How a Turkish army officer saved my family from genocide

Regarding the Armenian genocide: After seeing the movie “The Promise,” I would like to comment on the fact that not all Turks hated Armenians.

My grandfather, who lived in Ezrum, Turkey, in 1900, was a tailor who did work for Turkish army officers. One officer, who liked my grandfather, knew of the coming events. He told my grandfather that bad things were going to happen to the Armenian people and to take his family and leave the country.

My grandfather took him at his word, and over the next few years, acquired the means to leave Turkey and arrived in the United States in 1909. Six years later, the massacres happened.

If it had not been for that Turkish officer, my grandfather’s family would have ceased to exist, and I would not be writing this letter. Let us remember, the genocide was a great evil, perpetrated by evil human beings. But let us also remember, not all people of a given nation partake in that evil, or condone it.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "How a Turkish army officer saved my family from genocide."