Elliot Turiel was of Jewish origin and lived on the island of Rhodes (Italy, now Greece). His father Daniel had Italian citizenship. His mother Matilde was from Turkey, and held Turkish and Italian citizenship, like Elliot and his brother Bernard.
In July 1944 the SS rounded up the island’s Jews. One day after Daniel Turiel, Matilde Turiel was to report to the German headquarters with Elliot and Bernard. The Turkish diplomat Selahattin Ülkümen, who worked to help Turkish Jews, warned Matilde to wait outside until he had freed Daniel Turiel, which he managed. Ülkümen issued identity papers for the entire Turiel family, which saved them from deportation. The Turiels and around 40 other rescued Jews were placed under house arrest until the German withdrawal.
In 1946 the family emigrated to the United States. Elliot studied psychology and became a doctor. From 1966 he taught at various universities. He met Ülkümen’s son Mehmet on several occasions and visited Turkey regularly from 1962.
The Turiel family rescued by Ülkümen: Matilde and Daniel with their children Elliot (born 1938) and Bernard (1934–2018), around 1943. Source: Evraiko Mousio Rodou
Headquarters of the German occupation forces on Rhodes, where the island’s Jews were held for three days until their deportation, 1944. Source: Evraiko Mousio Rodou
