and that can be considered historical turning points:

The first is “1938”, the second is “1994”. These two “milestones” each represent an important turning point in the existence of the people who have lived in Dersim for centuries and the fundamental cultural elements of this existence…

This unique and independent Dersim organization, whose institutional name in Turkish is “Federation of Dersim Associations in Europe”, has initiated a historical “academic-scientific” study in this field, which we will discuss in this chapter.

This study is an institutional project of the FDG under the name “Dersim 1937-38 Oral History Project (DSTP)”. This institution and its work belong to the people of Dersim, and the reason why this project has reached a certain point and has been successful up to a certain point, and there are interviews with more than “three hundred and eighty” people, is that the people have wholeheartedly embraced this work and contributed to it financially and morally.

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT IDEA

“Initiatives and activities that formed the basis for this work before the start of the DST project”

In order for the reader to understand this process in its entirety, we think it is useful at this point to give a brief overview of the work that preceded and followed the Dersim 1937-38 Oral History Project, both before and after the founding of the FDG:

The most lasting and important result of these efforts is undoubtedly the “Dersim 1937-38 Oral History Project” (DSTP), which was launched on August 28, 2009 and completed its first phase in 2012.

The “first” steps of the DSTP

The first steps of the DSTP were taken on 12 and 14 September 2008 in Dortmund, Germany. In the meetings, which were attended by members of the FDG, academics and politicians, it was decided to establish a “Dersim Documentation and Archive Centre”.

In mid-2009, Dicle Akar from Dersim presented a concrete project for the “Documentation and Internationalisation of Dersim Tertelesi” to the Federation of European Dersim Associations (FDG).

The FDG accepted this project proposal as “feasible” and officially decided to initiate such a project.

On 7 June 2009, the urgency of this work was pointed out in the call for proposals for the 4th European Dersim Culture Festival, which also took place in Bonn.

The first practical step was taken with the opening of a stand under the motto “Stretch out your hand before the last witnesses pass away”.

The process of forming the DSTP committee

With the contributions and solidarity of the Dersim Friends, the Dersim and the Alevi communities, the “DSTP Committee” was founded at a meeting on August 28, 2009, which was attended by the FDG-YK, the Audit, Disciplinary and Faith Committee, the leaders of the associations and some personalities.
The DSTP committee was initially established as an “academic committee”. Filiz Aktaş, sociologist Mehmet Yıldız and educator Dicle Akar participated in this committee. A short time later, Dicle Akar established a relationship with Prof. Dr. Taner Akçam, a world-renowned lecturer in genocide at Clark University, and requested his support.
The process of forming the DSTP Committee
In this way, Mr. Akçam was also included in the “Academic Committee” of the project.

Prof. Leyla Neyzi from Sabancı University and Yaşar Kaya, the then chairman of the FDG, joined the committee.

In “March 2010”, Cemal Taş, in “June 2010” sociologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şükrü Aslan and lawyer Hüseyin Aygün from Mimar Sinan University joined the DSTP committee and actively participated in the work.

Unfortunately, some people in the DSTP Committee have “deinstitutionalized the work and put it in a personal dimension”, “have not complied with the rules and transparency in terms of accountability”, the individuals and entities authorised on behalf of the FDG and the DSTP have not fulfilled their responsibilities in a timely manner, and perhaps this negative situation has arisen for other reasons unknown to us.

“With this project (DSTP), the FDG wants to complete the oral interviews with the contemporary witnesses of 1938 in a first phase and in a second phase make these materials and products available to international researchers…”.
Dersim 37/38 Tertelesi oral historical documents were handed over to the Shoah Foundation.

Agreement with the Shoah Foundation

BERLIN – The documents of the oral history project of the European Dersim Association of Associations on Dersim Tertelesi*, which was launched in 2009, were handed over to the USC Shoah Foundation, which maintains archives on massacres and genocides, at a meeting held in Berlin on 17 November. The meeting was also attended by Cem Özdemir, SPD MP Sevim Aydın, Hakan Taş of the Left Party and the mayor of Berlin Kreuzberg, Clara Hermann.

The oral history study in question was carried out in collaboration between the Federation of European Dersim Associations and Clark University, and 360 interviews were conducted with survivors of the 1937-38 massacres living in eight different countries.

OPENING PRIZE CEM ÖZDEMİR HAD: IT IS NOT EASY TO COUNTER SUCH A CRIME

The opening speech was given by Cem Özdemir, Germany’s Minister of Agriculture. Özdemir thanked everyone who participated in this project and said: “It is not easy to be confronted with such a crime.

They worked for 15 years and made 360 video recordings both in Turkey and in the diaspora. I appreciate that with all my heart.“Özdemir also thanked Hasan Saltık, who made an important contribution to the work:” For the book Dersim Tertelesi, he spent 10 years researching, evaluating archives, collecting photos and reading the reports of eyewitnesses.

Özdemir continued in his speech: “In 2005 I was personally in Dersim. I have seen the impressive wealth of this region. mountains and rivers such as Munzur, Fırat, Kızılırmak; Languages such as Kurmançi, Zaza, Turkish, Armenian; Religions and beliefs such as Alevis, Sunnis, Christianity.

But the history of suffering and state oppression in Dersim is just as long. If we fight for an open and democratic society, for a future without pogroms, massacres and genocides, we need an energetic civil society. The European Dersim Association and the USC Shoah Foundation are excellent examples of this.”

KARABULUT: A TURNING POINT FOR DEMOCRACY

Kemal Karabulut, the 2nd President of the Federation of European Dersim Associations, explained in his speech that the children of those who witnessed the Dersim massacre had grown up in a devastating silence for years.

“Despite the indescribable pain, we will not seek blood and revenge.” The demands of the people of Dersim are modest, rational and easy to meet,” Karabulut said, adding: “Instead of dealing with Dersim Tertelesi with a simple approach such as assessing from the perspective of a particular political ideology, this is the case.”

“It’s about feeling responsible.” “The ceremonial handover of these oral meeting minutes to the SHOAH FOUNDATION, the world’s largest visual archive, can also be seen as a turning point in the history of democracy in Turkey.”

HOW DID WE GET TO THIS STAGE?

Dicle Akar and Hasan Dursun, spokespersons for the Dersim Tertelesi Oral History Project, stated that for the study, which they initiated as children and grandchildren of the victims of the massacre for two years, up to 700 hours of recording were made with 350 victims in 8 different countries after the massacre of 1938

In addition to many volunteers, Prof. Dr. Taner Akçam, Prof. Deborah Dwork, Prof. Martin van Bruinessen, Prof. They announced that the Scientific Advisory Board, consisting of Hans Lukas Kieser and Karen Jungblut, had pledged their support.

SHOAH FOUNDATION COLLECTS MASSACRE AND GENOCIDE DOCUMENTS

The deputy director of the USC Shoah Foundation, Dr., attended the meeting. Kori Street began her speech by saying, “I am honored and pleased to announce to the public today the partnership between the USC Shoah Foundation and the Federation of European Dersim Associations.”

Citing that the foundation was established in 1994 after the production of the film “Sindler’s List,” Dr. K. Street said that the foundation was established to record the accounts of survivors and witnesses of the genocide, preserve them forever, and keep those memories alive through education and research.

Dr. said that he was honored to receive the interviews provided by the Dersim Federation to the USC Shoah Foundation. “These compelling testimonies, along with 55,000 other witness interviews, will be preserved, digitized and indexed in our visual history archive to make them accessible worldwide,” Street said.

WHAT IS TERTELE?

Just as the people of Dersim define the natural disaster, the earthquake, as an “earthquake”, they also define the massacre of 1937/38, i.e. the social catastrophe they experienced, as “tertele”.

While Tertele was long defined as a massacre/massacre, Dersim institutions, especially the FDG (European Dersim Federation), were content with this definition of genocide and conceptualized it as “Tertele”.

Evaluation of the event

• “Dersim 1937–1938: Oral History Project” on 06.12.2024 in Duisburg
• As part of the Kiriv 4.0 project of the BDAJ-NRW e.V., a joint information event took place on 6 December 2024 with the Dersim Gemeinde Westfalia e.V. and the Zentrum für Kultur Hochfeld (SGDV e.V.). The event was held in the premises of the Suryoye Ruhrgebiet e.V., which were rented for the occasion and designed with the support of the association.
• The central theme of the evening was “Dersim 1937–1938: Oral History Project- DSTP”. Mr. Ismail Yüceer from the Federation of Dersim Communities (FDG) was invited as a speaker. The event began shortly after 6 p.m. with a lecture by the speaker. First, Mr. Yüceer gave a chronological overview of the Dersim genocide from 1926 onwards. He presented chronological information on the events in Dersim and highlighted the reports that were written after the founding of the Republic of Turkey. He then explained the activities of the Federation of Dersim Communities in Europe (FDG), which pave the way for the Dersim Trauma Project (DSTP) and contribute significantly to it.
• In the further course of the evening, he devoted himself in detail to the actual topic of the evening: the oral history project “Dersim 1937–1938”. The event met with great interest. More than 40 participants listened attentively to the lecture and then took the opportunity to ask the speaker numerous questions. The lively discussions underlined the relevance of the topic and the broad interest in the historical reappraisal of these events. The active participation of many young participants was particularly pleasing. A young political scientist from the Demenan tribe, for example, called for the start of the second phase of the oral history project, as he knew many contemporary witnesses in his environment who could provide valuable reports on the genocide in Dersim.
• The evening ended with an open exchange that offered space for reflection and further discussions. This event made an important contribution to the culture of remembrance and promoted intergenerational dialogue. We hope that the Federation of Dersim Municipalities in Europe and the Dersim Municipality of Westfalia will be able to work together again in the future with the Kiriv “Kiriv 5.0” project.
• We would like to thank all participants and organizations who supported us.
• Dersim Gemeinde Westfalia e.V.

Avrupa Dersim Dernekleri Federasyonu, Sol Parti ile birlikte 1938’de gerçekleşen ve “” Dersim Tertelesi “” olarak adlandırılan olayları, çok sayıda bilim adamı ve politikacının katılımı ile 17 Mayıs Salı günü Berlin Eyalet Parlamentosu’nda tartışacak

”Dersim Tertelesi” Berlin Parlamentosu’nda

Avrupa Dersim Dernekleri Federasyonu, Sol Parti ile birlikte 1938’de gerçekleşen ve “” Dersim Tertelesi “” olarak adlandırılan olayları, çok sayıda bilim adamı ve politikacının katılımı ile 17 Mayıs Salı günü Berlin Eyalet Parlamentosu’nda tartışılacak.

“” Dersim İsyanı “” veya “” Dersim Katliamı “” olarak da anılan olaylar, günümüz adıyla Tunceli’de 1938 yılında merkezi hükümetle Dersim aşiretleri arasındaki anlaşmazlıklar sonucu yaşanmıştır ve dönemin Türk hükümetinin uyguladığı sert politikayı kapsamaktadır.

Avrupa Dersim Dernekleri Federasyonu, temel olarak 4 Mayıs ”Dersim Tertelesi” ‘nin anma günü olarak kabul edilmesini ve resmen özür dilenmesini istemektedir. Ayrıca, 15 Kasım 1937 tarihinde Elazığ Buğday Meydanı’nda idam edilen Dersim Seyitleri’nin mezar yerlerinin, 1938 tarihinde evlatlık verilen Dersimli yetim çocukların tam listesinin açıklanmasını ve TBMM’de ‘1937-38 Dersim Tertelesi’ni Araştırma Komisyonu’nun kurulmasını talep etmektedir.

17 Mayıs günü Berlin Eyalet Parlamentosu’nda gerçekleşecek tartışmaya birçok araştırma görevlisi ile diğer etnik ve inançsal azınlıkların temsilcilerinin yanı sıra Yeşiller partisi Eşbaşkanı Cem Özdemir, Berlin Mitte Belediye Başkanı Dr. Cristian Hanke, Kreuzberg Belediye Başkanı Dr. Franz Schutz, Sol Parti milletvekili Kadriye Karcı ve Sol Parti Eyalet eski milletvekili Hüseyin Kenan Aydın da katılacak.

Tartışma, 17 Mayıs 2011 salı günü Niederkirchnerstr. 5’te saat 10:00’da başlayacak.

Haber-Com

…………………………… Our language is the treasure of our society, the bearer of our culture, our history and our future.
– All obstacles in our Kirmanjki/Zaza language should be removed.
– The educational area of our language, which only has the chance to be spoken and kept alive in the great geography of Dersim, should be determined accordingly.
– Throughout the region where the language is spoken, Kirmanjki/Zaza education should be emphasized and given priority with sincere approaches.
– The training areas should be opened to graduates of the Kırncki/Zaza departments, which are practiced at Munzur and Bingöl Universities.
Let’s keep our mother tongue alive and commit to passing it on to our children.
Federationê Komelunê Dêsımi yê Awrupa
Federation of European Dersim Associations (FDG)
21.02.2024

Dersim’de 10 bin 557 mayın bulunmaktadır.

Dersim’de 10 bin mayın: 10 yılda 10 kişi öldü.

Dersim’de son 10 yılda 4’ü çocuk 10 kişi mayın nedeniyle hayatını kaybetti. Hukukçular ve insan hakları savunucularının açıklamalarına göre, Dersim’de bulunan 10 bin 557 mayının temizlenmesi çağrısı yapıyoruz!

DERSİM – Birleşmiş Milletlere 2004’te sunulan raporlara göre Dersim’de 10 bin 557 adet kara mayını/anti-personel mayın bulunuyor. Güvenlik gerekçesiyle karakol çevrelerine, geçiş noktalarına ve yerleşim yerlerinde bulunan askeri alanlara yerleştirilen mayınların sel ve heyelan sebebiyle bilinen yerinin uzağına taşınması can güvenliği için risk olmaya devam ediyor. Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu Ottawa Sözleşmesi’ne göre 1 Mart 2004 tarihinden itibaren mayınların imhasına başlamış olması planlanıyordu ancak bugüne kadar mayınların imhası için herhangi bir girişimde bulunulmadı.

İÇ GÜVENLİK MAKSADIYLA EN ÇOK ENVANTER DERSİM’DE
Türkiye Barolar Birliği Çevre ve Kent Hukuku Komisyonu üyesi olan ve Dersim’deki mayın tehdidine ilişkin birçok suç duyurusunda bulunan Avukat Barış Yıldırım, Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu sözleşmeye göre ülkede bulunan mayınları imha etmesi gerektiğini belirterek şunları söyledi: “Fakat Türkiye şu ana kadar mayınları maalesef imha edemedi. Birleşmiş Milletler’e sunulmuş envantere göre ilimizde saptanmış 10 bin 557 adet anti-personel mayını var. Bu mayınlar Türkiye’de iç güvenlik maksadıyla bir ilde en çok kullanılan envanterin burada olduğu anlamına geliyor. Bu mayınlar Aktuluk, YİBO yatılı okulların yanına da yerleştirilmiş. Mayınların imha edilmesi için çeşitli girişimlerimiz ve suç duyurularımız oldu. İlimizde can kaybı da meydana geldi mal güvenliği de ihlal edildi. Köylere geri dönüş oldu fakat ilimizde pek çok köy hala boş. Mayınlar sebebiyle de insan hakları ihlallerinin, yaşam hakkı ihlallerinin meydana gelebileceğini düşünüyorum. Bu konuda da Türkiye’nin Birleşmiş Milletler’e verdiği taahhütleri bir an önce yerine getirmesi gerekiyor.”

ANTİ PERSONEL KARA MAYINI ÇOCUKLARI ÖLDÜRÜYOR
Anti-personel kara mayınlarının kişiye yönelik mayınlar olduğuna dikkat çeken Mayınsız bir Türkiye Girişimi Koordinatörü Muteber Öğreten, bu silahları diğer geleneksel silahlardan ayıran en önemli özelliğin bizzat mağdurun kendisinin teması ile harekete geçmesi olduğunu belirtti. Mayın sebebiyle yaşanan ölümlere şuna dikkat çeken Öğreten, “Anti-personel kara mayınlarının esas olarak sivillerin özel olarak ise çocukların ölümüne yol açan silahlardır. Mayınlı alanlardaki yerleşim birimlerinde yaşayan sivillerin ve çocukların bu alanlara girişi engellenmeli; Sivillere ve çocuklara yönelik mayın risk eğitimleri başlatılmalı” ifadelerini kullandı.

MAYIN TEMİZLİĞİ İÇİN BİR PROGRAM YOK

Mayın vakalarının en çok iç bölgelerde yaşandığını belirten Öğreten, “Esas olarak iç bölgelerdeki mayınların temizlenmesi gerekmekte. Tunceli’deki mayınların temizliği son derece önemli. Meralardaki, yaylalardaki mayınlar siviller için büyük tehlike oluşturuyor. Dolayısıyla eğer insani bir mayın temizliğinden söz ediyor isek, bu temizliğin öncelikle iç bölgelerden başlatılması gerekir. Oysa bu bölgeler, Türkiye’nin mayın temizliği programında, en son ele alınacak bölgeler olarak belirtiliyor. Mayınsız bir Türkiye Girişimi olarak bu bölgelerin öncelikli bölgeler olarak yer alması gerektiğini söylüyoruz” dedi.

MAYIN MAĞDURLARI TOPLUMA YENİDEN KAZANDIRILMALI

İçişleri Bakanlığı’nın 1984 ile 2010 yılı arasını kapsayan bir raporuna göre 6 bin 360 kişi anti-personel kara mayını nedeniyle ölen ve yaralananlar oldu. Mayınların döşendiği 1950 yılından bu yana ölen ya da yaralananların sayısının 10 binin üzerinde olduğu tahmin ediliyor. Öğreten, sözlerine şöyle devam etti: “Bu konuda Türkiye’de bir veri tabanı bulunmuyor. Dolayısıyla net bir sayı vermek mümkün değil. Mayın mağdurlarının topluma yeniden kazandırılması, onların hem engelli haklarından kaynaklı hem de bu sözleşmede yer alan durumlarından kaynaklı olarak da haklarının yasal bir çerçeve içerisinde sunulması gerekir.”

DERSİM’DE 10 KİŞİ MAYIN SONUCU HAYATINI KAYBETTİ

Dersim’de son olarak 2019 yılında Ovacık Belgeç köyünde Ayaz ve Nupelda kardeşler oyun oynarken patlayıcı maddenin infilak etmesi sonucu yaşamını yitirmişti. İnsan Hakları Derneği Dersim Şubesi raporlarına göre 1993 yılı itibarıyla yerleşim yerlerindeki mayınlar sebebiyle 4’ü çocuk 10 kişi hayatını kaybederken, 2’si çocuk 4 kişi de sakat kaldı. Askeri eğitim alanlarının yerleşim yerlerine yakın olmasından kaynaklı oluşan tehlikeye dikkat çeken İnsan Hakları Derneği yöneticisi Hüseyin Yaşar Sezgin de mayın tehdidine ilişkin şu uyarıda bulundu: “Mayınların temizlenmemesi Dersim’de ve bölgede her geçen gün ölüm riskini artırmaktadır. Söz konusu vakaların da yeniden yaşanmaması için Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu Ottawa Sözleşmesi’nin yükümlülüklerini yerine getirmesi, masum ve korunmasız sivillerden ve özellikle çocuklardan oluşan yüzlerce kişiyi öldüren veya sakat bırakan mayınların ivedilikle temizlenmesi gerekiyor.”
Duygu Kıt ́ın Haberi, 9 Eylül 2023

On the occasion of the 87th anniversary
on May 4 We Commemorate the Victims of DERSİM 38 Tertele

A genocide in the shadow of the Second World War.

May 4 is the day of remembrance of the Dersim genocide. On this day, Dersimer and her friends in Dortmund and the surrounding area, together with many parts of Germany, Europe and the world, commemorate the tens of thousands of innocent civilians who were brutally murdered.
The Turkic policy wanted to create a race, a language, a faith. This resulted in years of oppression and assimilation against the population of Dersim, which resulted in a genocide/Tertele in 1937/38.
The historical, cultural and social pillars of Dersims and the Alevi Kızılbaş people. were destroyed. While we bow respectfully to the memory of all the people murdered in Dersim 38 Tertele, we once again call on the state authorities to face up to their own dark history.
Although then-Prime Minister Erdoğan admitted the genocide in a political maneuver to then-CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu on November 23, 2011, he has so far taken no concrete steps and has not truly apologized to the people of Dersim, instead pushing for a rapid eradication of Dersim culture.
In particular, the villagers of Dersim, who were forcibly expelled from their villages in 1994-95, were not allowed to return to their villages. Thus, the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants has continued, the nature and forests of Dersim have been burned down and our forests are still being burned down and cut down for so-called “safety reasons”. Dersim, the motherland of Alevis and Kızılbaş, continues to disappear and the people of Dersim continue to be stigmatized. All Alevi, Romanian, Armenian and Kurdish initiatives of the AKP government remain pure words, as well as the aforementioned “apology”.
President Erdoğan, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus and all party leaders: “How long will the wound of Dersim 1937-38, which has not healed for 87 years, continue to bleed? Listen to the Dersimers and their screams now! Do not ignore the demands of the people of Dersim. The people of Dersim expect you to take concrete steps and comply with the demands and your apology. Don’t close your ears to Dersim’s scream.
We call on all those who stand up for democracy, human rights, love and justice to join us on this painful day of remembrance, May 4.
It is the duty of every honorable person who says he is righteous to listen to the cries of the people of Dersim. We invite all upright people and institutions to participate in our commemoration on May 4th.
Contribute to Dersim’s Scream!
If you are not with us, we are missing one person!
ADDRESS: HAUS DER VIELFALT, ZUR VIELFALT 21, 44147 DORTMUND, at 6.00 p.m.
Dersim, Municipality of Westphalia

We have completed our hall preparations for the XIZIR Cemi, which will take place tomorrow.
Our friends, who were responsible for the preparation, also prepared traditional dishes of Dersim cuisine.
They cooked “Khesıka” and we ate it together.
We invite all our friends to Cemaatê Dersimi Berlin tomorrow at 17:00.
We are waiting for you at the XIZIR Cemetery .