The Mountain Jews and the Nazi Occupation of Kabarda [Dağ Yahudileri ve Nazilerin Kabardey’i İşgali]

Bu makale, Nazilerin 1942 sonbaharında Batı Kafkasya'yı işgalleri sırasında Kabardeyli Dağ Yahudilerini öldürmemelerinin nedenlerini belirlemeye çalışıyor. Naziler, işgalden önce Dağ Yahudilerinin varlığını biliyorlardı, ancak etnik kompozisyonları konusunda net değildiler. Yerel Kabardey halkı bu açıklık eksikliğinden, Dağ Yahudilerinin İran'dan çıkartıldığını ve Nazileri daha da fazla şaşırtmak için onlara İslami gelenekleri öğrettiklerine tanıklık ettiler. Los Angeles'taki Shoah Vakfı'nın arşivdeki birçok tanıklığa göre, bu hile birkaç hafta işe yaradı. Sözlü ifadelere göre, Naziler Dağ Yahudilerinin etnik olarak Yahudi olduğunu öğrendi ve onları öldürme hazırlığına başladıkları belirlendi. Ancak Kızıl Ordu Dağ Yahudilerinin toplanmasından birkaç gün önce bölgeyi ele geçirdi. Sınırlı sayıda sözlü tanıklık, belirli sonuçlara varmak için yeterli değil, ancak burada sunulan kanıtları netleştirmek ve doğrulamak için daha fazla araştırmanın yolunu açıyor.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Kafkasya, Kabardey-Balkar, Dağ Yahudileri, Holokost, Çerkesler

The Mountain Jews and the Nazi Occupation of Kabarda [Dağ Yahudileri ve Nazilerin Kabardey’i İşgali]

This paper attempts to identify the reasons why the Nazis refrained from murdering the Mountain Jews of Kabardia during their occupation of the west Caucasus in fall 1942. The Nazis knew of the existence of the Mountain Jews before the invasion, but were unclear on their ethnic composition. The local Kabardian population exploited this lack of clarity by attesting that the Mountain Jews were of Iranian extraction and teaching them Islamic customs to further confuse the Nazis. Based on multiple testimonies in the archive at the Shoah Foundation in Los Angeles, the ruse worked for several weeks. According to oral testimony, the Nazis determined that the Mountain Jews were ethnically Jewish and began preparing to murder them, but the Red Army recaptured the region just days before the Mountain Jews were to be rounded up. The limited oral testimony is insufficient to make certain conclusions, but it does point the way to further research to clarify and confirm the evidence presented here.

Keywords:

Caucasus, Kabardino-Balkaria, Mountain Jews, Holocaust, Circassian,

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