1942: Turkey

Turkey, on the border of Europe and Asia, occupies one of the most strategic positions in the present war. It is situated at the crossroads of the German, Russian and British spheres of action and defense. Therefore its policy is a chief concern of Germany as well as of the United Nations. From the beginning Turkey has been most interested in the preservation of peace and of decent standards of government. She concluded therefore an alliance with Great Britain and France, an alliance aimed against German expansion and against the spread of national socialism. But Germany's great victories in 1940 and especially her conquest of the Balkan peninsula in 1941, which disposed of a well-trained and well-officered but poorly equipped army without many of the modern mechanical weapons of war, induced Turkey to follow a more cautious policy of neutrality and to try to establish a modus vivendi with Germany, yet remaining at the same time faithful to her alliance with Great Britain. Turkey's position was made more difficult by her suspicion of the Soviet Union's alleged wish to annex Constantinople and the Straits. Though Turkey and the Soviet Union had been united by a close friendship for almost twenty years, these good relations had been broken after 1938 by the tortuous and annexational policy which the Soviet Union followed, arousing deep suspicions in all her neighbors, especially Turkey and Iran. Frequent reports were spread from Berlin that the Soviet Union intended an expansion in the Middle East towards the Persian Gulf and India, an expansion which would have threatened the independence and territorial integrity of Turkey. Later on, after Germany had attacked the Soviet Union, and Great Britain and the Soviet Union had concluded an alliance, Berlin propaganda maintained that Great Britain had given the Soviet Union a free hand in Eastern Europe and in Turkey, and that the two powers had come to an agreement at the expense of Turkey.

Relations with the Soviet Union.

The diplomacy of the United Nations during 1942 worked hard to improve the relations between Turkey and the Soviet Union and thus to maintain Turkey's confidence in, and loyalty to, the cause of Great Britain and the United Nations. The British Ambassador to Ankara, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugesson, on his return from Moscow in January 1942, issued a statement that the Soviet Union had no designs upon Turkey and that German reports repeating that Britain had sold out Europe east of the Rhine to Russia and had agreed to Russia's control of the Dardanelles, were childish and fantastic. He assured the Turks that respect for their territorial integrity and neutrality was a guiding principle of British and Russian policy. The appointment of the former United States Ambassador to Moscow, Laurence A. Steinhardt, as American Ambassador to Ankara, was very well received in Turkey where his presence rendered valuable services later on to bring about a renewed understanding between the Soviet Union and Turkey.

But at the beginning of 1942 relations with Soviet Russia were subjected to a serious strain. On Feb. 2, a mysterious attempt was made upon the life of Franz von Papen, the German Ambassador to Turkey, who escaped unhurt. The Turkish police suspected that persons connected with the attempt had found refuge in the Soviet legation. The Turkish police surrounded the Soviet consulate in Istanbul and raided nondiplomatic Soviet offices in Ankara. A complete break in Turkish-Soviet relations was averted only by the willingness of the Soviet representative to surrender the suspected persons. On July 17 two Russians allegedly involved in the throwing of the bomb were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

But as the year went on, relations between the Soviet Union and Turkey improved. By the end of 1942 the Soviet Ambassador Sergei Vinogradoff had become again persona grata. That was partly due to the efforts not only of the British but also of Mr. Steinhardt and of Mr. Wendell L. Willkie, who spent several days in Turkey on the world-tour which took him to Russia and to China. They succeeded in dispelling Turkish mistrust of Russia's postwar ambitions.

Armed Neutrality.

This improvement in the relations between the Soviet Union and Turkey was only a link in the more and more outspoken alignment of Turkey on the side of the United Nations. Factors contributing to this development were the growing strength of the United Nations, especially of Great Britain, Turkey's ally, the great British victories in the Near East, the successful resistance of the Soviet armies, and the great progress made in American armament. With British and American help Turkey was able to equip her army with the necessary modern weapons, so that she was prepared to meet any violation of her territorial integrity. In November 1942 the inability of the German army to capture Stalingrad and Baku and the great British victory over Marshal Rommel's army in Egypt seemed to increase the danger of a German invasion. The President of Turkey, Gen. Ismet Inönü, opened a session of the Turkish parliament on Nov. 1, with a declaration that 'Turkey is closer to war today than at any other time since the present world conflict started.' Characteristically he pointed out that the great German ambition of world domination could not be realized. 'With the war spread over every quarter of the globe, one begins to understand that political institutions founded on domination by a single power cannot be maintained.' He defined as Turkey's aim, freedom for every nation, big and small, loyalty to her alliances and friendships, and adherence to her policy of neutrality. Turkey's neutrality and readiness to defend herself against any German attempt to march through Turkey, was of utmost strategic importance to the United Nations. Her firm policy of watchful, armed neutrality was strengthened by assurances from the United States of an active interest in Turkey's security and independence and her postwar development. Turkey was not only made eligible for American supplies under the lend-lease arrangement, but also received preferred treatment. Her firm position on the side of the United Nations protected the rear of the British position in the Middle East and of the Russian position in the Caucasus.

An important change in the Turkish cabinet happened when on July 8 the Prime Minister, Dr. Refik Saydam, died suddenly of a heart attack. He had become Prime Minister in 1939. Foreign Minister Sukru Saracoglu became his successor as Prime Minister. He was well known for his sympathy with the democratic cause, and his friendship with the Russian ambassador also facilitated rapprochement with the Soviet Union. The Turkish National Assembly on Aug. 5 passed a unanimous vote of confidence in the new cabinet. In his first broadcast the new Premier declared: 'If our territory should be attacked, we should fight to the last man. That is why we keep a strong army ever ready.' On Aug. 13 the former Minister of Justice Numan Menemenioglu was appointed Foreign Minister.

Relations with Germany.

With Germany controlling all the trade routes in Europe and with the difficulty experienced by Great Britain and the United States in delivering goods to Turkey, that country was forced to do a considerable part of her trade with Germany. Yet it is noteworthy that Germany failed repeatedly to deliver important heavy goods to Turkey, while Great Britain continued to deliver locomotives, freight cars and war equipment on schedule and in addition made unscheduled deliveries of wheat to offset a bad Turkish harvest. Germany excused her failure by pointing out that rail-traffic through the Balkans had been frequently interrupted by the destruction of bridges and the need of other repair. One of the most important products of Turkey is chromium which is essential for the manufacture of war material. Until Jan. 15, 1943, the British had by agreement a monopoly on all Turkish chromium which is to be exported, so until then Germany would not be able to obtain any. In September 1942 Turkey concluded an agreement with Germany, according to which, beginning with Jan. 15, 1943, half of the Turkish output of chrome, 45,000 tons yearly, will go to the German Krupp armament factories. But before the shipping of chromium is started Germany must deliver to Turkey assorted ordnance to the value of 18,000,000 Turkish pounds. Should Germany succeed in this, the United States and Great Britain would have to depend on chromium supplied from Africa to cover their own needs.

Internal Affairs.

The Turkish parliament adopted a law of national protection which was aimed at conserving staple foods, eliminating speculation in foodstuffs and tightening police regulations to stamp out fifth column activity. Prices have risen sharply despite efforts to regulate them; war time profiteering and hoarding have increased the difficulties. The first measures of rationing were introduced at the beginning of 1942. The first article to be rationed was bread, each person receiving 375 grams daily and workers doing heavy work, a double ration. Special attention was paid to railroad construction. Turkey wished to construct railways completing the links connecting Turkey with Iran and Iraq, and thus facilitating not only strategic ties with the British and Soviet armies, but also the moving of goods and supplies from the Persian Gulf to Ankara and Istanbul.

1941: Turkey

Turkey faced during 1941 the difficult decision of resisting the German war machine at some given time or trying to play the waiting game of neutrality.

German Threat to Turkey Grows.

The Turkish government during 1940 had given the impression of standing firmly by its alliance with Great Britain and realizing definitely the danger to its liberties which a German penetration of the Balkans and an ensuing encirclement of Turkey might bring about. Nevertheless, during 1941, the Turkish government allowed the occupation of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Greece, all of them in Turkey's defense zone, without any show of resistance. As a result Turkey soon found herself in a most unfavorable position, surrounded in all the approaches through the Balkans, through the Black Sea and through the Aegean Sea, by the German military machine. As a consequence, she began to veer more and more from her status as a non-belligerent ally of Great Britain to that of a neutral power, and ended with the conclusion of a treaty of non-aggression and friendship with Germany. Though it was officially maintained that this treaty in no way abrogated the alliance with Great Britain, and that Turkey was still determined to defend her territorial integrity and her independence against a German invasion, nevertheless, the treaty of friendship opened the way to a softening up process of Turkish public opinion, because the Turkish press and the Turkish radio were forbidden any anti-Nazi remarks, and the Germans pressed successfully for a closer economic collaboration.

Pact with Bulgaria.

This new attitude contrasted sharply with the firmness shown by the Turkish public opinion and press at the beginning of the year, when high-ranking British officers visited Turkey and the two general staffs were in consultation at Ankara. Even when Turkey concluded on Feb. 19 her non-aggression treaty with Bulgaria, the first open manifestation of the weakening of the stand previously taken, Turkey insisted that she retain full freedom of action in the event that Bulgaria would allow German forces to pass through her territory for an attack against Greece. The official Turkish press maintained that the Bulgarian-Turkish non-aggression pact represented an assurance that Bulgaria would not join the Axis and that it actually constituted an obstacle to any German advance through Bulgaria to Greece. At the end of the month the British foreign secretary, Anthony Eden, visited Turkey, where he had lengthy conversations with the leading Turkish statesmen. He was accompanied by the chief of the British general staff, Sir John Dill. After a visit to the president of the Turkish republic, Mr. Eden expressed his confidence that an agreement had been reached on all points on the means of bolstering the British-Turkish alliance against Germany's threatened aggression in the Balkan peninsula. But when the German war machine rolled into Bulgaria by the beginning of March and Bulgaria officially joined the Axis powers, the Turks remained passive.

German Encirclement of Turkey.

On March 4, an urgent personal message from Hitler was delivered to the Turkish president, offering German assistance for the Turkish welfare. The German ambassador, Franz von Papen, was the intermediary between the Turkish and the German governments. No official answer by the Turkish government to the German proposal for a closer collaboration was ever published. When the Germans invaded Yugoslavia and Greece at the beginning of April, the Turks maintained their attitude of neutrality, although this invasion brought the German war machine to the Turkish borders. The evacuation of Greece by the British, and in the following month the evacuation of Crete by the British, completed the encirclement of Turkey by the German forces in the west. The attitude of the Soviet Union, which borders on Turkey in the northeast, seemed doubtful, but Turkish fears were removed by a declaration of neutrality and non-aggression, given by the Soviet Union. On Turkey's southeastern border the situation, however, improved very much, when the British succeeded in suppressing the pro-German government in Iraq and in occupying Syria and later, in collaboration with the Soviet Union, Iran. Thus the British forces had a long common frontier with Turkey, and had the opportunity of coming swiftly to the aid of Turkey, should such aid be needed. On the other hand, it was most important for the British that the Turks hold firmly, not allowing the Germans to use Turkish territory for an attack upon Syria, Iraq or Iran. Such an attack would not only threaten the immensely important oil fields of the Middle East, but also prepare a possible road for the Germans to the Suez Canal and to the Persian Gulf.

Turkish-German Friendship Pact.

The Turkish-German pact of friendship was signed in Ankara on June 18. It was 'inspired by a desire to place relations between the two countries on a basis of mutual confidence and sincere friendship.' The treaty, of ten years duration, pledged both nations to respect the integrity and inviolability of their territories and to take no measure that would be aimed directly or indirectly against the other contracting party. The two countries bound themselves in the future to communicate with each other on all questions of common interest. In a supplementary note, the readiness of the two governments was declared to further the economic relations between them. Simultaneously the wish was expressed that 'the press of both countries as well as their broadcasts will always in their publications and transmissions take account of the spirit of friendship and mutual confidence that characterizes German-Turkish relations.' This new treaty soon brought results in two directions. It allowed Germany to attack the Soviet Union on June 22 fully confident that Turkey would not come to Russia's aid. On the other hand, it led to lengthy economic negotiations. A German mission under Dr. Clodius visited Ankara and was especially interested in Turkish chrome, Turkey being the largest source of this metal next to Russia. While Germany was Turkey's leading customer for chrome in 1939, the whole output in 1940 had gone to Great Britain and France, and Great Britain had assured herself of all Turkish chromium until the beginning of 1943. In the new German-Turkish trade treaty which was signed on Oct. 9 in Ankara, Turkey promised to deliver to Germany 90,000 tons of chromium in 1943 and 1944, out of a yearly output of about 300,000 tons. In exchange, Germany had to deliver war materials to Turkey to the value of 18,000,000 Turkish pounds, including heavy guns and armoured cars, which must be on Turkish soil before the end of 1942. In addition, Germany will deliver heavy machinery, spare parts, motor lorries without tires and dyes. The total amount of economic exchange between the two countries covered by this pact, was fixed at 100,000,000 Turkish pounds.

Turkey's Improved Relations with the Allies.

On Oct. 29 when the Turkish republic celebrated its eighteenth anniversary, the President of the republic, in his address, stressed Turkey's growing military strength, her continued neutrality, but also her determination to defend her territorial integrity. The military parade revealed a great strength of modern war material which had been supplied by the British and Americans, partly under the lend-lease act. But these goods had come to Turkey through Britain. At the end of November President Roosevelt made lend-lease aid directly available to Turkey, thus emphasizing the importance of Turkey for the defense of the common cause of liberty, and perhaps also expressing American confidence that Turkey would honor its pledge of defense against any attempted invasion by Germany. At the same time the apparent failure of the German war machine to make good its often heralded claims of completely annihilating the Russian army and of capturing Moscow and the Caucasian mountains impressed Turkish public opinion. The Turks had been very apprehensive of a possible German invasion of the Caucasian mountains, which would have brought the German army into the rear of Turkey and increased the danger of a British-German clash on land in northwestern Iran, and thus the possibility of a direct Turkish involvement. German control of the western approaches to the Caucasus would have also brought with it the complete domination of the Black Sea, and thus the strategic position of Turkey would have again deteriorated heavily. The growing strength shown by the Russians, the British advance in Libya, and finally, the entrance of the United States into the Second World War in December 1941, all tended to diminish Germany's chances for victory and thus to strengthen Turkey's tie with Great Britain.

1940: Turkey

Turkey, a republic in the Near East, found herself involved as were many other countries, in the meshes of the great war.

In 1939 Turkey had already concluded an alliance with Great Britain and France, and thus entered the year 1940 not as a neutral but as a non-belligerent. In that respect her attitude resembled that of Italy on the other side. At the same time, Turkey was bound to the Soviet Union by ties of a long-standing friendship. The pact between the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany rendered the Turkish position difficult. Thus in 1940 Turkey had to play a careful diplomatic game which was conditioned by five factors: (1) her distrust of Italy's wishes for expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean and of Germany's push southeastward; (2) her reliance upon Great Britain to protect Turkey against this danger; (3) her reliance upon the friendship of the Soviet Union and the latter's interest in not allowing the establishment of hostile control over the Dardanelles; (4) Turkey's membership in the Balkan Entente and her general interest in the preservation of peace and of the status quo in the Balkans; and finally, (5) her interest in maintaining peace in Western Asia, where she has pacts of friendship with neighboring Iran and Iraq and where she does not wish to be outflanked by Syria's falling into hostile hands. With these factors in view, Turkey maintained her alliance with Great Britain intact without entering the war actively, but strengthened her internal defenses and her military preparations, thus remaining one of the strongest elements of order in the chaotic conditions which developed in Southeastern Europe as a result of the new order imposed by the Axis powers.

Turkey entered the year 1940 weakened by the heavy damages caused by an earthquake at the end of December 1939, which devastated large parts of Anatolia along the coast of the Black Sea. Turkish watchfulness against any possible Axis plots led to the discovery of subversive plans of German experts employed at the Turkish navy yards as part of a big sabotage plot. As a result, the Turkish Government dismissed a large number of German technicians and expelled some of the National Socialist experts. Authoritative sources said that the Government had uncovered evidence of a network of German agents ready to perpetrate explosions, train wrecks and other havoc throughout the Near East on a signal from Berlin.

On Feb. 12 Turkey concluded a new trade treaty with Great Britain in an effort to increase commerce between the two nations. Britain was to send airplanes, machinery, and cotton and to receive in return raw materials including tobacco and dried fruit. At the same time Turkey put her economic, financial and military structure in shape to cope with a possible extension of the European war to the Near East in the spring. Prime Minister Refik Saydam declared on Feb. 29 that the relations between Turkey and the Soviet Union had remained unchanged.

The entrance of Italy into the war and the subsequent armistice with France changed the Turkish situation. There was fear of an approaching British defeat and of Italy's advance into Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. It was said that Germany would exercise strong pressure for the formation of a Turkish Cabinet under the pro-Nazi General Ali Ikdam Sabis, who had retired several years before after a dispute with Kemal Ataturk, the leader of Turkey. But the Turkish Government maintained firmly the line of policy which it had followed up to this point. It increased its military preparedness so as to be fully prepared in case of an Axis attack or in case of a Bulgarian advance which was supposed to be imminent with Axis support. Turkey also declared her strong interest in seeing Syria kept free from Axis control.

The enigmatic attitude of the Soviet Union increased the apprehensions of Turkey. Turkey concluded on June 26 an agreement with Iraq for the joint defense of Iraq and the French mandated territory of Syria against any outside attack. Barred by the war activities from the Mediterranean and reluctant to be drawn into the sphere of German economy, Turkey was looking southeastward for new economic connections. In that direction she was helped by the completion of the Baghdad railroad, which connects Scutari on the Bosphorus opposite Istanbul with Baghdad in Iraq, across Anatolia, after the final missing link near Mosul on the Tigris River was completed. Thus it makes Turkey able to use the port of Basra on the Persian Gulf for its commerce. But formidable obstacles remain before this route can really be made useful, while the most natural outlet for Turkish commerce, once the Mediterranean is closed, would be the overland route through the Balkans to Germany.

Germany tried accordingly to improve her trade with Turkey, but the political situation forced Turkey to be wary of the incessant German propaganda and intrigues. During the late summer, Turkey arrested and expelled several German commercial agents under the suspicion that they conducted espionage. Germany also tried to create unfriendly relations between the Soviet Union and Turkey by publishing a White Book alleging that Turkey wished to enter the war in order to attack Russia, a charge that later was recognized as unfounded. Strong pressure was exercised upon Turkey to abandon the alliance with Great Britain.

President Ismet Inonu informed the Turkish National Assembly on November 1 that Turkey would remain loyal to her friendships and that her obligations and ties of collaboration were unshakable. In an important speech he drew the lesson from the fact that Great Britain's resistance against Germany's aggression was unbroken and that Italy had invaded Greece in spite of Greece's efforts to maintain neutrality. He stressed the relations of mutual confidence with the Soviet Union, which have returned to normal friendship after experiencing difficulties caused by outside influences. 'At a time,' he said in conclusion, 'when England carries on a heroic struggle for its existence under difficult conditions, it is my duty to proclaim that the bonds of alliance which unite us to her are solid and unbreakable.' As the result of this speech, which was received with great satisfaction in Great Britain, it was believed that Turkey would not enter the war actively unless first attacked or directly menaced by Bulgaria's participation in the hostilities on the side of the Axis, but that she would on the other hand stand guard over the Straits and the Near Eastern oil fields in the security of which Great Britain is vitally interested. The tone of the Turkish press was outspokenly pro-British and violently anti-Italian. The continuing successes of the Greeks against the Italians during November and December not only pleased the Turks, but seemed to remove the danger of Turkey's immediate involvement. The fact that Bulgaria did not join the Axis officially in November and that she seemed to hold out against German demands for the passage of German troops through Bulgaria, increased Turkish efforts to arrive at an understanding with Bulgaria and to ease the Balkan situation by renewed efforts at a closer cooperation among the Balkan countries. Turkey proceeded quickly with her military preparation, especially after the discovery and smashing of a vast German spy ring in which persons of various nationalities, including Germans and Turks, were involved. The country was put into a state of pre-war preparedness, but the approaching winter which makes military movements in the Balkans almost impossible seemed to point towards a comparative rest until the coming spring. The efforts of the German Ambassador, Franz von Papen, to bring Turkey into the 'new order' proved of no avail. This firm stand taken by Turkey helped definitely to alleviate the situation in the Near East. On Dec. 4, the Turkish and the British governments concluded arrangements to bring about a considerable increase in trade between Turkey and the British Empire. This economic move was destined to counter-balance Germany's economic penetration of the Balkans.

1939: Turkey

The general policy of the Turkish Republic followed during 1939 the lines laid down by the founder of the Republic, Kamal Ataturk, under his successor, President Ismet Inönü. The change of leadership involved, however, a reconstruction of the cabinet. The Parliament was dissolved on January 25, new elections were held, and a new cabinet was formed with Dr. Refik Seydam as president of the Council and with Shükrü Saracoglu, formerly Minister of Justice, as Foreign Secretary. Under this new Cabinet the Turkish Government pursued during 1939 a policy of friendly cooperation with the western democracies.

Franco-Turkish Pacts.

This close cooperation brought its first results in the Franco-Turkish pact of June 23 according to which the Hatay Republic, formerly the district of Alexandretta and a part of Syria under French mandate, was ceded to Turkey. Simultaneously, France and Turkey signed an agreement aiming at reciprocal engagements in the interests of their national security. A similar pact had been concluded already between Great Britain and Turkey in a common effort to establish peace and a feeling of security in the Near East and the Balkans, in which areas Turkey is vitally interested. The cession of Hatay to Turkey further strengthened the bonds between Turkey and the western democracies. In the agreement concerning Hatay, Turkey promised to respect the frontiers of Syria and in no way to engage in any enterprise which might affect the territorial integrity and the internal peace of Syria. With the conclusion of these pacts the policy of Turkey received a new and definite orientation towards peace and democracy, which found its expression also in the exhibits of Turkey at the New York World's Fair in 1939.

Relations with Arabian Countries.

The rapprochement with the western powers brought about also a closer cooperation between Turkey and the Arab lands. The new president of Turkey was generally regarded as less hostile to Islamic traditions than Kamal Ataturk had been. He accepted the Europeanization of Turkey as carried through by his predecessor; but he seemed less inclined to a complete separation from the Islamic past, and therefore more receptive to the idea of Turkey's leadership in the Mohammedan Near East, as already anticipated in the Eastern Pact of Saadabad, which links Turkey with Iran (Persia), Afghanistan and Iraq. The most remarkable development in this respect was the cordial reception accorded to the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of his visit to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. (See also EGYPT.)

Turk-Soviet Relations; Mutual Assistance Pact with Britain and France.

The outbreak of the second great war and the new alliance between Germany and the Soviet Union put Turkey in a very difficult position. For more than eighteen years a close friendship had bound Turkey and the Soviet Union together. On the other hand, Turkey had recently entered into most friendly relations with Great Britain and France. The pact between these countries had been regarded by many as the prelude to a pact between the Soviet Union and the western democracies. In the new situation created by the estrangement between the western democracies and the Soviet Union, Turkey tried very hard at first to preserve her friendship with both sides. The Turkish Foreign Minister visited Moscow in September and stayed there for several weeks; but his efforts to arrive at an understanding with the Soviet Government and at the conclusion of a non-aggression pact failed, in view of the insistence of the Soviet Government that Turkey should close the Dardanelles to Great Britain and France in case of war. The question of support for Rumania in case that country became involved in war played a major rôle also in the negotiations between the Soviet Union and Turkey, as Rumania had received a pledge of support from Great Britain in case of aggression against her, and as Turkey was fundamentally interested in maintaining peace in the Balkan peninsula. The result of the breakdown of Turkey's negotiations with the Soviet Union was the conclusion, on October 19, of a mutual assistance pact between Great Britain, France and Turkey in which France and Great Britain promised help to Turkey in case of aggression of a European power against her; and on the other hand, Turkey promised to assist France and Great Britain in case of a war in the Mediterranean or in case Great Britain and France came to the help of Greece or Rumania. The pact was followed by military conversations in Ankara between the Turkish General Staff and the commanders of French and British forces in the Near and Middle East.

Unsuccessful Negotiations with U.S.S.R.; the Balkan Entente.

The Turkish Government regarded the demands of the Soviet Union as incompatible with the Turkish Government's policy regarding the Dardanelles and with the engagements which Turkey had assumed towards Britain and France. Nevertheless, relations between the two countries remained friendly, and the Turkish Foreign Minister received a most cordial send-off from the Soviet authorities when he left Moscow on Oct. 18, where he had spent twenty-three days in futile negotiations. The President of the Turkish Republic declared in opening the first session of the Sixth Turkish Parliament that Turkey's pact with Britain and France was directed against no other state and would come into operation only if some states sought to violate Turkey's independence or security. He stated that the friendship between the Soviet Union and Turkey rests on a solid basis and that circumstances and obstacles arising from the temporary necessities of the present time must not be allowed to impair the traditional friendship. The pact was ratified on Nov. 8 by Turkey. (See also U.S.S.R.)

To make the peace in the region in which she is most vitally interested more secure. Turkey tried to arrive at a closer understanding with the other Balkan countries and to transform the Balkan Entente into an alliance. Her efforts so far failed on account of dissensions among the Balkan States. Relations with the Soviet Union did not continue as friendly as Turkey had hoped. On Dec. 7, the Turkish press alleged that the German ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, was attempting to provoke a conflict between Turkey and the Soviet Union. The new aggressive policy displayed by the Soviet Union in her attack upon Finland and in her threats against Rumania increased the uneasiness in Turkey in December, which only reflected the general uneasiness of the world. See also BALKAN ENTENTE; RUMANIA.

1938: Turkey

Turkish policy progressed in 1938 along the lines laid out fifteen years ago by Mustafa Kemal. The country continued its internal reforms, its process of industrialization and its speedy building up of an efficient army. The foreign policy of Turkey was based, as it has been constantly since 1920, on a firm friendship with the Soviet Union. At the same time Turkey showed herself most eager for an understanding with Great Britain and for friendly relations with the newly emerging great power of Germany. This three-fold attitude expressed itself in the fact that during the year 1938 Turkey accepted credits from the Soviet Union, from Great Britain and from Germany. These credits were used for speeding up the industrialization and armament program of Turkey.

Neighborly Pacts.

Maintaining her friendly relations with the principal great Powers, Turkey at the same time strengthened the system of neighborly alliances of which she was the pivotal point, the Balkan Pact and the Near Eastern Pact. The Balkan Pact uniting Greece, Yugoslavia, Rumania and Turkey, gained even greater importance after Germany's victory over the Western democracies at Munich and the renewed German pressure towards the Balkans. The Near Eastern Pact including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, besides Turkey, aims at giving Turkey a security on her Asiatic frontiers similar to that offered by the Balkan Pact for her European frontiers.

Autonomy for Alexandretta.

During the past year Turkey was able to achieve her aim of controlling the important district of Antioch and Alexandretta. Since the Peace Treaties, this district has formed a part of Syria and was placed under French mandate with the rest of Syria. Turkey has continuously claimed this adjacent territory where the Turks form about 40 per cent of the population. Protracted negotiations ended in the signing, on July 3, of a Franco-Turkish agreement whereby an autonomous government was established for the district. At the ensuing elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Alexandretta district, the Turks were assured of a majority. The new autonomous state retained only a purely formal connection with Syria. In all other respects it became entirely coordinated with Turkey, accepted the Turkish name of Hatay, derived from the name of the ancient people the Hittites, and adopted a flag very similar to the Turkish flag. All the Turkish reforms in the Islamic religion and in oriental ways of life were introduced into Hatay.

Death of the President.

The most important event in Turkish history during 1938 was the death, on Nov. 10, of the President and founder of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Ataturk, at the age of fifty-eight, after an illness of several months. Kemal, or as he was recently called, Kamal, had assumed office as President of the Republic on October 29, 1923, and had been reelected three times, the last time on March 1, 1935, for another four year period. Born in Salonika, which now forms part of Greece, he had been a successful officer in the Turkish army during the World War. After the War he organized the resistance of the Anatolian peasants against the Greek invasion of Asia Minor and against the ratification of the Peace Treaty of Sevres. He organized the revolutionary government of the Great National Assembly in Angora, a small provincial town in the northern part of Anatolia. From there he succeeded in 1922 in defeating the Greeks, in driving them out of Asia Minor, in reoccupying Constantinople, and in forcing the Allies to declare invalid the Peace Treaty of Sevres and to replace it in 1923 by the Peace Treaty of Lausanne. This Peace Treaty reduced the frontiers of the former Turkish Empire to the territory inhabited by Turks and Kurds, but it established, for the first time, a Turkey homogeneous within her national frontiers and completely independent of all foreign interference and foreign privileges.

Having thus become the liberator of his native country, Mustapha Kemal, as he was then called, set out to modernize his country. His program was the transformation of a backward, agrarian, oriental country into a modern, industrialized, progressive republic. He abolished the Sultanate and Caliphate, proclaimed Turkey a republic and gave her a most modern democratic Constitution. He started a ruthless and successful fight against the Islamic traditionalism of his countrymen. All aspects of life in Turkey were fundamentally changed. The close relations between the Turkish State and the Islamic religion were dissolved; Islam was disestablished and modernized. In Turkish writing, Latin characters were introduced instead of the old Arabic ones; the language was adapted to modern use; a modern and progressive school system was established, and special emphasis was put upon scientific and industrial training. Instead of the existing laws, dating back to the Middle Ages, the most modern European codifications of law were introduced. The whole economic life of Turkey was overhauled. New and more productive methods were introduced into agriculture, modern industries were established, the Turks for the first time created their own banks and shipping companies, built by their own means important new railways, enlarged their existing ports and concentrated their efforts upon the full exploitation of the natural resources of their country.

Behind all these efforts stood the driving energy of Kemal Ataturk who will be recalled by history as not only the founder of the Turkish Republic, but as the man who entirely transformed the social and economic structure of Turkey and the intellectual and moral outlook of its inhabitants. He gave Turkey a new Capital, Angora or Ankara, the population of which has grown from about 20,000 to 125,000, and which he transformed into a city laid out on modern lines with many monumental buildings, parks, statues and public places. It is easy to understand that his death plunged the whole of Turkey into deep sorrow.

The New President.

The Great National Assembly met immediately after Kemal's death and elected ISMET INONE President of the Turkish Republic. The new President was well-known as a general in the Turkish war against the Greeks in 1922. He had been for many years the closest collaborator of Kemal Ataturk and had been Prime Minister for a long time prior to November 8, 1937. Under the new President the Turkish Cabinet, with Bey Jelal Bayar at its head, remained in office. Some minor changes were made, of which the most important was the resignation of Rushtu Aras who had been for many years Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is generally expected that public policy will be continued along the lines laid down by Kemal Ataturk. See also FRANCE; Foreign Relations.