ThecommonroominthebarrackswastheGermanofficers’mess,thecasi-
no,whereunmarriedofficershadtheirmeals.IntheopinionofLieutenantMus-
tafa,thisinstitutionwaslikeafamily.¹¹¹Thecasinowasaplacetosolvesmall
issuesofdailyserviceviaunofficialchannels.Itwasalsoaplaceforregular
gatherings.Itisinthiscontextthatthegarrisoncommanderassembledhis
mento“imbue[durchdringen]themwithuniformspirit.”¹¹²Thecasinowas
thusanimportantplaceforindoctrinationandtheformationofteamspirit
amongsttheofficersaswellasapopularvenueforwildandconvivialdrinking
revelries.
TheeffectsoftheindoctrinationoftheGermanofficersandOttomanstagers
arevisibleinAl-Askarismemoirs.InthecriticismbyacontemporaryGermanau-
thor,thecasinowasaplaceofreactionarymindsetfortheofficercorps:
“Conservativemindsetismostlyseenasself-evidenthere.Withthemilitarytheyunder-
standlessofpolitics,butthereistheprejudicethat[...]theSocialDemocratsaresevere
criminals.[...]Here[intheCasinotheofficer]learnsthata‘decenthuman’inPrussiaiscon-
servative,sinceallofthegentlemenacceptedinthecasinoaremoreorlessconserva-
tive.”¹¹³Itwas,therefore,notsurprisingthatCaferAl-Askari,wholaterjoinedthe‘sub-
versive’ArabrebellionagainsttheOttomanstate,supportedtheviewoftheSo-
cialDemocratmovementas“subversiveactivities”.Itwaspartoftheofficer’sdu-
ties to“protect the armyfrom the contagion ofsuch dangerous political
doctrines.”ForAl-Askari,exhaustingregularfieldexerciseswerenecessaryto
“fatiguethe troops” in orderto prevent their preoccupation withsocialist
ideas.¹¹⁴
AppropriationbetweenAssimilationandSelf-Denial
DuringtheirtimeinGermany,someoftheOttomanofficersbegantoappropriate
partsoftheworldviewoftheirsurrounding.Theyevenacceptedhumiliatingsitua-
tionsandclaimedthattheirGermansuperiorshadapointinbehavingthatway.
İsmailHakkı[Okday],sonoftheOttomanforeignministerAhmedTevfik,had
Mustafa,“AlmanOrdu’daMüşahedatım,” 390 – 39 3.
FriedrichvonBernhardiquotedafterBreit,Gesellschaftsbild,29.
LotharEngelbert-Schücking,“DerEinflußdesReserve-OffizierskorpsaufdiepolitischeGe-
sinnunginPreußen,”inDieReaktioninderinnerenVerwaltungPreußens(Berlin:n.p.,1908),
28 – 29.
Al-Askari,ASoldier’sStory,32.
52 2ThePeakofKnowledgeTransfer