senseofcommunity”¹⁰⁸withintheOGDgroups.TheOGDwerefoundedafterthe
persecutionandexpulsionoftheArmenianpopulationandatatimewhenten
thousandsofMuslimmuhacırrefugeefamiliesfromtheformerlyOttomanBal-
kanprovinceshadsettledinAnatolia.¹⁰⁹Wethusdefinitelyhavetoseetheap-
propriated‘GermanSpirit’inthiscontext,sinceforHoff,theOGD“[...]likeour
Germanone[theBJD]followswillinglytheleader[Führer],whoknowshowto
understandandleadthemcorrectly.”¹¹⁰
Hoff’sReturnandtheEndoftheOsmanlıGençDernekleri
Despiteallthesesuccessstories,therewerealsodevelopmentsthatwerenot
mentionedinHoff’slaterpublicationsabouttheOGD.Onapersonallevel,
thereweremanycivilianandmilitaryactorswhointerferedwithHoff’sefforts.
TheministerofeducationwasastrongopponentoftheOGDplansandfeared
a“militarizationoftheyouth”.¹¹¹However,Hoffhadastrongintercessorinthe
OttomanMinistryofWar.TheGermanviceheadoftheOttomanGeneralstaff,
FriedrichBronsartvonSchellendorf,supportedHoffspleasinhisregularmeet-
ingswithEnver.¹¹²Butthequarrelscontinued,nevertheless.Hoff,whoasanof-
ficerwasusedtounquestionedobedience, complainedin asemi-offensive
speechintheKadıköybranchofthenationalistTürkOcağıinSeptember 1916 :
“ShouldTurkeyfollowmyinstructions,shewillthenmakeprogresswithheryouth,butif
everyonewhoisinexperiencedismakingadifferentproposalandalwayssomethingnewis
beingstarted,thentherewillneverbeanysuccess.[Therewillonlybesuccess]ifTurkey
listenstoourlessons,readsourwritings,educatestheyouthalongthelineoftheGençDer-Hoff,“DieosmanischeJugendorganisation,” 12 8.HoffwasawareofthenationalistTurkish
spirit;seehisdiaryentryentitled“DieTürkeidenTürken!”[TurkeyfortheTurks!], 20 December
1916 .HStAStgtM660/1 15 Nr.2,1 1 – 18.
OnthesettlementpolicyofMuslimrefugeesseeFuatDündar,İttihatveTerakki’nin
MüslümanlarıİskânPolitikası,1 913 – 1918 [TheMuslimSettlementPolicyoftheCommitteefor
UnionandProgress, 1913 – 1918](Istanbul:İletişim, 20 01).Seeespeciallyibid. 198 – 20 1onthe
cancellationoftheearly1 91 4Muslimrefugee’sexemptionfrommilitaryserviceduringthe
war.OntheactivitiesoftheOGD(mistakenlyreferredtoasthe“OsmanlıDinçCemiyeti”)in
thoseareasseeDündar,ModernTürkiye’ninŞifresi,6 7 – 68 andZürcher,“DemographicEngineer-
ing,StateBuildingandtheArmy,” 538 – 540.
Hoff,“DieosmanischeJugendorganisation,” 130.
Hoff’slettertoBronsart,14May 1916 .HStAStgtM660– 115 Nr.55.
BronsartʼsreplytoHoff, 14 May1 916 .HStAStgtM660– 115 Nr.55.
126 3German-Ottoman/TurkishCooperationintheMobilizationofYouth