modernizationandsecularnationalism”.¹⁹⁸TheformerGeneralMustafaKemal
hadaclearvisioninthisregard:
“Oursoldierscometothebarracksasrawmaterial[hammadde].[...]Theyreturnhome
[frommilitaryservice]enriched,elevated,andstrengthened.Tous,thebarracksisnot
onlytheplaceofmilitaryinstructionbutatthesametimealsoaculturalseedbed
[ocak],aschoolofartand,inthisregard,itaddsanimmensevaluetothenation.”¹⁹⁹IntheReichswehrtheprinciplesofeducationwerequitesimilar.SinceGerman
professionalsoldiersservedupto 12 yearsinsteadofthe 18 monthsoftheTurk-
ishconscripts,therewasplentyoftimetoeducatethemaccordingly.In 19 32,the
headofthearmy,HansvonSeeckt,wroteamemorandumontheeducationof
thoselongservingsoldiers:“Theknowledgeshallnotberestrictedtohis[mili-
tary]task,the[soldier’s]commongeneraleducationshallbeelevatedandtrain
thesoldierforhiswholelifeasavaluableandusefulnationalcomrade[Volks-
genosse].”²⁰⁰
ThePrussianpracticeofregardingthearmyasthe‘schoolofthenation’con-
tinuedafterthereintroductionofmilitaryconscriptionin 1935 .GeneralBlom-
berg,theheadofthenewlyestablishedWehrmacht,definedthetasksofthe
armyasthe“lastandhighestschoolofpatriotic[vaterländisch]education”
wheretherecruitshouldalso“befosteredforhislaterlife”.Aftertheirmilitary
service,theyoungmenweretobeproudto“[have]servedinthetoughest,fair-
est,cleanest,butalsointhemostcomradelyandmostcaringschool.”Lastly,
heretheyouthshouldbeeducated“inthespiritofNationalSocialismandinac-
cordancewiththewilloftheirCommander-in-chief.”²⁰¹MustafaKemal’sview
wasnotquitethatauthoritarian.However,ina 1931 speech,heallocatedalead-
ershiproletotheTurkisharmedforces:
“WhenevertheTurkishnationhaswantedtotakeastepup,ithasalwayslookedtothearmy
[...]astheleaderofmovementstoachieveloftynationalideals.[...]WhenspeakingoftheHale,“TheTurkishRepublicanditsArmy,” 80.
EnverZiyaKaral,Atatürk’tenDüşünceler[ThoughtsfromAtatürk],2nd.ed.(Ankara:Doğuş,
196 2),108.Fortheeducationofmaleconscriptsduringmilitaryserviceintheearlyrepublicin
accordancewiththisspiritseealsoGüvenGürkanÖztan,TürkiyeʼdeMilitarizm:Zihniyet,Pratik
vePropaganda[MilitarisminTurkey:Mindset,PracticeandPropaganda](Istanbul:Istanbul
BilgiÜniversitesiYayınları,2 01 4), 50 – 56.
QuotedafterKarlDemeter,DasDeutscheOffizierskorpsinGesellschaftundStaat 16501945 ,
4thed.(FrankfurtamMain:Bernard&Greafe, 196 5),318.
QuotedafterAbsolon,DieWehrmachtimDrittenReich,vol.3, 9 – 11.
206 4German-TurkishMilitaryCooperationafter 1918