Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha, and Djemal Pasha

Known as the Young Turks, Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha, and Djemal Pasha were a trio of leaders who overthrew Abdul Hamid II and promised a new age of reform for Christian minorities. Talaat Pasha was a Bulgarian gypsy, who was raised as a peasant, and who rose to power as the Minister of the Interior. Djemal Pasha was Minister of the Marine, with a background in military. Enver, also in the Turkish military, was more like Napoleon than Hitler, in that he was pleasant and dapper. He believed he was destined by God to restore Turkey to glory. By 1913, Talaat had ordered a boycott of Greek merchants and the firing of Greek employees. Because the business of Turkey rested in the hands of minorities, the Young Turks sought to restore power to the Turkish people through the demise of all minorities. Pan-Turkism advocated the racial purity of Turkey, and served as propaganda for the annihilation of the Armenian population.