The "Varlık Vergisi" Affair _{A Study on its Legacy - Selected Documents}

"On November 11, 1942 law number 4305, otherwise known as the Capital Tax Law, was passed by Turkey's Grand National Assembly. For the two-decade old Turkish Republic, which both saw, and proclaimed, itself abroad as a modern and secular republic, this law and its implementation were irreconcilable with, and even in violation, of its founding principles. For Turkey's non-Muslim minorities, who were the principal targets of its arbitrary and discriminatory implementation, and who in many cases were improvished by its extractions and sent off to work camps, this law remains an indelible tragedy in their minds; as such the term 'Capital Tax' immediately calls forth painful memories that have been passed down from generation to generation even unto our day."