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TALAAT PASHA WAS ASSASSINATED IN BERLIN ON MARCH 15, 1921
March 13, 2015
Soghomon Tehlirian
Soghomon Tehlirian was an Armenian Genocide survivor who assassinated
the former Ottoman Interior Minister Talaat Pasha in the presence of
many witnesses on March 15, 1921 in Berlin as revenge for his role
in orchestrating the Armenian Genocide during World War I. It was a
part of the Operation Nemesis by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
Talaat Pasha had been convicted and sentenced to death in absentia in
the Turkish Courts-Martial of 1919-1920 for his crimes against the
Armenians of the Empire (among other things). After a two-day trial
Tehlirian was found not guilty by the German court and freed.
Tehlirian is considered a national hero by Armenians.
He was born in Erzurum, Western Armenia. He went to the Getronagan
Armenian High School in Istanbul and later went to Germany to study
engineering, but had to return to his town when World War One started.
His mother, three sisters, two brothers, his sister s husband and
their two year old child were forced to march for several hours.
Tehlirian remembers hearing gunfire and seeing his mother shot dead.
His sisters were dragged away and raped. His brother was beheaded in
front of him. Soghomon got hit in the head knocking him unconscious.
Later waking up on piles of corpses.
He made his way to Tbilisi where he joined the ARF (Armenian
Revolutionary Federation) and later participated in General Andraniks
military detachments.
In 1921 Tehlirian was back in Germany continuing his studies when one
day he spotted Talaat Pasha outside of his home, the main perpetrator
of the Armenian Genocide.
On March 15, 1921 Soghomon assasinated Tallat., A single bullet to
the head killed Talaat Pasha. The assassination took place in broad
daylight and led to Tehlirian's immediate arrest by German police
Tehlirian was tried for murder, but was eventually acquitted by the
German court.
The trial examined not only Tehlirian's actions but also Tehlirian's
conviction that Talaat Pasha was the main author of the Armenian
deportation and mass killings. The defense attorneys made no attempt
to deny the fact that Tehlirian had killed a man, and instead focused
on the influence of the Armenian Genocide on Tehlirian's mental state.
When asked by the judge if he felt any sort of guilt, Tehlirian
remarked, "I do not consider myself guilty because my conscience is
clear...I have killed a man. But I am not a murderer".
It took the jury slightly over an hour to render a verdict of
"not guilty.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/63700
From: Baghdasarian
March 13, 2015
Soghomon Tehlirian
Soghomon Tehlirian was an Armenian Genocide survivor who assassinated
the former Ottoman Interior Minister Talaat Pasha in the presence of
many witnesses on March 15, 1921 in Berlin as revenge for his role
in orchestrating the Armenian Genocide during World War I. It was a
part of the Operation Nemesis by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
Talaat Pasha had been convicted and sentenced to death in absentia in
the Turkish Courts-Martial of 1919-1920 for his crimes against the
Armenians of the Empire (among other things). After a two-day trial
Tehlirian was found not guilty by the German court and freed.
Tehlirian is considered a national hero by Armenians.
He was born in Erzurum, Western Armenia. He went to the Getronagan
Armenian High School in Istanbul and later went to Germany to study
engineering, but had to return to his town when World War One started.
His mother, three sisters, two brothers, his sister s husband and
their two year old child were forced to march for several hours.
Tehlirian remembers hearing gunfire and seeing his mother shot dead.
His sisters were dragged away and raped. His brother was beheaded in
front of him. Soghomon got hit in the head knocking him unconscious.
Later waking up on piles of corpses.
He made his way to Tbilisi where he joined the ARF (Armenian
Revolutionary Federation) and later participated in General Andraniks
military detachments.
In 1921 Tehlirian was back in Germany continuing his studies when one
day he spotted Talaat Pasha outside of his home, the main perpetrator
of the Armenian Genocide.
On March 15, 1921 Soghomon assasinated Tallat., A single bullet to
the head killed Talaat Pasha. The assassination took place in broad
daylight and led to Tehlirian's immediate arrest by German police
Tehlirian was tried for murder, but was eventually acquitted by the
German court.
The trial examined not only Tehlirian's actions but also Tehlirian's
conviction that Talaat Pasha was the main author of the Armenian
deportation and mass killings. The defense attorneys made no attempt
to deny the fact that Tehlirian had killed a man, and instead focused
on the influence of the Armenian Genocide on Tehlirian's mental state.
When asked by the judge if he felt any sort of guilt, Tehlirian
remarked, "I do not consider myself guilty because my conscience is
clear...I have killed a man. But I am not a murderer".
It took the jury slightly over an hour to render a verdict of
"not guilty.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/63700
From: Baghdasarian