Ottoman WW1 In-Kind Donation Receipt for Wounded War Veterans İttihad ve Terakki Club Empire

Ottoman In-Kind Donation Receipt for Wounded War Veterans – Committee of the İttihad ve Terakki Club, Kadıköy

Description:

This original Ottoman Turkish document is a donation receipt issued by the “Committee for Assistance to Wounded Veterans at the İttihad ve Terakki Club in Kadıköy” (Kadıköy İttihad ve Terakki Kulübünde Mecruh Gazilere Muavenet Komisyonu). The committee's purpose was to support wounded Ottoman soldiers returning from the front by helping provide for their treatment and essential needs in hospitals in Istanbul.

During the First World War (1914–1918), civilian relief initiatives and charitable fundraising campaigns became particularly important as the Ottoman Empire faced growing demands on its medical and military support systems. Committees such as this sought assistance from local residents to provide practical supplies for wounded servicemen recovering away from the front.

Rather than requesting only monetary contributions, the committee collected in-kind donations of everyday necessities from charitable residents of Kadıköy and the surrounding area. These supplies included bedding, quilts, underwear, shirts, plates and drinking glasses. Such campaigns demonstrate how civilian communities participated in wartime relief by contributing goods that could be used directly by wounded soldiers.

A particularly interesting feature of this example is that the receipt remains unfilled. The sections intended to record the donor's name, the type of assistance provided and the quantity donated are blank, while the committee's official seal is present. This preserves the document as an unused example of a wartime charitable form rather than a completed record of an individual donation.

For collectors of Ottoman military history, First World War memorabilia and historical charitable ephemera, this document offers a tangible connection to civilian relief efforts in Istanbul during wartime. Its association with the Kadıköy İttihad ve Terakki Club, its purpose of supporting wounded veterans and its surviving official seal make it a particularly interesting piece of Ottoman social and military history.

Key Features:

• Title: Ottoman In-Kind Donation Receipt for Wounded War Veterans

• Issuing Committee: Committee for Assistance to Wounded Veterans at the İttihad ve Terakki Club, Kadıköy

• Original Heading: Kadıköy İttihad ve Terakki Kulübünde Mecruh Gazilere Muavenet Komisyonu

• Document Type: Charitable Donation Receipt

• Purpose: Collection of supplies for wounded Ottoman soldiers receiving treatment in Istanbul

• Historical Context: Civilian relief efforts during the First World War (1914–1918)

• Donation Type: In-kind contributions of essential goods

• Requested Supplies: Bedding, quilts, underwear, shirts, plates and drinking glasses

• Location: Kadıköy, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Documentary Features: Official committee seal

• Unfilled Sections: Donor information, type of donation and quantity remain blank

• Historical Significance: Documents civilian charitable initiatives supporting wounded Ottoman soldiers during wartime

• Collectible Significance: An unused Ottoman wartime relief receipt of interest to collectors of First World War history, Ottoman military ephemera and the social history of Istanbul