thoritiesrefusedtoissueatravelpermitformorethanthreemonths,asthey
neededDiemtopreparethe 1940 OlympicWinterGamesinGermany.²⁷¹
NowitwasuptotheTurkishsidetotakefurtherstepsonitsown.Withthe
passingoflawnumber 3530 ,theDirectorateGeneralofPhysicalEducation
(BedenTerbiyesiGenelMüdürlüğü)wasfounded.²⁷²Itwasheadedbytheactive
GeneralCemilCahirTaner.Itsmaintaskwasthecoordinationofparamilitary
andsportsactivitiesinTurkey,therebyserving“nationalandrevolutionary
aims”.²⁷³Theratherimpreciseparagraphfourofthelawwastobethelegalfun-
damentforcompulsoryphysicalandparamilitaryinstruction,sincethelatter
wouldservethedefenseofthecountryandtherulingpoliticalregimealikein
timesofgrowingthreatofwarinEurope.²⁷⁴Nevertheless,theplannedsizeof
theorganizationwasnotachievedduetobudgetrestrictionsafterthemobiliza-
tionofthearmyduringtheSecondWorldWar.In 194 1,therewerenearly90, 000
youngpeoplebetweentheageof15and 20 thatwereactiveinoneoftheclubs
underthecontroloftheBedenTerbiyesiGenelMüdürlüğü.²⁷⁵However,thiswas
onlyhalfoftheproposedsizeinDiem’sreport.
Conclusion
TheOttomanyouthorganizationsclearlydrewonavarietyofdifferentEuropean
sources.TheGermanelementneverdominated,butwasveryrecognizabledur-
ingthewartimeduetothealliancewithGermany.Inbothcountries,thoseor-
ganizationsservedthegoalofhomogenizingthesocietytowardsa‘nationin
arms’inthesenseofColmarvonderGoltz.Butinbothcases,thetimewas
tooshortforbothassociationstogaingroundwithintheirsocieties,especially
duringwartime.
Thecircumstancesoftheirdevelopmentwerequitedifferent.WhiletheBJD
couldcountonayouthwithasufficientprimaryeducation,thisfactorwasnota
givenintheOttomanEmpire.Here,theOGDhadtocarryoutpioneeringworkin
thetruestsenseoftheword.
Becker,CarlDiemsLeben,vol. 3 ,1 67.
Akın,GürbüzveYavuzEvlatlar,1 58 – 17 0.
LawNo. 3530 ,T.C.ResmiGazete, 29 June 19 38, 10300.
SeeKadriYaman,“MemleketMüdafaasıveRejimBakımındanGençlikTeşkilâtıveSpor”
[TheYouthOrganizationandSportseenfromthepointofDefendingtheCountryandtheRe-
gime],BedenTerbiyesiveSpor 1 – 11 (1939), 13 – 14.
Akın,GürbüzveYavuzEvlatlar,168.
158 3German-Ottoman/TurkishCooperationintheMobilizationofYouth