On October 29, 2023, Disney+ is set to release a mini-series titled Atatürk to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. According to IMDb, the series “tells the story of the life of the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.” However, the use of the adjective “Great” in this description paints an overwhelmingly positive image of this highly controversial man. To many in Turkey, he is the ultimate hero and founder of the Turkish Republic; but to Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, progressive Turks, and all those who were subject to his genocidal agenda during and after World War I and the Armenian Genocide, he is nothing short of a mass murderer.
After the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) tweeted about the series on Wednesday, June 29, calling for its cancellation given Atatürk’s role in the death of hundreds of thousands, controversy around the series online has skyrocketed. The ANCA’s initial tweet—the start of what has become the #CancelAtaturk movement on Twitter—has generated over six million views, and upwards of ten media outlets have published articles furthering the conversation around whether Disney should cancel production and abandon this project.
During World War I, Atatürk served as a commander in the Ottoman military and worked closely with Talaat and Enver Pasha—the main orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide. After WWI ended, he continued communication with Enver and eventually rebelled against him to found the Turkish National Movement (also known as the ‘Kemalist’ movement) and create a “Turkey for Turks” in the wake of what he deemed the incompetence of the existing, crumbling Ottoman regime and to quell the rising power of the Empire’s ethnic minorities. As the Entente powers started appropriating Eastern provinces of the Empire to the newly-declared Armenian Republic, Atatürk retaliated in 1920 and declared war on the Armenians leading to the murder of up to 250,000 Armenians in less than three months.
Atatürk furthered his anti-Armenian policies by publishing a book in 1927 titled Nutuk (“the speech”) which he himself admitted to publishing for the purpose of writing (or rewriting) the official modern history of Turkey. In it, he wrote that the British imagined the idea of the Armenian Genocide to provide an excuse for their invasion of Istanbul in 1920. Moreover, he added that the Armenians were carrying out a policy of “extermination” against the Muslims of the Turkish Republic, not the other way around.
Atatürk’s “Turkey for Turks” not only excluded Armenians but also demanded the murder and systemic erasure from memory of every other ethnic minority that stood in the way of his vision. In 1922, Atatürk was responsible for the burning of the Greek city of Smyrna, killing over 600,000 Greek civilians and leaving 300,000 refugees with nowhere to turn. After World War I, Atatürk’s forces continued the Assyrian Genocide (Sayfo) that had killed upwards of 750,000 Assyrians in the Hakkari mountains and beyond, allowing his soldiers to rape young girls and sell others into harem slavery. Under Atatürk’s rule, 8,000 Christians were deported from Mesopotamia into the interior of Turkey, and by 1945, only 20,000 Assyrians lived in Iraq.
Then in 1937, Atatürk led his nationalist militia to the Kurdish-populated region of Dersim—a region occupied by the Kurdish people since the 16th century—and carried out an aggressive military campaign using aerial bombs and poison gas, leading to the murder of up to 45,000 Kurds. Just as Atatürk ensured that Smyrna was given the Turkish name “Izmir,” he renamed Dersim “Tunceli.”
Over the course of his 22-year reign, 28,000 topographic names were changed, as Atatürk made it his mission to “rewrite” history as president of the new Turkish Republic and erase not only the genocides that he and his predecessors were responsible for from the historical record, but the very cultures and memory of the people they had slaughtered as well. If Atatürk didn’t destroy property formerly owned by ethnic minorities within the Ottoman Empire, he used it to compensate the génocidaires’ families, claiming that the property had been ‘abandoned.’
This policy of denialism continues in Turkey today with the Armenian and Greek genocides carved out of Turkish school history curricula and the very term “Armenian Genocide” banned within Turkish parliament. Atatürk’s complicity in cultural erasure was the consummation of genocide: the attempt to eliminate not only the physical presence of ethnic minorities but every remaining vestige of their existence and memory.
Online, many are arguing that Disney’s decision glorifies a historical villain with some comments comparing Atatürk to Hitler. Looking at the history of Nazism and its ties to Turkey and Atatürk, there is indeed historical basis to these claims. In 2014, historian Stefan Ihrig wrote a book published by Harvard University Press titled Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination outlining this relationship. Ihrig explains that during an interview in 1938 with Turkish politicians, Adolf Hitler said, “Ataturk was a teacher; Mussolini was his first and I his second student.”
While many Turkish Twitter accounts such as Turkish Archives have retaliated by tweeting about the supposedly positive mark that Atatürk left on the world, criticizing the ANCA and others for their condemnation of a figure so beloved by the Turkish people, Disney’s complicity in whitewashing the abuses of genocidal regimes is not without precedent and raises the question of why these seemingly misinformed production decisions continue to be made. In 2020, the corporation landed in hot water after it was discovered that the live-action movie Mulan had been filmed in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, the same region where approximately one to two million Uighur Muslims were forced into internment camps.
Given the negative press Mulan generated, will Disney reconsider the release of Atatürk? Since public disapproval of Disney’s filming in Xinjiang didn’t stop the multi-billion dollar corporation from releasing Mulan, signs are pointing to no. However, Disney’s complacency in conjunction with news that Emma Watson is believed to be starring in the series, is generating more and more online backlash daily. “Disney is known for its fairytales, but this one is beyond the pale,” Richard Ghazal, executive director of In Defense of Christians (IDC), said.
Descendants of those killed by Atatürk’s policies are not holding back either. “I encourage Disney to do some basic research on the founding of the Turkish state, drenched in the blood of millions of innocent lives. Ethnic minorities like the Kurds are still paying the price of Atatürk’s racist and violent policies in today’s Turkey,” Diliman Abdulkader, president of American Friends of Kurdistan, said. Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council added: “Disney’s impact on the American public gives it great responsibilities […] Atatürk is a historically significant figure for many reasons, and one of them is his culpability for Christians becoming an endangered species in Turkey. That HAS to be part of the story.”
In an effort to place direct public pressure on Disney, popular Armenian news outlet 301.am has posted a fully-drafted email for members of the public to send out, calling for the cancellation of the series, complete with the emails of 27 Disney executives on its website. Similarly, the ANCA is calling on Disney employees allied with “Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Kurds, Christians, journalists, rights advocates or other victim groups persecuted by Turkey” to send confidential notes to disney@anca.org.
Ruby Topalian
Great article, thank you for writing it.
totally agree, thank you for naming and shaming…
penultimate paragraph: “Ancestors” –> “Descendants”
We must call US goverment close DisneyplusTR their office branch in turkey
I agree
Ata Walt Disney, study the CV of Ataturk well.
This is a great article In highlighting what all should know about Ataturk and Disney. Was there money paid to Disney for this film to be made?? In the US, they are taking down statues and renaming anything to do with people who owned slaves. Is it better or worse to kill 1.5 M than to house, feed, and own slaves? Disney will probably do a white wash next on Hitler, General Lee and other Confederate officers.
Real Question is why Disney open offices in turkey saudia arabia or egypt while these states anti democratic and anti christian so what is next lebanese civil genocide against christians was a neighbourhood conflict ?
Atatürk has nothing to do with the genocide, when deportations were happening, he was a lieutenant colonel who was trying to defend against allied forces naval invading the dardanels. And so far there is no proven connection of him in any way saying he participated in or carried out the forced deportations. Is it really fair to put the blame of what three pashas did on him ? We are talking about a man who adopted an armenian genocide survivor girl, and made her the symbol of turkish air forces.
Charles Nahabedian, excellent analysis.
The author has forgotten to mention that Ataturk was a pedophile.
Really??? What level of hatted must you have to spread a gross lie like that. Very shameful and pretty sick.
Put the proof here. You are grossly spreading hateful lies. How twisted does one have to be to say stuff like this. Feel sorry for you hope you loose your hate.
Great point, Ana Markarian.
BOYCOTT DISNEY!!!
Thank you Ruby for the informative article. I saw the tweets and instagram postings from ANCA, however we need larger campaign on social media and through major American publications. People have to be encouraged to cancel their yearly Disney memberships. Glorifying a mass murderer in United States should back fire to Disney. What a low life project they have started. This is how history is being distorted and then RE-written. Have they run out of American heroes to glorify?
Please help, so few Armenians are actually helping it is pretty showing. We seem to be so scared of speaking out. the time for being quiet and thankful is over. SPEAK UP EVERYONE.
No, there is a movie about Oppenheimer. I am going to watch how two cities were completely destroyed by American heroes in Japan instead of watching Ataturk.
Lol I love how obvious you used AI to make that artwork yet claim it as personal property (which is illegal btw)
Anyway, continue crying about your country I know this comment wouldn’t even be published but anyway
You’d probably tell families of serial killer victims to stop crying too, Mustafa Kemal. With your failure to feel empathy, you’re a good candidate for a psychiatric ward. Go see a psychiatrist, and get help.
Christian Families across the USA should boycott and cancel attending any of Disney vacation facilities, cruses, subscriptions, do not attend any Disney motion picture films, and any businesses that are connected to Disney Corporation. This is not just about the Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Christian Genocides that transpired in Turkey during the turn of the 20th Century, it is also the present. It is the Moslem radicals Turkish and Azerbaijan Governments plan to rid all Christians out of countries; including the Kurds. Therefore, all Christians around the USA and world should hold these TWO Moslem countries accountable for their unspeakable crimes and help the Christians in every way, that are being persecuted and murdered presently in these two countries! CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD, WAKE UP!!!! Shame on Disney for becoming part of the encouragement and the continuation of present-day Christian Genocide!
Agree, try asking local churches in your area…
To john chookasian where was the christian world when they wiped out christian serbia for moslem bosnia and kosovo where was christian world when lebanese civil war ended up for lebanese muslim favor taef agreement in saudia arabia while our tax protect gulf islamic countries at the same time christians suffer in middle east being dhimmitude second class citizens such as coptic christians in egypt ?
Disney has decided that the resurgence of fascism and authoritarian governments around the world ( Turkey, Azerbaijan, the “Stans” of Central Asia, Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China) is good for business, even if they have sell the “Big Lie” about Ataturk. Solzhenitsyn, the great chronicler of the soviet Gulags, titled his Nobel Prize for literature address as “ One Word of Truth…”. Instead Disney should be celebrating the truth tellers such as Taner Akcam and other righteous Turks who have researched and written accurately about Turkey’s genocidal past. Disney should be ashamed of itself. Reminds one of 1930’s when many governments and corporations said that they could do business with Hitler.
Taner Akcam also said that Ataturk is not even remotely involved in the genocide. What do you guys think about that? I think Armenians are going so far as to call a man who tried to maintain peace among Greeks, Turks, and other ethnicities. He even adopted a little Armenian genocide survivor girl (Sabiha Gökcen), making her the symbol of the Turkish aircraft industry and air forces.”
Mardiros, what an excellent idea for Disney to celebrate “the truth tellers” such as Tanner Akcam who has written about Turkey’s genocidal past. And yes, Disney should be ashamed of itself for promoting criminals as heroes.
Your a disgrace Disney, not only do you support planned parenthood in abortion and killing millions of innocent babies, but now glorifying a person who thrived on committing genocide for wealth and power. I refuse to watch anything your evil company make. May God have mercy on you all.
Can anyone check this book “Grey Wolf – Mustafa Kemal. An Intimate Study of a Dictator” (page 254) if it has a paragraph about his sexual crimes against children: https://www.routledge.com/Grey-Wolf—Mustafa-Kemal-An-Intimate-Study-of-a-Dictator/Armstrong/p/book/9781138999565
The page may looks like this: https://twitter.com/TenGazillionIQ/status/1531410709615194114/photo/1
My dads parents were born in turkey, my grandfather told me the Turks said he has two options ,one either he talks there language and go to the Greek Orthodox Church or he doesn’t talk there language and he can’t go to the Christian church , he chose to go to church 🙏🏻. That is the option most all Greeks choose . As I was born in Greece my grandfather didn’t speak Greek so I learned the Turkish language through my grandfather. My grandfather lost his wife and twins boys in turkey as they were forced to leave Turkey and to start a new life in Greece , he told me very sad story’s, how they burned the villages ,killed and raped the Christians . Mostly Greeks and Armenians ,2 million people died 😢😢😢😢my heart broke hearing my grandfathers pain . I know it’s the past ,put the pain is always there 🙏🏻🙏🏻😢😢😢😢😢
I find your statements extremely biased. Yes, Mustafa Kemal expelled the Greek people from the Aegean coast, but he was protecting his own country, the real question is, what were your grandfathers doing in Izmir?
I wrote about my father’s experiences in Smyrna in 1922. He barely made it out of there. He told me that Smyrna was even worse than his experiences in Syria and Mesopotamia during the Genocide of 1915. Just horrible! If you want more information about what it was like kindly order his life story through Amazon both paperback and ebook: Deli Sarkis: The Scars He Carried: Chapter 8; “The Greek Army and the Horrors of Smyrna. page 87. For certain, I will be writing a letter to the DISNEY Studios. Ataturk does not deserve a mini-series as the genocide continued throughout his tenure. EC
Hope Ron Desantis or someone on his staff gets to read this article.
Ron DeInsanitas doesn’t care about historical events. He only cares about “standing up to wokism” (as if he could define that).
Whitewashing things has always been Disney’s MO.
And Desantis has been focused on Disney for some time.
It’s time to cancell all Disney services, products, theme parks… anything they profit on. All Greeks Armenians Kurds Assyrians and other cultures destroyed by this particular monster… aerved up the blueprint for Hitler.
It’s not going to be popular to ask my kids to cancel any and all forward plans to spend money at any of the Disney theme parks California or Florida. But I know they’ll understand.
Thank you for article. Please provide steps the average family can take to boycott this white washing.
Shaming is not enough. We need to rally against Disney’s series publicly, and I am sure they will lose more in addition losing already for another reason. I wonder, if we can apply a lawsuit against Disney, if they start the series?..
This article misses that there can be movies about anybody. Oppenheimer who was the leader of Manhattan project completely destroyed two cities in Japan killing babies and civilians. Did US government commit a genocide during WW2 by killing 250,000 people with these bombs? Yet, there are so many movies about glorifying US involvement in WW2. I would argue Disney should have the freedom and if you don’t want to watch it, just turn the tv off.
Such a good point
Lol people who have no clue about history are making deceptive comments. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was an example of a truly democratic leader who was deeply respected by the heads of states of Greece, UK and many other nations post WW1. His efforts for anti-imperialism against nations that aim to enslave the Anatolians. Read a little and remain objective. Stop believing everything you read. What a world. Honestly also pathetic.
so whats next for disney? making a cute hitler character? or maybe a cute josef fritzl character to teach kids about pedophilia? disney disgusts me