Lissy Schmidt Collection
Period
1974, 1977-1994
Total size
2 m.
Consultation
Restricted
Permission required by the IISH; this provision does not apply to documents
intended for general distribution
See consultation information
Biography
Pseudonym: Milena Ergen and Petra Sert; born in Germany 1959, died near Suleymania, Iraq 1994; journalist; participated in the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi and joined the campaign against the stationing of cruise missiles in Europe; moved to Istanbul 1984; published on Turkish issues; sympathized with the Kurds and their struggle for freedom; worked in the Turkish part of Kurdistan and after the Gulf War also in the autonomous Kurdish region in North-Iraq; visited Kirkuk in disguise in 1991; arrested and expelled by the Iraqi authorities and in 1992 also expelled by Turkey; worked alternately in the autonomous Kurdish region and in Frankfurt am Main 1991-1994; contributed to the Frankfurter Rundschau, the Tageszeitung and other periodicals and to radioprograms; shot near Suleymania on 3 April 1994 together with her Kurdish guide Aziz Qadir Faraj.
Content
Documents, including letters, notes, reports, pamphlets and clippings on the agitation against the stationing of cruise missiles in Europe and against the extension of the Frankfurt airport 1982-1984; on the Turkish trade union movement, the position of women, medical care and other subjects relating to Turkey 1985-1990; on the Kurds and their struggle for liberation, including documents on the actions by the Turkish army 1988-1990; on the deportations of Kurds, the bombing of their dwellings and the use of chemical weapons against the village of Halabja by the army of Iraq 1989-1990; on the aid organization medico international 1988-1990; on the uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991, the subsequent elections in 1992 and on the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (DPK) of Massoud Barzani and its 11th Congress in 1993; documents relating to agitation for the release of the German journalist Stephan Waldberg, imprisoned in Turkey because of his supposed support of the Partîya Karkerên Kurdîstan (PKK; Kurdish Workers' Party) 1992-1994; press clippings and other documents regarding the death of Lissy Schmidt and the arrest of two suspected murderers 1994; typescripts and manuscripts of articles and translations by Lissy Schmidt and clippings of her articles 1984-1994; a typescript on economic problems in Iraqi Kurdistan by Salahaddin Muhammad al-Hafid 1992; text of an interview with Celal Talabani, general secretary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) n.d.
Processing information
List made by Erdal Gezik en Erhan Tuskan in 2003
INTRODUCTION
Lissy Schmidt (pseudonym Milena Ergen and Petra Sert) was born in 1959 in Wiesbaden, Germany. As a member of the Pax Christi section in Germany and a working group against arms trade she was involved in the campaigns against arms transports and the stationing of cruise missiles in Europe in the 1970s.
In 1984 she settled in Istanbul as freelance correspondent. She started publishing on the economic and political developments in Turkey, then reported on the Kurdish question after moving to Diyarbakir in 1988. Because of her critical writings she was expelled from Turkey being declared 'persona non grata'. After the Gulf War she became interested in the developments in Northern Iraq and stayed alternately in the autonomous Kurdish region and in Frankfurt am Main. On 3 April 1994 she was shot dead, along with her Kurdish bodyguard, near the city of Suleymania. She worked for Agence France Presse , the German newspapers Frankfurter Rundschau and Der Tagesspiegel and for some German radio stations.
The papers of Lissy Schmidt were received by the IISH in 1997. The papers mainly include manuscripts and typescripts of Schmidt's articles and interviews, notes, correspondence and various gathered documents which reflect her involvement in the Kurdish question and other public affairs. The bulk of the papers has been arranged geographically, including Germany, Turkey and Iraq. Books and periodicals have been transferred to the library, and photographs to the audio-visual department of the IISH.The size of the papers after arrangement is 2 m.
LIST
Personal and biographical
- 2
-
Correspondence
by Lissy Schmidt.
1986- 1994.
1 folder.
N.B. Contains a certificate about her employment as journalist in Turkey and documents concerning her arrest in 1991 in Turkey.
Writings
- 9-14
- Manuscripts and typescripts of articles, interviews and other texts by Lissy Schmidt primarily on the Kurds in Turkey and northern Iraq. 1980, 1985- 1994. 6 folders.
- 15
- Manuscripts of translations of poems primarily by political prisoners, including Nevzat Çelik. With the texts of the poems in Turkish. 1982-1989 and n.d. 1 folder.
- 16-17
- Clippings and photocopies of articles written by Lissy Schmidt. With a list of publications by Lissy Schmidt. 1984-1994. 2 folders.
Germany
- 21
- Documents concerning the participation of Lissy Schmidt in political and cultural events in Germany. 1978, 1983-1994. 1 folder.
- 23
- Documents concerning the protests against the construction of the missile base at Comiso, Sicily. With documents primarily in Italian concerning the human rights violations in Italy. 1981-1984. 1 folder.
- 24
- Documents concerning the protests against the transport of American arms within Germany. 1983. 1 folder.
Turkey
- 31
- Copies of indictments and convictions of some lawsuits against Turkish journalists. 1983-1986. 1 folder.
- 33-34
- Documents concerning the human rights situation in Turkey. With articles by Lissy Schmidt. 1983-1990. 2 folders.
- 44
- Documents concerning the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP; Güneydo?u Anadolu Projesi). With notes from Lissy Schmidt. 1988- 1990. 1 box.
- 46-47
- Documents concerning a visit of a delegation of Medico International to Turkey in 1990. 1989-1990. 1 folder.
- 48-49
-
Documents
concerning the human rights violations against the Kurds of Turkey. With notes
and articles by Lissy Schmidt.
1989-1990.
2 folders.
N.B. Contains a list of the Kurdish villagers who were forced to flee their villages.
- 50
- Documents concerning a lawsuit in Cizre province. With manuscripts of articles by Lissy Schmidt. 1990. 1 folder.
Iraq
- 57-58
- Documents concerning the chemical weapons attack on Halabja and the situation of the Kurdish refugees in Turkey. 1988-1990. 2 folders.
- 59
- Documents concerning some relief and construction projects in Northern Iraq. (1981), 1990-1993. 1 folder.