Tag #125759 - Interview #97938 (Moiz Isman)

The non-muslims did not serve as officers or real soldiers in the army till 1950’s. But they started drafting non-muslims as officers in 1950. During those times, even high school graduates could become officers. I was a non-muslim, who had graduated from high school, so they did not take me as an officer. There was an issue of being “unfavorable”. [At that time they did not want to make non-Jews officers because they were not trusted.  This was especially true for the Greeks and Armenians, but as with other applications which concerned them only, it was applied against the Jews as well] The ones who were announced as unfavorable, had to do compulsory service for 1.5 years. In 1936, I said that I did’t finish high school, paid 230 liras as compensation and did my military service for 6 months in Sirkeci [inner district of Istanbul]. I was in the quartermaster corps.  I was responsible for the depot of military supplies.  Whenever new soldiers arrived, we would dress them, provide them with travel money and sent them to their new places. The marches I know from that period [military service] are very few, I only know the Turkish National Anthem [lyrics: Mehmet Akif Ersoy; music: Zeki Ungor] and the Izmir March. I had learned these marches at school actually. [Izmir march is the most popular marching song in Turkey.] This was my first military service.

In September 1939, when World War II started, they collected all the non-muslims in 20 classes [12], drafted them again. I was drafted again as reserve and was discharged in 1941.  3-4 months after the war started they drafted the 1911, 1912, 1913 born men as reserves.  6 months after that the war was raging and while we were waiting to be discharged, they drafted all men between 21 and 41 years old as the famous 20 military reserve classes.  So, we, the three classes that had been drafted before were discharged after one year reserve duty.  I did my duty in Yozgat.  We used to do exercises every day.  They did not give arms to non-Muslims.  They gave tools to construct roads with.