Aşkale Labor Camp
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Aşkale labor camp was a
labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are unfree labour, forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have ...
established in
Aşkale Aşkale is a municipality and district of Erzurum Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,507 km2, and its population is 21,494 (2022). The mayor is Şenor Polat (AKP). The majority of the district is populated by Turks and a small minority by Kurd ...
, in
Erzurum Province Erzurum Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its area is 25,006 km2, and its population is 749,754 (2022). The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is the fourth lar ...
of northeastern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
for taxpayers who did not fully and timely pay the extraordinary
wealth tax A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets or an entity's net worth. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and ...
enacted with the '
Varlık vergisi The Varlık Vergisi (, "wealth tax" or "capital tax") was a tax mostly levied on non-Muslim citizens under the Republican People's Party (CHP) government in Turkey in 1942, with the stated aim of raising funds for the country's defense in case of ...
' in Turkey, dated 11 November 1942 and numbered 4305. The law particularly affected
minorities in Turkey Minorities in Turkey form a substantial part of the country's population, representing an estimated 25 to 28 percent of the population. Historically, in the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the official and dominant religion, with Muslims having more r ...
. Those who could not pay the determined debts within a month were sent to the labor camps in Aşkale and Erzurum, where they were employed in various jobs. In January 1943, the first convoy went to Aşkale by train for the labor camps to which they would be sent. Due to the number of the first non-Turkic convoys arriving in Aşkale, space problems arose, and the convoys were sent to
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
. Some detainees staying in Aşkale and Erzurum were put on freight wagons in August 1943 and sent to
Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...
. The remaining detainees cleared the snow on the highway in Aşkale. In Erzurum, they prevented the highway from being blocked by snow and swept the streets of the city. More than 20 non-Muslim taxpayers, most of whom were older, died in Erzurum. The wealth tax and enslavers conscription, drew negative reactions from non-Turks and led to widespread criticism both at home and abroad.Zafer Toprak, “Erken Cumhuriyet Türkiye’sinde Finansal Yapı,” Bugünün Bilgileriyle Kemal’in Türkiye’si - La Turquie Kamâliste, İstanbul; Boyut Yayıncılık, 2012, s. 118-125.


See also

*
Human rights in Turkey Human rights in Turkey are protected by a variety of international law treaties, which take precedence over Legal system of the Republic of Turkey, domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution of Turkey, Constitution. ...


References

Discrimination in Turkey Turkey in World War II Prison camps Penal labour Penal system in Turkey Aşkale District History of Erzurum Province Forced labour during World War II