The incident of the Twenty Classes (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''Yirmi Kur'a Nafıa Askerleri'', literally: "Soldiers for Public works by drawing of twenty lots", or ''Yirmi Kur'a İhtiyatlar Olayı'',

Ayşe Hür Aisha ( ar, عائشة, ʿĀʾishah, she who lives' or 'womanly; also spelled A'aisha, A'isha, Aischa, Aische, Aishah, Aishat, Aishath, Aicha, Aïcha, Aisya, Aisyah, Aiša, Ajša, Aixa, Ayesha, Aysha, Ayşe, Ayisha, or Iesha) is an Arabic female giv ...

"'Türk Schindleri' efsaneleri"
, ''Taraf'', December 16, 2007.

Schindler Schindler is a German surname that is derived from the German word "schindel", which means " shingle". This suggests that the original bearers of the name were in the roofing business. Variations and alternate spellings of the name include: Shindl ...

"] literally: "Incident of the Reserve soldiers by drawing of twenty lots") was a conscription used by the Turkish government during World War II to conscript the male non-Muslim minority population mainly consisting of Armenians, Greeks,

Assyrians Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

and Jews. The conscription began in May 1941. All of the twenty classes were drawn from male minority populations and included the elderly and mentally ill. They were given no weapons but were gathered in

Aşkale Labor Camp Aşkale Labor Camp is a labor camp established in Aşkale for taxpayers who do not fully and timely pay the extraordinary wealth tax enacted with the 'Varlık vergisi' in Turkey, dated 11 November 1942 and numbered 4305. With the law enacted in N ...

for manufacture of

military equipment A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, building construction, construction and care of roads. They were forced to work under very bad conditions. The prevailing and widespread point of view on the matter was that, anticipating entry to World War II, Turkey gathered, in advance, all unreliable male citizens of non-Muslim ethnic groups regarded as a potential "

fifth column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

" if Germany attacked Turkey, after it had also invaded its neighbors Greece and Bulgaria. In July 1942, the men were released from their duty. One of the main intentions of the Turkish government was to seize the assets of the minority population. The conscripted minorities were bankrupted since they could not manage their businesses during the incident of the Twenty Classes and as a result they had to sell their companies and assets for nearly nothing. After this, there followed two major events with almost the same intentions: Varlık Vergisi and Istanbul Pogrom.

Baskın Oran Baskın Oran (born 26 July 1945 in Izmir) is a Turkish academic, politician and human rights activist. Currently, he is a teacher in Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University. Biography Baskın Oran finished his high school in Turkey. ...

"Azınlıklardan alınıp sermaye biriktirildi"
'' Radikal'', February 9, 2008.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twenty Classes 1941 establishments in Turkey 1942 disestablishments in Turkey 1941 in military history 1942 in military history Conscription in Turkey Military history of Turkey History of the Republic of Turkey Discrimination in Turkey Greeks in Turkey Persecution of Greeks in Turkey Greece–Turkey relations Violence against men in Asia

See also

Sources