Ottoman War Stories: Letter from a Concerned Mother

Chris Gratien, Georgetown University

When the Ottoman Empire entered World War I, millions of families saw their sons shipped off to the front in the mobilization of troops, which was known as seferberlik. Many perished in the fighting, succumbed to disease or hunger, or were taken prisoner never to return again. Out of the over two million Ottoman soldiers that were conscripted, as many as 500,000 died and many more remained missing. 

The Ottoman Empire's surrender in 1918 meant defeat but also that conscripts could return home, albeit to a country much destroyed by the war that had seen unspeakable misery and atrocities committed both by invading and occupying forces as well as by the Ottoman state against its own subjects. In August of 1919, Hatice, a concerned mother from İzmir, wrote to the Forestry and Mining Ministry, which had been the employer of her child Mustafa Said prior to mobilization. Mustafa, the son of a deceased middle school teacher, was a forester by training posted in İnegöl near Bursa--already a long way from home--but during the war had been assigned to mess duty on the front, which while no picnic, was safe enough to have apparently allowed him to survive the war. However, Hatice had no news from her son Said for some months and was now inquiring as to his whereabouts, praying that he had merely been transferred to a new post but fearing the worst. Here is the original letter and transcription:

T-OMİ-VRK 1721/44 no. 1

Orman ve Maaden Nezaret-i Celilesine Maruz-ı cariyeleri Cariyeleri İnegöl kazası orman memuru Mustafa Said Efendi'nin validesiyim. Mahdumum seferberlik münasebetiyle ihtiyat zabıtı olarak ellinci fırkanın yüz elli yedinci alayının üçüncü taburunun iaşe zabitlikte bulunmaktaydı. Seferberlik hitamına mebni memuriyet-i asliyesine gitmek üzere Dersaadet'e geldiğini istihbar etmiş isemde beş altı mahtan beri mahdumum-ı mumaileyh Said Efendi'nin hayat ve mematından bu ana kadar malumat alamadığımdan elyevm hangi mahalde ve ne memuriyette bulunduğunun İzmir orman ve maden müdüriyeti vasıtasıyla cariyelerine bildirilmesini istirham eylerim efendim ol babda emr ü ferman hazret-i men lehül-emrindir. - 2 Ağostos 1335 İzmir Pazaryeri mahallesi ahalisinden mekteb-i rüşdiye muallim-i evveli merhum Hasan Fikri Efendi'nin zevcesi ve İnegöl kazası Orman Fen Memuru Said Efendi'nin Validesi                                                                                  Hatice

To the Forestry and Mining Ministry: Dear Sir, I am the mother of Mustafa Said Efendi, a forester in the İnegöl district. My son was in the food-supply officership in the 3rd battalion of the 57th regiment of the 50th division as a reserve officer during the war. Although I have learned that he has arrived to Istanbul in order to go to his original post now that the war has ended, since for five or six months I have not thus far been able to obtain any information about whether or not my aforementioned son Said Efendi is dead or alive, I kindly request to be informed by the İzmir Forestry and Mining Directorship in which location and what post he is presently to be found. Resident of the Pazaryeri neighborhood in İzmir, wife of middle school teacher the late Hasan Fikri Efendi and mother of İnegöl forestry science officer Said Efendi                                                          Hatice                                                        August 2, 1335 [1919]

T-OMİ-VRK 1721/44 no. 2

One can imagine the paralyzing feeling of apprehension that crept over Hatice during those long months. When she finally mustered the courage to ask about the whereabouts of her missing son, the response was not a happy one. After looking into the matter, it was found that upon his safe return from the war, tragedy had met Said in Istanbul. According to the report, which bears the title "Regarding the notification of science officer Mustafa Said Efendi's mother of his death by drowning," he had been en route to Kadıköy when the ferryboat he was riding had a collision, resulting in the death of many passengers including poor Said. After surviving a long and hard war that claimed the lives of so many soldiers and civilians, he had apparently died in transit at no fault of his own, leaving his widowed mother with the bereavement of the son she had watched grow to become a respectable forester for the now crumbled Ottoman state.

Was the news of Said's fate authentic? In a note in the margin of the message sent from the Agriculture and Commerce Ministry to the Forest Directorship of the Aydın Province where Hatice lived, it is indicated that the news of Said's death was supplied by a fellow science officer in the Forest Ministry named Mehmed Ali. Could Mehmed Ali have embellished the details of the death of his friend and colleague? Even if this was unlikely, did Said's mother ever really believe or even receive the news? Did she hold out hope for the rest of her life that Said would, as did happened for many other mothers around the world, magically appear on her doorstep? Whatever the case, the historically minuscule story of Hatice and her son Said may well tell us more about the war than a pile of military documents. Their trauma represents the experiences of millions worldwide during World War I who faced not only the grief of separation and loss but also the uncertainty of never truly knowing the fate of the ones they loved.