Mehmet Celal Bey ( & lrm ; ; 1863 – 15 February 1926 ) was an Ottoman statesman and a key witness to the Armenian Genocide . During his career as a politician , Celal Bey served as governor of the Ottoman provinces associated with the cities Erzurum , Aleppo , Aydın , Edirne , Konya , and Adana . He also served as minister of the interior and minister of agriculture as well as mayor of Istanbul . Celal Bey is known for having saved many lives during the Armenian Genocide by defying deportation orders , which were preludes to starvation and massacres . As a result , he was removed from his post as governor in Aleppo and transferred to Konya , where he was again dismissed upon continuing to obstruct deportations . Today , he is often called the Turkish Oskar Schindler
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Mehmet Celal Bey