One Ottoman orphan who was happy in Germany was Ahmet Talib,
who stayed and got engaged to Anna Höhnow, an orphan like himself.
Ahmed Bey, seated front, in his early years in
Germany.
When Ahmed bey was growing up in Istanbul, his father had an ice-block
shop and a shoe store in Kadıköy. But Ahmed bey's mother died when he
was just 3-years-old and his father was killed in the Battle of Çanakkale
in 1915. So had his father lived, Ahmed bey would have had opportunities
in life in Istanbul. But, as a 14-year-old orphan, he gladly volunteered to
go to Germany.
After the 10-day train trip to Berlin, Ahmed bey was sent to Fürstenwalde
in Brandenburg state and began an apprenticeship in the shop of master
shoemaker Albert Pöthke, quickly learning German and adapting to his
new environment. However, in 1923, Pöthke took on a new apprentice
so Ahmed bey had to move on, eventually selling enough household goods
to open up his own shoe shop. Ahmed bey met Anna Höhnow, who was
working as a maid in Berlin homes, and their child Rudi Ahmed was
born in 1927.
Based on Turkish law 1312, Ahmed bey was stripped of his Turkish
citizenship because he had not fought in the Turkish War of Independence.
His chance for German citizenship fell victim to Adolph Hitler's rise to
power in 1933. Ahmed bey was essentially stateless, so he and Anna
still could not officially marry. The Nazis did not bother him much but
he was, nevertheless, worried about being expelled from Germany.
In the years after World War II, Ahmed bey was sometimes able to acquire
two-week residency permits and finally, in 1961, he became a citizen of
East Germany. Ahmed bey was a well-liked resident of Fürstenwald. As
a master shoemaker, he nurtured many apprentices, including his son Rudi.
His grandchildren Beate and Jörg were born in 1953 and 1957, respectively.
Ahmed bey was a life-long Moslem but without a mosque, he celebrated
religious holidays at a Protestant church. When he died in 1983, he was
buried with a Koran in Fürstenwalde.
Fürstenwalde (pin marker)
//END of PART III/FINAL//
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