Mashad in Iranian 1953 Coup

A Bibliography

Gholamreza Azari Khakestar
Translated by: Abbass Hajihashemi

2015-8-22

The Masahdi community played an active role in the political and social events that took place in Iran between August 1941 and August 1953; the former is marked as the year of Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and the latter is the year of the Iranian coup d'état. The city's open space for political activities prior to the coup could be seen in the formation of numerous groupings, clubs and communities as well as circulation of newspapers across the city. Mashad is one of Iran's cities that abound with historical events that are reflected in their press releases, memoirs, oral histories and archives. Not a single book has so far been published with focus on the city's events during the coup, but a review of some references in this regard would be a major help to the interested researchers who want to learn about the issue for furthering their studies.

The following is a review of references for studies on 1953 events in the northeastern city of Mashad.

Dailies

Daily papers chronicled events before and after the coup. They offered veritable details about the incidents contemporary with the 1953 coup in Iran. Numerous newspapers circulated in the city of Mashad at that time. They entailed news feeds and analyses which lubricated the course of the coup. Here are the papers:

Azadi (liberty), with Mahmoud Fatemi-Zadeh as its managing editor. The daily contained literary, ethical, social, political, and historical articles. It was published contemporary with the coup and covered the latest news about events.

Rastakhiz Adl (Resurrection of Justice--managing editor: Mahmoud Fatemi-Zadeh): The paper chiefly covered the coup's news in the city of

Mashad.

Atlas Daily was another newspaper whose headquarters was located at Arg Alley (a famous neighborhood in Mashad). The paper was owned by Hassanali Zarabi and was managed by Hamid Sho'aei. It was also in publication at the time of the coup. Many of the coup's updates and reports were covered by the paper every day.

Khorasan Daily was another newspaper whose first issue released on Wednesday, June 21, 1946. Its managing editor was Mohammad Sadegh Tehranian and covered articles on Mashad and other cities of Khorasan province.

Zarrin (Golden) was run under Ghasem Zarrin Nega as its managing editor. The paper was contemporary with the coup. It was owned by Qamar Ebrahimi.

There were a number of other papers that were published during the days of the coup.

Memoirs

Memoirs account for must-see resources for conducting historical research studies on the coup. Many political figures have penned their memories of events which set the ground for the coup's happening in Mashad:

The Motive: Memories of Maj. Qolamhussein Baqiei (1921-2009). This book includes valuable details about the coup and its impact on the social life in the city of Mashad. Baqiei was a People's Party activist. His book was written nearly a decade after the coup but was published in 1994 by Rasa Cultural Services Institute. The work is viewed as an important, reliable resource on the subject.

From the Palace Garden to the Palace of Wishes: Memories of Abdolmajid Majid Fayaz (1910-2006), former member of People's Party and owner of Harmand Khorasan daily. A section of the memories collected in the book highlight the coup in Mashad. The work was released by Kavir Publications in Tehran in 2010.

Here is another title that reviews the coup's aftermaths from a novel angle: From the Community of Quranic Followers to the Hojjatiyeh Club, interviews with Heidar Rahimpour (Azqadi); Formation of Religious Circles from August 1941 until the Present Era. This book briefly accounts on the 1953 coup in Mashad. The 183-page work was published by Tarh Farda Publications in 2009.

Theses

Jamshid Qashang, researcher, defended his MA thesis in 1997 at the Literature Faculty of Ferdowsi University in Mashad. Entitled as "Mashad and the

August 18 Coup", the thesis was penned under renowned contemporary scholar Hussein Elahi Qomshei. For its completion, Qashang referred to a bulk of newspapers, documents and oral history accounts. This is the first independent work with direct focus on the coup in Mashad.

Oral History Interviews

A collection of interviews gathered at the Oral History Division of Archives Center of the Organization of Astan Qods Razavi Libraries is an important reference for reviewing the history of the coup in Mashad.

In effect, the interviews are answers to questions about Mashad's state during the days of the coup. The respondents have provided sufficient grounds for their remarks in the interviews. The author of "Mashad and the August 18 Coup" has copiously referred to these interviews during the course of his thesis. Interviews with more than 30 political figures and eye-witnesses have been referred to during the thesis.

Some of the figures were: Esmaeil Amouzegar, Hassan Akhlaqi, Taher Ahmadzadeh, Ali Amirpour, Ebrahim Zehbi, Qolamhussein Baqiei, Hamzeh Vahdat Farimani, Ebrahim Soleimani, Rahim Qafourian, Ali Akbar

Tafqadi, Seyyed Abulhassan Sareshtehdar and Abbas Qadiri Qassaban.

Documents

Some of the events during the coup are reflected in documents. The Archives Center of Astan Qods Razavi enjoys relevant documents about the coup. Many of the documents are directly focused on the city's wellbeing during the coup.

A segment of resources on the coup must be traced in judicial courts where individuals were tried after the coup on numerous charges. The reading of such documents may give one an impression of what was the case in the city of Mashad and what led to the destruction and looting of department stores and movie theaters after the coup.