Armenian Revenge Taker - Soghomon Tehlirian

Don’t know if it’s right opening this thread but I hope some people will read it and tell their opinion over this question. I wrote about a person who’s family was killed during Armenian Genocide and a person who’s name will always live in the hearts of all Armenians.

Soghomon Tehlirian

Soghoman Tehleryan (Tehliryan) was born on April 02, 1896 in the Nerqin Bagarich village of the Erzrum Vilayet (District), of Western Armenia. He received his preliminary education in his native village, and then in 1915 had lost his entire family: parents, brothers and sisters were slaughtered in the Genocide. He had survived the massacre by a miracle and found refugee in a Kurdish family, where from he then fled to Eastern Armenia. Several years later he returned to his native Yerznka, where he could not find a single Armenian family...

Then he traveled to European countries, USA, Switzerland, and Germany to study and also to hunt after Talaat Pasha. In March of 1921 he found him in Berlin. There Talaat was hiding in a house located at Hardenberg street. Tehleryan rented an apartment on the opposite side of his house. And on March 15, when he saw Talaat coming out of his house, ran downstairs and killed the monster with a gunshot.

Tehleryan was arrested with charges on murder and faced a trial. During the court hearings of June 2 -3, the defendant told the story of his slaughtered family and of the Armenian Genocide, and justified his motives for retaliation. The German Court (Presided by Dr. Lemberg) found Tehleryan NOT GUILTY.

Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES.
BERLIN 1921 June 2

Soghomon Tehlirian -- "I am not guilty because my conscience is clean. A fortnight before this deed the scenes of the massacre of Erzerum reappeared to me. I saw my mother, brother and rapted sisters lying as corpses. Suddenly the dead body of my mother stood up, placed itself before me and said: You know that Talaat Pasha is here. You are utterly indifferent. You are therefore not my son. I then become suddenly awake and reached a decision to kill Talaat."

Berlin's most famous criminal lawyers are defending the young Armenian murder and with them is associated one of the foremost, German international law authorities, Privy Councilor Niemeyer, of Kiel. Talaat's attractive young Turkish widow, fashionably attired in modern black silk mourning, was also present.

As Teilirian was narrating, through an Armenian interpreter, the Turkish atrocities in Armenia, his Oriental temperament got the better of him and he shrieked, "Rather will I die than again live through the black days when my mother and sisters were outraged and murdered and my father and brother were butchered. I won't discuss it further."

Finally persuaded by the presiding German Judge, the accused told the following story:

“In 1915 the Armenian populace of Erzerum was suddenly alarmed by the news that the Turkish Government planned violent measures. Shortly afterward the populace was herded together and driven off in columns under the conduct of Turkish soldiers. After being robbed of their money and belongings the massacre, in which my family were victims, took place. After I had seen my brother's skull split. It was hit on the head and lay unconscious probably one or two days. In a neighboring village an aged Kurdish woman gave me some food and old Kurdish cloths in exchange for my blood-covered Armenian garments, but she feared to conceal me any longer. After two months of wandering I reached Russian territory in the Caucasus. I wandered about in Russia and Persia until I heard of my home town being freed again, I returned there and found only two Armenian families still living. My paternal house was deserted and devastated. I knew my father had buried some gold in the ground so I searched and found 4,800 Turkish pounds. Then I went to Tiflis and remained there two years until the beginning of 1919. I went then to Constantinople, then to Saloniki and to Serbia, back to Saloniki and then to Paris, where the Persian Consul gave me a pass to Geneva where the German consulate gave me a vise to Berlin. I accidentally recognized Talaat on the street, found out where he lived, rented a room in a house opposite and then observed him."

Tehlerian was the representative of his family, his mother. His mother tells him: “You are no longer my son.,, All these impressions fill the Tehlirian’s head as he picks up the revolver and descends to the street. He descends as the representative of justice versus brute force. He descends as the representative of humanity versus inhumanity, of justice versus injustice. He steps forward as the representative of the oppressed against the collective representative of the oppressors; for the one million killed against the one who, along with others, is to blame for those crimes. He stands as the representative of his parents, his sisters, his brothers, his brother-in-law, and, finally, as the representative of his sister’s two-and-a-half year old child. The Armenian nation, from thousands of years ago down to its youngest child, stands behind Tehlirian. Tehlirian carries with him in his thoughts the flag of justice, the flag of humanity, and the flag of vengeance to uphold the honor of his sisters and relatives. With all these thoughts in mind he confronts the one person who violated his family’s honor, destroyed the well-being and happiness of millions of people, and physically annihilated a whole nation….

Some people say that Tehlirian wouldn’t become Talaat’s judge and kill him, but personally I think if someone of you were on his place, if your family, all your relatives and friends were killed, if you were all alone in this world and realized that the murder of your family, of your people, that monster who had the blood of million Armenians on his forehead escaped the punishment, lived happy and was proud of the crime he had done, if the thoughts of your family were haunting you every day and night what would you do? Close your eyes, ears, don’t listen to your heart, forget your family and live your life cowardly, be grateful for you’re alive and let the monster continue his dirty crime? Being silent, forgetting the truth and lying is the same thing.
Please tell me your opinion,don't be lazy do you think Tehlirian was wrong when he killed Talaat? Everyone’s opinion is very important for me.

Wait, the whole stuff was judged in germany? So I can read the whole story in german? Give me a link and I'm the happiest person alive!

Brad,we can't give you a link,all this informations are from different sources,so....best read this

Soghomon Tehlirian....yeah really ...I'm so proud of him. He took the revenge of all Armenian nation, but was it enough?!...

Yesterday I watched Screamers.Hrant Dink was giving an intervew there ....and what the fuck?!...After some days he was killed by a turkish man. Thay feed their people by the lies...telling that they couldn't ever do something like genocide.
But why the fuck i'm sure they'll reapet it once again if they got another chance.

Don't think it was enough,it'll be at least when we get Ararat back...at least

My dear friend...do you believe Ararat will ever be in Armenia?It's our dream,I know,but....

Quote :

He took the revenge of all Armenian nation, but was it enough?!...

No,it's not enough,Turkish government must still recognize the Genocide

whats about that Ararat? is there some planning to get it back? i think its really just dream. it looks unreal.

Oh, I'm sure it's possible to get it back. We dreamed 40 years about getting the Elbe back and well, I was never threatened by any border when I was there.

Well, I guess I just do a research on my own. I can understand the english stuff, but english is an empty language.
I wish the arabic and baltic countries could solve their problems without shooting each other, or bombing....

you, Germany are big. Armenia, against Tukey, oits like... you know, impossible to compare. especially when Turkey has such support. if there are so many who recognized genocide, but Turkey still has no to pay, then Ararat is just dream...

well yeah,sorry I can't tell that in english
Esli Turciya primet genocid,to doljno bit moralnoye i finansovoye vozmesheniye i prinyatiye genocida znachit prinyatiye togo,chto Armyane jili v Nakhijevane i poyavlyayetsya obyazannost vernut Nakhijevan...a Ararat tam i kstati eto ogromniy turisticheskiy centr.Vot pochemu oni ne prinimayut Genocide Armyan,cena slishkom bolshaya

estestveno... da i prosto tam vsjo grjazno. podumaj, skolko stran prinali genocid... a Turcija vsjoravno neplatit i nebudet platit.

Yeah,i'm afraid turkey will never recognize Genocide,maybe only if America recognize it?

America will never recognize. Turkey is too good friend for America, so if America wont do that, Turkey will live free and happy and just ignore little Armenia.

don't you have a word for genocide?
And I don't think it'll never happen. Someday also the turkish have to go further, and with accepting your history, your nation will be able to go further.

it will,it will

Quote :

don't you have a word for genocide?

sorry,I didn't get your question

WELL...so how about the Genocide that is going on now in Africa....ha?

what do people do to stop it?...NOTHING..!!

because they cant. dont compare Europe and countries that are near Europe with Africa.

Don't blame me for genocide going on somewhere. I always said that the UNO is for shit.

I mean, don't you have a word for it in armenian besides genocide? In german we have "Völkermord" (and Genozid) which means nation-murder. I think Genocides hides it somehow.

wHAT?....DOES IT MATTER IT' AFRiCA or somewher else ?.....So only Europe can stop it ....but day take posiyion of waiting...while thousands are killed?!

dear Gayane,Armenia was so near to europe,but no one said a word.You thin they didn't know what was going on here?no,a lot of peolpe wrote letters to their governments.The problem was the war?no,of course no,Germeny knew what was going on here and didn't even try to help

i dont see big difference.

There is no difference

Africa's problem is that its very poor place. and countries who are stronger can easilly attack them. Africa is very big, and where to run? armenians were lucky that they are near Europe, also some countries supported Armenia. but what can Africa do? how they can speak? who cares? you think someone in goverment of some big country will suddenly say "oh wait, they say something, lets listen" pff... they dont care what happens there. America helps to strong countries to destroy weak ones. like it was with Iran and Iraq. its funny... but Africa can not do anything. they can take from each money what they have and send one active person to Germany, France, USA or something to speak out. and damn, only one... what this one human can do? "you know, they are killing us there..." on what goverment will say "yeah? we didnt know... well, you should have own goverments and so on" so?

The problem is, if only one country is taking action there, we easily settle a new war, but on the other hand our countries are too stupid to come to a conclusion in the UNO. So it's better, if we do nothing, or better, do what we do, help the poor.