in 1923 ¹⁷⁰andmayhavebeenfuelledbytheKurdishuprisingintheDiyarbakır
provinceinthespringof 1925 andthefearoftheTurkishauthoritiestolosecon-
troloverthecountry.InaproposaltotheofficeofthePrimeMinister,Fevzi[Çak-
mak],theheadoftheGeneralStaff,suggestedastateledyouthsupportedby
armyofficersforteenageboyspriortotheirmilitaryservice.Basedonthe 1923
article,FevziPashareferredtosimilarorganizationsinFranceandPoland,there-
byrepeatingthesilenceontheOsmanlıGençDernekleri.However,Fevzialso
namedtheproposedassociation“GençDernekleri”,areferencetothewell-
knownpredecessororganization.¹⁷¹TheheadoftheGeneralStaffhadenvisioned
theintroductionofvolunteermilitaryinstructioncoursesfor 16 – 18 year-old
boysinstatehighschools.Thosecoursesweretobebasedonthecurriculaof
militaryhighschools,startingwiththefutureeliteofthenation.ThustheTurk-
ishGeneralStaffpleadedforamilitarizedversionoftheyouthorganization,an
ideathatwascounteredbySelimSırrı,whowastheheadofthedepartmentfor
physicaleducationintheTurkishMinistryofEducationsince 1924 .SelimSırrı
wantedayouthorganizationboundtotheschools.¹⁷²Herethechildrenwould
strengthentheirbodyandmindthroughmandatorysportandethicsclasses
(ahlak),sincetheoreticalmilitaryinstructionswouldonlyleadtoanattempt
toimitatesoldiering.ForSelimSırrı,militaryknowledgeshouldberestricted
solelytomilitaryservice.¹⁷³However,thisdebatedidnotcometoanendafter
thedeliveryofthereportsofFevziandSelimSırrı.
SelimSırrı’sviewsseemtohavebeenbasedonhisexperiencesduringthe
FirstWorldWar,whenhehadrealizedthattheideaofamilitarizedyouthorgan-
izationwasinefficientandonlyledtoresistance.Italsopossiblethattheofficial
attheMinistryofEducationfailedtoelicitrespectandsupportforhisopposition
fromtheTurkisharmy.Thisbecameclearinanothercase.In 1926 SelimSırrı
complainedopenlyaboutthegradualprofessionalizationofTurkishsportasso-
ciations,arguingthattheywoulddestroytheamateurspirit.Thereafter,hewas
harshlycriticizedbyarepresentativeoftheMilitarySportsOrganization(Askerî
SporTeşkilatı),eventuallyleadingtoSelimSırrı’sdefactoresignationfromthe
presidencyoftheNationalOlympicCommittee.¹⁷⁴Afterwards,SelimSırrıwith-
Akcan,İttihatveTerakkiFırkası’nın,3 14 – 315.
MustafaBalcıoğlu,“CumhuriyetinİlkYıllarındaGençliğinSavaşaHazırlanmasıileilgiliİki
BelgeİkiGörüş”[TwoDocumentsandTwoViewsonPreparingYouthforWarintheFirstYears
oftheRepublic],AnkaraÜniversitesiTürkİnkılapTarihiEnstitüsüAtatürkYoluDergisi 5 – 20
(1997), 46 7.
Balcıoğlu,“CumhuriyetinİlkYıllarında,” 47 1.
Balcıoğlu,“CumhuriyetinİlkYıllarında,” 47 3.
İstanbulluoğlu,TürkiyeMilliOlimpiyatKomitesi’nin,24.
138 3German-Ottoman/TurkishCooperationintheMobilizationofYouth