Aspetti identitari tra passato imperiale e presente repubblicano: una lettura dell’impatto sociale del Varlik Vergisi

Despite the Ottoman heritage of a multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multilingual society, the Republic was inspired by a process of cultural homogenisation that produced a stigmatization of minority identities. The Varlık Vergisi, the Wealth Tax, strongly affected the conditions of the minorities marking one of the most important implementations of this process of social engineering. Faik Ökte, author of the work Varlık Vergisi Faciası, “The tragedy of the wealth tax”, which still represents a relevant source for those studying the Turkish wartime period, defines the capital tax as “one of the most shameful episodes in the financial history of Turkey”. The present article focuses on the social impact of Varlık Vergisi through the critical reading of the memories collected in Varlık Vergisi Faciası.