With the TAM Forum, we have created something new: an afternoon/evening where we come together, engage in exploratory conversations with inspiring guests and brilliant minds—and sometimes continue the exchange in a relaxed, social setting afterwards.
This time, there is even a special occasion to celebrate: our first year as TAM Museum. We are especially pleased that Nazan Maksudyan, who has been part of the team since January 2025, will shape our TAM Forum as the expert.
We warmly invite you to join historian Nazan Maksudyan in exploring a nearly forgotten story:
“The Dağlı Brothers”
In 1917, the two brothers Ismail and Ali Dağlı arrived in Berlin-Mitte together with around 300 orphaned boys from the Ottoman Empire. Why were they brought to Berlin? What happened to them afterwards? And who are the men in the mysterious photograph in the tulip garden, later taken in Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Poland?
Nazan Maksudyan’s research led to an encounter with descendants of the Dağlı family. This opens up insights into an extraordinary family archive and new perspectives on moments of Berlin’s urban history that have largely been forgotten. Together, we want to ask: What does this history mean for us today?
Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan
Nazan Maksudyan is a Senior Researcher at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin as part of the ERC Starting Grant project Ottoman Auralities and the Eastern Mediterranean: Sound, Media and Power, 1789–1914 (EP/X032833/1) and a visiting professor at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Her research focuses on the social and cultural history of the late Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, with particular interest in children and youth, gender and sexuality, exile and migration, sound studies, and the history of science.
She is a member of the editorial boards of Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, Journal of Women’s History, Journal of European Studies, and First World War Studies. Her major publications include Orphans and Destitute Children in the Late Ottoman Empire (Syracuse University Press, 2014), Ottoman Children & Youth During World War I (Syracuse University Press, 2019), and Lives in Fragments: Self-Narrative Sources and Biographical Approaches to the Armenian Genocide (ed. with Eren Yetkin and Adnan Çelik, Berghahn, 2026).
We look forward to sharing this special evening with you. Admission is, as always, free of charge, but we kindly ask for donations to support our ongoing projects.

📅 March 23, 6:00–7:30 PM
📍 On site at TAM Lab, Eisenacher Straße, or online
Language: English
You can either join us in person or participate online.
⚠️ Registration required:
contact@tam-museum.de
 
Group photograph of Ottoman orphan boys on Sophienstraße/Große Hamburger Straße in Berlin, 1917, taken on the occasion of their official welcome, including the Dağlı brothers. Source: Ullstein Picture Service (Zeitbilder 35, May 3)

Gruppenfoto der osmanischen Waisenknaben in der Sopienstraße/Große Hamburger Straße in Berlin 1917 anlässlich ihrer offiziellen Begrüßung, darunter auch die Dağlı Brüder, Quelle: Ullstein-Bilder-Dienst (Zeitbilder 35, May 3rd)

Berlin, Sophienstraße/Große Hamburger Straße’deki Osmanlı yetim çocuklarının 1917 yılındaki resmi karşılama töreni vesilesiyle çekilmiş grup fotoğrafı. Kaynak: Ullstein-Bilder-Dienst (Zeitbilder 35, 3 Mayıs).
Mit dem Format des TAM Forums haben wir etwas Neues ins Leben gerufen: ein Nachmittag/Abend, an dem wir zusammenkommen, mit spannenden Gästen und brillanten Köpfen in ein entdeckendes Gespräch eintauchen – und manchmal im Anschluss noch den Austausch in geselliger Runde fortsetzen.
Dieses Mal gibt es sogar einen besonderen Anlass zum Anstoßen: unser erstes Jahr als TAM Museum und wir freuen uns, dass Nazan Maksudyan, die seit Januar 2025 Teil des Teams ist unser TAM Forum als Expert:in gestalten wird. 
Wir laden Sie/Euch herzlich ein, gemeinsam mit der Historikerin Nazan Maksudyan in eine nahezu vergessene Geschichte einzutauchen: 
„Die Dağlı Brüder“ 
Im Jahr 1917 kamen die zwei Brüder Ismail und Ali Dağlı gemeinsam mit rund 300 Waisenknaben aus dem Osmanischen Reich in Berlin-Mitte an. Warum wurden sie nach Berlin gebracht? Wie ging ihr Leben hier weiter? Und wer sind die Männer auf dem rätselhaften Foto im Tulpenbeet, das später im polnischen Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) aufgenommen wurde?
Nazan Maksudyans Recherchen führten zu einer Begegnung mit Nachfahr:innen der Familie Dağlı. Dadurch eröffnen sich Einblicke in ein außergewöhnliches Familienarchiv und neue Perspektiven auf Momente der Berliner Stadtgeschichte, die weitgehend in Vergessenheit geraten sind. Gemeinsam wollen wir fragen: Was bedeutet diese Geschichte für uns heute?
Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan
Nazan Maksudyan ist Senior Researcher am Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin im Rahmen des ERC Starting Grant-Projekts Ottoman Auralities and the Eastern Mediterranean: Sound, Media and Power, 1789–1914 (EP/X032833/1) und Gastprofessorin an der Freien Universität Berlin.
Ihre Forschung konzentriert sich auf die Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte des späten Osmanischen Reiches und der modernen Türkei, mit besonderem Interesse an Kindern und Jugendlichen, Geschlecht und Sexualität, Exil und Migration, Sound Studies sowie der Wissenschaftsgeschichte.
Sie ist Mitglied der Editorial Boards von Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, Journal of Women’s History, Journal of European Studies und First World War Studies. Zu ihren wichtigsten Publikationen zählen Orphans and Destitute Children in the Late Ottoman Empire (Syracuse University Press, 2014), Ottoman Children & Youth During World War I (Syracuse University Press, 2019) sowie Lives in Fragments: Self-Narrative Sources and Biographical Approaches to the Armenian Genocide (hg. mit Eren Yetkin und Adnan Çelik, Berghahn, 2026).
Wir freuen uns darauf, diesen besonderen Abend gemeinsam mit Ihnen/Euch zu erleben. Der Eintritt ist wie immer kostenlos, aber wir bitten um Spenden für Eigenanteile in unseren Drittmittelprojekten.

📅 23. März, 18:00 bis 19:30 Uhr
📍 Vor Ort im TAM Lab in der Eisenacher Straße oder digital
Sprache: Englisch
Ihr könnt entweder vor Ort teilnehmen oder euch online dazuschalten.
⚠️ Eine Anmeldung ist erforderlich.
contact@tam-museum.de

We thank Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan for sharing her research with us.
Wir danken Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan, dass sie ihre Recherchen mit uns teilt.
Araştırmalarını bizlerle paylaşan Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan’a teşekkür ederiz.
Image Credit: Nazan Maksudyan
TAM Forum formatıyla yeni bir şey yarattık: Etkileyici konuklar ve parlak zihinlerle bir araya geldiğimiz, keşif dolu sohbetler gerçekleştirdiğimiz ve bazen bu paylaşımı sonrasında rahat, sosyal bir ortamda sürdürdüğümüz akşamlar...
Bu kez kadeh kaldırmak için özel bir nedenimiz de var: TAM Müzesi olarak ilk yılımız! Ocak 2025'ten bu yana ekibimizin bir parçası olan Nazan Maksudyan'ın, uzmanlığıyla TAM Forum etkinliğimize yön verecek olmasından büyük mutluluk duyuyoruz.
Sizi, tarihçi Nazan Maksudyan ile birlikte neredeyse unutulmuş bir hikâyeyi keşfetmeye davet ediyoruz:

“Dağlı Kardeşler” 
İsmail ve Ali Dağlı kardeşler, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’ndan yaklaşık 300 yetim çocukla birlikte 1917 yılında Berlin-Mitte’ye geldiler. Neden Berlin’e getirilmişlerdi? Sonrasında onlara ne oldu? Peki, daha sonra Polonya’nın Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) kentinde çekilen o gizemli fotoğrafta, lale bahçesinde duran bu adamlar kim?
Nazan Maksudyan’ın araştırmaları, onu Dağlı ailesinin torunlarıyla buluşturarak olağanüstü bir aile arşivine kapı araladı ve Berlin kent tarihinin büyük ölçüde hafızalardan silinmiş anlarına dair yeni perspektifler sundu. Birlikte şu soruyu sormak istiyoruz: Bu hikâye bugün bizim için ne anlam ifade ediyor?

Prof. Dr. Nazan Maksudyan
Nazan Maksudyan, Centre Marc Bloch’ta "Ottoman Auralities and the Eastern Mediterranean: Sound, Media and Power, 1789–1914" (ERC Starting Grant) projesinde kıdemli araştırmacı ve Freie Universität Berlin’de misafir profesördür.
Araştırmaları ağırlıklı olarak geç Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve modern Türkiye’nin sosyal ve kültürel tarihine odaklanmakta; çocukluk ve gençlik, toplumsal cinsiyet, cinsellik, sürgün ve göç, ses çalışmaları ve bilim tarihi gibi konulara özel ilgi duymaktadır. 
Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, Journal of Women’s History, Journal of European Studies ve First World War Studies dergilerinin yayın kurulu üyesidir. Başlıca yayınları arasında Orphans and Destitute Children in the Late Ottoman Empire (Syracuse UP, 2014); Ottoman Children & Youth During World War I (Syracuse UP, 2019); Lives in Fragments: Self-Narrative Sources and Biographical Approaches to the Armenian Genocide (Eren Yetkin ve Adnan Çelik, Berghahn, 2026) bulunmaktadır.
Bu özel akşamı sizinle paylaşmayı sabırsızlıkla bekliyoruz. Katılım her zamanki gibi ücretsiz; ancak hali hazirda devam eden projelerimize destek olacak bağışlarınızdan memnuniyet duyacağız.
 
23 Mart, 18:00–19:30
📍 TAM Museum Lab’da Yüz Yüze ya da çevrimiçi
Dil: İngilizce
Etkinliğimize dilerseniz fiziksel ya da dijital olarak katılabilirsiniz.
⚠️ Kayıt mecburidir.
contact@tam-museum.de

TAM Forum poster by Studio Nana,
using a photograph from the Ateş Dağlı Family Archive showing İsmail Dağlı (kneeling) and colleagues in a tulip garden, Bydgoszcz, 1918 (courtesy of Nazan Maksudyan).

TAM Forum Poster by Studio Nana
unter Verwendung eines Fotos aus dem Ateş Dağlı Familienarchiv, das İsmail Dağlı (kniend) und Kollegen im Tulpengarten, Bydgoszcz, 1918 zeigt (mit freundlicher Genehmigung durch Nazan Maksudyan).

Studio Nana tasarımı TAM Forum afişi. 
Görsel, Nazan Maksudyan’ın izniyle Ateş Dağlı Aile Arşivi’nden alınmış olup 1918 yılında Bydgoszcz’daki Lale Bahçesi’nde İsmail Dağlı’yı (diz çökmüş halde) iş arkadaşlarıyla birlikte göstermektedir.
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