On May 4, the beginning of the massacres in Dersim is commemorated. Tens of thousands of Kurds were killed or deported in 1937/38 by Turkey. To this day, a comprehensive reckoning and recognition as genocide are still lacking.
May 4 marks the beginning of the massacres against the Alevi Kurdish population in Dersim in 1937 and 1938. Survivors and their descendants refer to this day as “Tertele” — the day when “the world ended” — or as “Roza Şaye,” the black day. According to estimates, between 70,000 and 80,000 people were killed, while tens of thousands more were deported to other parts of the country. It constitutes one of the largest acts of violence in the history of Turkey after the genocide against the Armenians. These crimes were also made possible by the silence of the international public.
Policy of homogenization
The background to the mass slaughter was the policy of the government under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which aimed at creating a homogeneous nation-state. The accompanying policies of Turkification and Islamization specifically targeted non-Turkish and non-Sunni populations.
With the “Settlement Law” (İskan Kanunu) of 1934, large population groups were to be forcibly relocated and dissolved. Dersim was the first region where this policy was to be implemented comprehensively. Due to its geographical location, the region had maintained a de facto autonomous status for a long time and was characterized by a diversity of ethnic and religious groups.
In a parliamentary speech in 1936, Atatürk described the region as a “problem” that had to be resolved “at any cost.” This rhetoric paved the way for the state-organized campaign of annihilation against Dersim.
Militarization and resistance
In preparation for the offensive, local political, tribal, and religious structures were systematically dismantled, land was expropriated, and the region was renamed “Tunceli” (“iron hand”). A military administration was granted extensive powers, including arrests and deportations.
In 1937, an uprising formed against these policies. It was led by Seyit Rıza, while the armed resistance was organized in part by the couple Alişêr and Zarife. The central role of women in Kurdish resistance movements has a long-standing tradition.
Demands for reforms, self-governance, and national rights were not negotiated but met with military force. With a secret decree of the Council of Ministers dated May 4, 1937, the Turkish army was tasked with implementing a “final solution” to the “Dersim problem.”
Massacres and “punitive operation”
Between 30,000 and 40,000 soldiers took part in the campaign of destruction. Under the name “punishment and deportation,” entire villages were destroyed, people were shot or killed with bayonets. Children were abducted or locked in barns with their mothers and burned alive. Military aircraft were also deployed.
In September 1937, the Turkish government signaled a ceasefire and negotiations. Seyit Rıza traveled to. Erzincan for talks but was arrested there, sentenced to death in a summary trial, and executed on November 15, 1937, together with his son and other companions in Elazığ.
Escalation and femicide in 1938
After the execution, resistance continued but was ultimately crushed in the spring of 1938. Around 100,000 soldiers were deployed this time. The violence increasingly targeted the civilian population, especially women and children. People who sought refuge in caves were sealed in, suffocated with smoke, or killed. Many women threw themselves from the mountains into the Munzur River out of fear of capture. Tens of thousands were deported. Therefore, the events are described not only as genocide but also as targeted femicide.
International entanglements
The massacres took place with the knowledge of international actors. Reports of the violence were available to diplomatic missions, yet there was no significant protest. Documents from archives also suggest connections to Germany in the use of poison gas. Accordingly, chemical agents may have been supplied from production facilities of Nazi Germany, while Turkish soldiers were trained in their use.
No reckoning to this day
Eighty-nine years after the Dersim genocide, a comprehensive reckoning has still not taken place. The state doctrine of a homogeneous nation continues to have an effect. Alevi organizations have for years demanded an official apology and recognition of the events as genocide. This includes access to archives, clarification of the fate of the missing, identification of victims, and the restoration of the region’s name to Dersim. Thus, May 4 remains not only a day of remembrance but also a central reference point in the struggle for historical reckoning, recognition, and justice.
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