The \'German Spirit\' in the Ottoman and Turkish Army, 1908-1938. A History of Military Knowledge Transfer - Gerhard Grüßhaber

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TowardsaTurkishYouthOrganization


IntheTurkeyof 1937 ,evaluationsforanewnation-wideyouthorganizationdid
notrefertotheOGDmodel.However,likeitspredecessortheneworganization
hadtobecompulsory,startingwithweeklygatherings.Throughtheuseofactive
andreserveofficersandlocalteachers,SaylaviandApakcalculatedthecostsfor
suchanorganizationintheWesternprovincesofİzmir,BalıkesirandKırklareli
asbeinglessthan 350 ,0 00 Liraperannum.²⁶⁶Obviously,twoofthoseprovinces
hadbeenselectedsincetheyhadoncebeenthesitesofpoliticalupheaval(Me-
nemenlaidintheİzmirprovince)orwereconsideredstrategicallyimportantbor-
derland,asinthecaseofKırklareli.LikeinCarlDiem’sproprosal,theannual
campexercisesshouldalsofeaturethehandlingoffirearmsasanintegral
partoftheprogramme.Theauthorswarnedthatthefoundingofanation-
wideyouthorganizationshould not be postponedand shoulddeserveas
muchimportanceasotherelementsoftheTurkishmodernizationproject.If
theTurkishruralyouthwouldnotbeproperlytrained,thenjustlikeinthe
FirstWorldWar,i.e.“[...]likeinthepast,alsointhefuturetheTurkishsoldiers
wouldonlybeabletoconductadefensivewarhavingalimitedoffensivepower
[...]”.²⁶⁷Theauthorsthenconcludedtheirpamphletwithacollectionofquotes
abouttheparamilitaryeducationoftheyounggenerationfromGeneralPétain
(thelaterdicatatorofVichyFrance, 1940 – 194 5),Mussolini,Hitler,Stalinand,
lastbutnotleast,Atatürk.AsobedientKemalists,theauthorsclaimedthat
AtatürkhadobligedthedefenseoftheprinciplesoftherevolutiontotheTurkish
youthinhis 1927 speech,“thereforehedidnotgivetousthetaskofimmediately
educatingtheyouth?”²⁶⁸Intheappendixtotheirplea,theauthorsthengavean
overviewofsimilarproposalsofotherstateandpartyofficials,concludedbyan
overviewofCarlDiem’sreportfrom 1933 .²⁶⁹
CarlDiemhadstayedincontactwiththeTurkishauthoritiesandofferedto
returntoTurkeytoprepareasecondreport,thistimeaboutthefoundationofa
civilschoolforphysicaleducation.²⁷⁰However,in1 93 8theNationalSocialistau-


SaylaviandApak,GençlikTeşkilatıHakkındaRapor,30.
SaylaviandApak,GençlikTeşkilatıHakkındaRapor,37.
SaylaviandApak,GençlikTeşkilatıHakkındaRapor,43.
SaylaviandApak,GençlikTeşkilatıHakkındaRapor,4 7 – 48.
DiemtoColonelCemil,headofthedepartmentforphysicaleducationintheMinistryof
EducationaboutDiem’splannedvisittoAnkarainautumn 1937 ;dated 24 July 1937 .BCAAnkara
490100 K1116D75Sira2Sayfa2.


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