inde],however,theimpertinenciescommittedbysomeofthemwhoweretobefoundinour
landcreatedadistancetowardstheGermans.”⁶¹ErkinthenturnedtotheneedforarealreformoftheOttomanarmyandtherea-
sonsforwhyinternalOttomanfrictionhadledtotheacceptanceofaGerman
militarymission:
“Weneithersawthebadoutcomes,whytoundertakeareform,wheretomakechangesin
theinstructionswehadathand,norwheretomakeextensionstothem.[...]Howeverbe-
causeofwe[theOttomanofficers]couldnotabideeachother,andwedeliberatelydidnot
likewhattheothersdid,andingeneralwedidnothaveafullself-confidence,fromthis
pointofviewIsawthatwewereobligedtoaccepttheneedforaGermanmilitarymission
forourselves.”⁶²ThiswasanabsolutelyopenstatementinErkin’smemoirsanditwasonlypos-
sibleduetoitsverylatepublication.Sinceitwasdangerousforveteranofficers
tocriticallyremarkontheirwartimefellowofficersduringthesinglepartyperi-
od,manyotherOttomanofficersrefrainedfromwritingaboutthosetopicsor
fromwritingatall.KazımKarabekirwascarefulenoughtoavoidthistrapby
pointingtothedeceasedEnverPashaastheinternal‘evilman’.⁶³Aliİhsan
Sabis,whohadtomakealivingfromprofessionalwritingafterhismilitaryca-
reer,wasinserioustroublesoonafterthepublicationofhismemoirs.In 1943
thereweresevendefamationsuitsbylivingpersonsortheirrelatives(likeBehçet
Cemal,thesonofCemalPasha)whofeltoffendedbyrathernegligibleremarksin
Sabis’memoirs,amongthemalsoformerofficersasHalilKutandFalihRıfkı
Atay.TheargumentwiththejournalistHüseyinCahitYalçınwasevenfought
inapublicdebatepriortothetrial.⁶⁴In 194 3Sabiswasacquittedonthecondi-
tionthatthesecondvolumeofhismemoirswastobeconfiscatedtopreventfur-
therupheaval.Itcouldonlybepublishedaftertheendofthesinglepartyperiod
intheearly1950s.Finally,inasecondtrialin 1944 ,Sabis,“amandistinctlypro-
Nazi”⁶⁵,wassentencedto 15 monthsimprisonmentfortherenewedpublication
Erkin,Hâtırat,1 30.
Erkin,Hâtırat,1 30.
Onthiscommonpostwarstrategyofdenyingtheownpro-GermansentimentsseeAksakal,
TheOttomanRoadtoWarin1 914 ,1 90.
SeehisarticleagainstYalçın’saccusations,wherehementionedthelatter’swartimePro-Ger-
manwritings.AliİhsanSabis,“MeineAntwortanHüseyinCahitYalçın,”TürkischePost,24Sep-
tember 194 3.
EdwardWeisband,TurkishForeignPolicy 1943 – 1945:SmallStateDiplomacyandGreatPower
Politics(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress, 1973 ), 80.
174 4German-TurkishMilitaryCooperationafter 1918