Letters from World War I on display

ISTANBUL

An exhibition featuring letters written by soldiers captured during World War I and kept in the Red Crescent archives has been opened at the Paket Post Office in Istanbul’s Karaköy to mark World Red Crescent and Red Cross Day on May 8.

The Captive Letters are among the historical documents, which also include cards, lists, notebooks, stamps, envelopes and photographs from that period, and have been translated into modern Turkish. The Presidential Communications Directorate, with the contributions of the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), has organized the exhibition.

The Red Crescent Deputy Secretary General Murat Ellialtı, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) officials, diplomatic mission representatives and guests attended the opening of the exhibition on May 8.

Stating that the Red Crescent and the Red Cross have had a historical role since their establishment, Ellialtı said: "The World Red Crescent and Red Cross movement is the first organized global movement and the first act of kindness of modern times. Against this warrior spirit of humanity for centuries, good samaritans from many countries came together and founded this volunteer movement more than a century ago. This movement is also based on volunteerism."

"Thanks to this movement, people of different colors, different geographies and different religions came together. This movement was driven by the feeling of helping people abandoned on the battlefield without discrimination. Then, wherever there was a humanitarian crisis, this movement continued to do so. Our country is one of the respected members of this movement. Our donors and volunteers support us,” he added.

Ellialtı stated that the letters of soldiers captured during World War I are also exhibited, adding, “We are exhibiting centuries-old captive letters. During World War I, those who were captured by enemy countries and could not receive news from their families or send news to them wrote a letter to the then Red Crescent, that is, the Red Crescent Prisoners' Commission, which gave information about their situation. These letters enable us to establish a relationship between the past and present. There are many beautiful stories, written in fluent Turkish.”