SELAHATTIN ÜLKÜMEN

Turkey

(1914-2003)

Turkish Consul-General on the Greek island of Rhodes, was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations on December 13, 1989. In July 1944, as the Germans were preparing to deport the island’s 1,800 Jews to Auschwitz, the Muslim Turkish diplomat saved 42 Jews by claiming they were Turkish citizens and therefore should be exempted from persecution. In fact, only 13 of Ulkümen’s protégés were really Turkish – the others were married to Turks or had Turkish relatives. The remainder of the Jews of Rhodes were deported and murdered. Only 150 survived.