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The Chief Dentist of the Seraglio and of the Republic: Sami Gunzberg |
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Dentist,
confidante of Sultans and founders of the Turkish Republic, unofficial diplomat,
the acting representative of the heirs of Sultan Abdulhamid II, inheritors of
an immense and diverse fortune, from countless properties in Istanbul to shares
in oil investments in Mosul and lands in Palestine, an antique collector, and a
conduit for assistance to Jewish refugees from the Nazi genocide in Europe... Sami
Gunzberg was all of these things and more. Sultans Abdulhamid II and Vahideddin, Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, Ismet Inonu, Celâl Bayar, Adnan Menderes,
Refik Koraltan: these are just a few of the high level Turkish men of state whose
trust and confidence Sami Gunzberg earned. Although he witnessed the collapse
of the empire, the Turkish War for Independence
and was, in many ways, "there at the creation" of the subsequent Turkish Republic, Sami Gunzberg was resolved
never to write his memoirs. As a result, it is only as the result of prolonged
labors in various Turkish and world archives that the author has succeeded to
piece together the illustrious and mysterious life of the person known to so
many in Turkey as simply "Sami Bey, the dentist" (Discibasi Sami Bey).
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