German-Turkish friendship treaty
The German-Turkish friendship treaty ( Turkish: Türk-Alman Dostluk Paktı ) was signed between the Nazi German Reich and Turkey on June 18, 1941 in Ankara by the German ambassador to Turkey , Franz von Papen , and the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs , Şükrü Saracoğlu , signed. It came into force on the same day.
This bilateral friendship treaty , which was supposed to remain in force for a period of ten years, officially lasted until October 24, 1945, when Turkey joined the United Nations (UN). On February 23, 1945, Turkey declared war on Germany and Japan .
Background and historical context
After the start of the Second World War in 1939, Turkish President İsmet İnönü introduced a policy of neutrality , tried to prevent involvement in the war, and asked both sides to be supplied with military equipment. On the other hand, the German Empire tried to turn Turkey away from the United Kingdom through diplomatic efforts .
When Germany was preparing to invade Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941, German troops had already reached the Bulgarian border and demanded permission to pass through Turkish territory ( Eastern Thrace ). On March 1, 1941, Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact , officially joining the Axis Powers .
On March 4, 1941, Franz von Papen brought a letter from Adolf Hitler to İnönü. In his letter, Hitler wrote that "he will not start the war and that he does not intend to attack Turkey". He also emphasized that "he ordered his troops in Bulgaria to stay away from the Turkish border so as not to give a false impression with their presence". Hitler offered Turkey a non-aggression pact .
A military coup d'Etat , the Rashid Ali al-Gailani initiated on 1 April 1941 overthrew the pro-British regime in the Kingdom of Iraq . The four revolting generals worked closely with the German secret service and accepted military aid from Germany. Hitler asked Turkey for permission to pass through its territory to provide military assistance to Iraq. In response to the German request, the Turkish government asked Iraq to assign territories. While the negotiations were in progress, British forces attacked Iraq from April 18, and on June 3, Britain finally restored the regime of Emir Abdul-Illah , regent of four-year-old King Faisal II.
On April 6th, Axis forces attacked Yugoslavia (in Operation 25 ) and Greece (in Operation Marita ) by crossing Bulgaria to secure the southern flank. Yugoslavia capitulated on April 17th. This completed the annexation and occupation of the Balkan region by the Axis powers - without affecting Turkey.
On June 22, 1941, just four days after the signing of the German-Turkish non-aggression pact, German troops invaded the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa ), which aroused fears of a breach of contract in Turkey.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Daily entries for 30th 1941. chroniknet, accessed on 15th May 2011 .
- ^ Nazi-Turkey Pact Reported Ready To Sign. In: Middlesboro Daily News. June 18, 1941, accessed May 15, 2011 .
- ↑ Dr. Mücahit Özçelik: İkinci Dünya Savaşı'nda Türk Dış Politikası . In: ASOS Index . No. 29, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ Chronology 1945. Retrieved April 2, 2017 (English).
- ↑ a b Solak, Cemil: Savunma Tarihimizden Trajik Bir Olay. (No longer available online.) In: arastiralim.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010 ; Retrieved May 15, 2011 (Turkish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Nazi Panzer Spearheads Drive Through British-Greek Defense Line. In: The Pittsburgh Press. April 15, 1941, accessed May 15, 2011 .
- ↑ 18 Haziran 1941 - Türk - Alman Saldırmazlık Paktı imzalandı. (No longer available online.) Almanak TR, June 3, 2010, archived from the original on September 3, 2011 ; Retrieved May 15, 2011 (Turkish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
