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Nationalist Mobilization and State–Society Relations: The People's Houses' Campaign for Turkish in Izmir, June–July 1934

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 49; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00263206.2013.811653

1743-7881

Αλέξανδρος Λάμπρου,

Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics

Abstract This article studies the campaign against the use of non-Turkish languages that was organized by local forces in Izmir in 1934. In contextualizing the campaign within domestic politics and state–society relation, the article attempts to study domestic politics through a local perspective and explore the impact that similar events in the periphery had in the centre's policies, which the literature is usually inclined to comprehend solely with reference to state 'high politics'. The article argues that cases of autonomous mobilization from below, such as the 1934 Izmir campaign, contributed to the evolution of the Turkish political regime in the 1930s by turning the centre towards decisions that would redesign the relationship between the state and the ruling party, and have an impact on state–society relations. Notes 1. S. Cagaptay, Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey. Who is a Turk? (London: Routledge, 2006); idem, 'Race, Assimilation and Kemalism: Turkish Nationalism and the Minorities in the 1930s', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.40 (2004), pp.86–101; S. Aslan, 'Citizen, Speak Turkish! A Nation in the Making', Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Vol. 13 (2007), pp.245–72. 2. F. Üstel, İmparatorluktan Ulus Devlete Türk milliyetçiliği: Türk Ocakları 1912–1931 (Istanbul: İletişim, 1997), pp.186, 200, and 239–41. 3. Aslan, 'Citizen, Speak Turkish', pp.251–2; H. Nahum, Juifs de Smyrne XIXe–XXe siècle (Paris: Aubier, 1997), pp.197–8. 4. In the 1930s the readership of nationalist journals, such as Orhun and Milli İnkılap, included students and teachers. G. Özdoğan, Turan'dan Bozkurt'a: tek parti döneminde Türkçülük 1931–1946 (Istanbul: İletişim, 2001), pp.215–28. 5. Ç. Okutan, Bozkurt'tan Kuran'a. Milli Türk Talebe Birliği (Istanbul: Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2004), pp.25–68; M. Taylak, Saltanat, II Meşrutiyet ve I Cumhuriyet'te Öğrenci Hareketleri (Ankara: Başhur, 1969), pp.102–27, 147–8. 6. K. Karpat, 'The People's House of Turkey: Establishment and Growth', Middle East Journal, Vol.17 (1963), pp.55–67. 7. 'Halkevinde bir toplantı. Türk Memleketinde Türkçe Hakim olacaktır', Anadolu, 8 March 1934. 8. Halkevi chairman (Akömer) to Izmir police, No. 67, 7 April 1934, in Turkish state archives (TC Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri), BCA CHP, 490.1/836.303.1. Henceforth, unless otherwise stated, all correspondence cited is from the same file. 9. Halkevi chief to party general secretary Recep Peker, 14 July 1934; 'Ülkümüz yolunda', Anadolu, 12 June 1934. The cards were printed beforehand by the Halkevi and contained small sentences condemning the use of other languages: Yurttaş Türksen Türkçe Konuş (Citizen: if you are a Turk speak Turkish), Türk'ü Seven Onu Sayar Türkçe Konuşur (Those who love the Turk respect him/her and speak Turkish), Türkçe'den Başka Dil Konuşmak Türk'ü İncitir (Speaking languages other than Turkish insults the Turk). 10. 'The prohibition by the Halkevi of non-Turkish languages, especially Greek, which is spoken everywhere, was entrusted to fanatical students who caused numerous incidents'. Gogos, Izmir Consul to Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry, 22 Jan. 1935, (Diplomatic and Historical Archive of the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry) AYE/1935/B/2/T. 11. Deputy Governor Saip to Interior Ministry, No. 1783, 18 July 1934. Two women from Malta were beaten. 12. Akömer to Peker, 14 July 1934. Doğan, the party chairman in Izmir, also reported attacks against Cretan and Bosnian Muslims, and foreigners, and the incident with the Italian nationals that caused the Italian consul to complain to the Izmir governor. 13. The Halkevi chairman (Akömer to party general secretary, 14 July 1934), the party chairman (Doğan to Peker No. 662, 25 July 1934), and Izmir's governor (Dirik to Interior Ministry, No. 4327, 21 July 1934) also report violent incidents by youths against Jews, Greek-speaking Cretan Muslims and foreigners. 14. Reports of French consul, 17 July 1934; Italian consul, 17 July 1934, 25 July 1934 and 24 Aug. 1934, in R. Bali, 1934 Trakya Olayları (Istanbul: Kitabevi, 2008), pp.269–72; and American consul, 24 July 1934, in D. Güven, 6–7 Eylül Olayları. Cumhuriyet Dönemi Azınlık Politikaları ve Stratejileri Bağlamında (Istanbul: İletişim, 2003), pp.102–3. 15. Italian consul to Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry 24 Aug. 1934, in Bali, Trakya, pp.269–72. The Jews of Urfa left their hometown in 1946–47 after a local boycott. R. Bali, Devlet'in Yahudileri ve 'Öteki' Yahudi (Istanbul: İletişim, 2004), pp.439–46. 16. Gogos to Foreign Affairs Ministry, Athens, 22 Jan. 1935, AYE/1935/B/2/T; Bali, Trakya, pp.269–72; and Güven, 6–7 Eylül Olayları, pp.102–3. 17. 'Özrü kabahati kadar büyük! Hem Yahudice konuşmuş, hem de yumruk atmış', Anadolu, 31 July 1934; 'Çocuk Kavgaları Büyüklere Sirayet Etti. Asansör Civarında Evvelki Akşam iki aile döğüştüler', Yeni Asır, 18 July 1934; 'Asansör'de bir Vak'a. İbrahim Efendi ve zevcesi Yaralıdılar. Hadise Dün Mahkemeye İntikal etti ve Serbest Bırakıldılar', Anadolu, 18 July 1934; 'Dayak Davası', Milli Birlik, 21 July 1934; 'Türkçe konuşmak istemiyormuş', Milli Birlik, 17 July 1934. Those reacting might also face persecution: 'Civil servant Hüseyin Effendi and his wife Mrs Zekiye seeing that Roza Şavol and Keli were speaking Hebrew in public, politely warned them to speak Turkish. Offended, Roza and Keli insulted Turkishness. Legal proceedings against them have commenced', in 'Türkçe Konuşmamak Yüzünden', Yeni Asır, 15 July 1934. For this method of persecution see C. Koçak, 'Ayın karanlık yüzü: Tek-Parti döneminde gayrimüslim azınlıklar hakkında açılan Türklüğe tahkir davaları', Tarih ve Toplum, Vol.1 (2005), pp.147–208. 18. Akömer to Peker, No.134, 25 July 1934. 19. Akömer to Izmir Police, No.67, 7 April 1934. 20. 'Ülkümüz yolunda', Anadolu, 12 June 1934. 21. Akömer to Izmir Police, No.94, 17 June 1934 and to Peker, No.88, 13 June 1934. The report to the CHP is very vague: 'the decisions of the general committee that were taken in order to safeguard the progress of our language and make it dominant in our country, which I have reported earlier, have started to be enacted this week'. 22. In 1935 the language of 12.6% of Izmir population was other than Turkish (7.5% Ladino, 2.6% Greek, and 2.5% other languages). An additional 10% spoke a second language other than Turkish. Both categories make 23% of the population not exclusively – or even at all – speaking Turkish. TC Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Direktörlüğü Genel nüfus sayımı 1935, İzmir Vilayeti, Vol.29 (Istanbul: Hüsnütabiat Basımevi, 1937), pp.20, 28–9, 45–53. Non-Turkish speakers might also declare Turkish as their only language: L. Mallet, La Turquie, les Turcs et les Juifs. Histoire, représentations, discours et stratégies (Istanbul: Isis Press, 2008), p.244. 23. For the disappointment of Turkish nationalists see T. Muşkara, İzmir ve Karşıyaka Anıları (Izmir: Tükelmat, 1998), p.48; Yaşar Nabi, 'İzmir', Ulus, 2 Sept. 1935. 24. Akömer to Peker, 14 July 1934. In italics are the parts underlined by the person who read the report in Ankara. 25. Ibid. 26. 'Türkçe Konuşturma Faaliyetleri. Sporcular, Cemiyetler de Alakadar olacaklar', Anadolu, 5 July 1934. 27. C. Akömer, 'Dil Savaşı İzmirde Yahudi düşmanlığı lafzan bile mevzubahs olmamıştır', Yeni Savaş, 12 July 1934. 28. Phrases in italics are underlined in the original; those underlined are circled by the reader in Ankara. All extracts from report of 14 July 1934. 29. Ibid. 30. Akömer wrote that 'struggles to stop the use of other languages were occasionally undertaken since 1908'. The continuities go well beyond organizational similarities to cadres. Çarıklı, the Izmir party leader in 1931–34, was in 1914 the vice-governor of Çeşme who 'did not hesitate to execute terrorizing operations to speed up the fleeing of local Greeks to Greece', as his son and biographer writes. The 'operations' included murder, the burning of churches and monasteries, and the placing of responsibility 'on rowdy Greeks' (palikarya). T. Çarıklı, Babam Hacim Muhittin Çarıklı. Bir Kuvay-ı Milliyecinin Yaşam Öyküsü (Istanbul: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınevi, 2005), p.27. 31. Even the wording is identical with the first known boycott in 1908: teşhir ve boykot. D. Çetinkaya, 1908 Osmanlı Boykotu. Bir toplumsal Hareketin Analizi (Istanbul: Iletişim, 2004), p.227. 32. When two 'Halkevi youths' were arrested, he visited the public prosecutor to explain that they were innocent. Akömer to Peker, No.130, 21 July 1934. 33. İ. Hakkı, 'Türkün Asaleti. Taşkınlıklara asla müsait değildir', Yeni Asır, 8 July 1934; İ. Hakkı, 'Kültür Birliği Mücadele Ağır Başlı Şuurlu Ellere Verilmelidir', Yeni Asır, 18 July 1934; 'La Presse Locale, On Parle le turc en Turquie', Le Levant, 20 July 1934. 34. In a conversation with the Greek ambassador regarding the prohibition of Greek by the Tenedos municipality and the 'wrath of the Turkish press against the minorities', Foreign Affairs Minister Aras stated that the verbal attacks mainly target the Jews who insist upon using French without having any excuse for that, and the Cretan Muslims who continue fanatically using Greek. Raphael to Foreign Affairs Ministry, Athens, 10 Nov. 1936, No.2796. As for Interior Minister Kaya: 'The newspapers turn against Jews because their behaviour in a state that is their only motherland has become unbearable. As for the prohibition of Greek in Tenedos it was the result of a misunderstanding of a directive by the Interior Ministry sent to prefectures that asked statistical information about the Jews residing in their district and recommended every effort to make them speak Turkish. As there are no Jews in Tenedos the mayor thought that similar measures should be taken in relation to Greeks as well.' Raphael to Athens, 26 Dec. 1936, No.3386. Both reports in AYE/1939/20/B/8/T. 35. Cagaptay, Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism, p.139. Consider what the Şükrü Kaya told the Greek ambassador about the Istanbul Greeks: 'It is an extravagant notion to think that Turkey will ever find in the Istanbul Greeks – as you said – loyal and dedicated elements. They are good citizen-Turks as long as the Turkish–Greek relations are good. If not, they will be, as they have always be, good Greeks.' Raphael to Greek consulate, Istanbul, 24 April 1937, No.1468. AYE/1939/20/B/8/T. 36. Mussolini's declaration in March 1934 of Italy's historical ambitions in Asia and Africa was particularly alarming, but the Italian threat was felt as early as 1926–28, if we believe what Turkish diplomats were reported confiding to German officials. C. Kocak, Türk – Alman İlişkileri 1923–1939. İki Dünya Savaşı Arasindaki Dönemde Siyasal, Kültürel, Askeri ve Ekonomik İlişkiler (Ankara: TTK Basımevi, 1991), pp.26–7, 31. The invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and the fortification of the Dodecanese in 1934–36 was also a cause for anxiety. W. Hale, Turkish Foreign Policy 1774–2000 (London: Frank Cass, 2000), pp.61–3. 37. Hale, Turkish, pp.59–69. 38. E. Ülker, 'Assimilation, Security and Geographical Nationalization in Interwar Turkey: The Settlement Law of 1934', European Journal of Turkish Studies, Vol.7 (2008), §2. 39. 'Türkçe'den Başka Dil Konuşanlar. Yeni Kanun Dün Vilayete Tebliğ Edildi', Anadolu, 4 July 1934. 40. Saip to Interior Ministry, 18 July 1934. 41. The latest and most comprehensive work is Bali, Trakya. The Jewish population of Thrace never recovered from the events. The exodus continued as a result of local boycotts and pressure. In July 1936 the Greek Ambassador informed Athens that the 'propaganda against the use of languages other than Turkish has gone to extremes in certain towns in Thrace where the municipalities have issued wall charts that warn the public of fines to those speaking languages other than Turkish. The measures are targeting the Jew element and Cretan Muslims'. Report No.1752, 2 July 1936, of R. Raphael AYE/1936/13.4. The Greek consul in Edirne wrote, 'Jews are still viewed with suspicion and … a muffled boycott by the Turks continues. The pressure against the very few Bulgarian families remaining in Kırkkilise to leave without taking anything of their belongings is also part of the same plan. The prohibition of the use of other languages [than Turkish] that has been propagated since 1934 was realized with the application of fines … There is also a systematic instruction of the local population regarding its own responsibilities as a border population, which is done in small gatherings usually at night by men of the People's Party and intellectuals. During the instruction it is stressed that the Turks must be suspicious of non-Turks and foreigners.' 'Report on the Situation in Eastern Thrace' by E. Papandreou to Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry, No.172, 15 July 1936. AYE/1938/34. 42. Bali, Trakya, p.248. 43. Hakkı, 'Türkün Asaleti'. Italics added. 44. Akömer, 'Dil Savaşı'. When writing to the Party though, he revealed his suspicion of Jews as he thought that the Thrace Event was 'the result of a trap created by the Jews themselves with the aim to assemble in Istanbul'. Akömer to Peker, 14 July 1934. 45. Doğan to Peker, 25 July 1934. 46. Akömer to Peker, 14 July 1934. 47. Bali, Trakya, pp.253–6. 48. Ibid., pp.248, 261–2. 49. Dirik to Kaya, 21 July 1934. 50. Saip to Kaya, 18 July 1934. 51. Akömer to Peker, No.130, 21 July 1934. The prosecutor told Akömer that he was going to arrest those saying 'Speak Turkish'. 52. General inspector of Thrace (1934–36). C. Koçak, Umumi Müfettişlikler 1927–1952 (Istanbul: İletişim, 2003), pp.127–8. 53. Akömer to Peker No.132, 21 July 1934 and No.134, 25 July 1934. 54. Dirik to Interior Ministry, 21 July 1934, No.4327. The minister forwarded the report to Peker and asked him to intervene on 22 June. Peker (No.56531, 23 July 1934 to Interior Ministry) replied that he had ordered the suspension of the campaign immediately upon learning about it. 55. Dirik was close to Atatürk. K.D. Dirik, Atatürk'ün izinde Vali Paşa Kazım Dirik. Bandırma Vapuru'ndan Halkın Kalbine (Istanbul: Gürer Yayınları, 2008), p.58. 56. Interior Minister to Peker, 26 July 1934. Peker replied with No.49240 on 5 Aug. 1934 that he had already ordered the locals to stop the campaign. 57. Peker to interior minister, No.49240, 5 Aug. 1934. 58. Peker to Akömer, No.49220, 20 July 1934 and Peker to governor, Doğan, and Akömer, No.49220, 21 July 1934. Italics added. People of 'low intellectual capacity' were probably the workers and artisans Akömer was planning to use. 59. Doğan to Peker, No.702, 7 Aug. 1934. 60. Doğan to Peker, No.662, 25 July 1934. 61. Peker to Doğan, No.49240, 2 Aug. 1934. 62. Doğan to Peker, No.662, 25 Aug. 1934. 63. Consider, for instance, the fact that Kemalists did not address crowds in mass rallies like other contemporary regimes. E.J. Zürcher, Turkey. A Modern History (London: I.B. Tauris, 2003), p.186. Rather, their preferred spaces of indoctrination were smaller: the classroom or the Halkevi hall. 64. M. Tunçay, Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde Tek-Parti Yönetimi'nin Kurulması 1923–1931 (Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yayınları, 1991), pp.314–31. 65. The Halkevleri for instance were engaged in political indoctrination, sports, publishing, etc. CHF Halkevlerin Talimatnamesi (Ankara, 1932). 66. CHF Nizamnamesi (Ankara: TBMM Matbaası, 1927), §37–50; C. Koçak, 'Tek-Parti Döneminde CHP'nde Parti Müfettişliği', in Tarık Zafer Tunaya'ya Armağan (Istanbul: İstanbul Barosu Yayınları, 1992). 67. CHF Nizamnamesi (Ankara: TBMM Matbaası, 1931), §78. 68. H. Uran, Meşrutiyet, Tek-Parti, çok Parti Hatıralarım 1908–1950 (Istanbul:Türkiye İş Bankası Yayınları, 2007), p.201. 69. CHF general secretary to Izmir Halkevi, No.5/33842, 19 March 1933. In response, the Halkevi executives asked for 'an unconditional law having penal provisions that will forbid Turkish citizens to speak languages other than Turkish in public places such as ships, trains, tramways, cinemas, theaters, nightclubs, bars and parks.' Reply by Akömer No.159, 12 April 1933. Both documents in BCA CHP, 490.1/590.40.1. 70. B. Uz, Atatürk'ün İzmiri. Bir kentin yeniden doğuşu (Istanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Yayınları, 2007), p.59; C. Koçak, İktidar ve Serbest Cumhuriyet Fırkası (Istanbul: İletişim, 2006), pp.211–24. 71. Çarıklı, Babam Hacim, pp.200–209. 72. M. Yılmaz, 'Recep Peker, CHF ve Bürokrasi: Kazım Dirik Örnek Olayı Üzerinden "Parti-Devlet" Uygulaması ve "Faşist Proje"', in M. Alkan et al. (eds.), Mete Tunçay'a Armağan (Istanbul: İletişim, 2007), p.687. 73. Doğan to Peker, 9 June 1936, BCA CHP, 490.1/569.2265.5 in Yılmaz, 'Recep Peker', pp.687–90. 74. A few days after Peker's dismissal, the Greek consul in Izmir reported on the interior minister's visit to Izmir: 'the visit's purpose was the examination of some very serious complaints against the Governorship and the Municipality that were submitted to the government by some of the city's eminent citizens and a number of young lawyers. It seems that the complaints were not unfounded, as an inspection was carried out by inspectors of the interior and the finance ministries.' Report of Izmir consul Vryzakis to Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry, No.505, 27/6/36. AYE/1936/13-5-1. 75. By Atatürk himself as well: Uran, Meşrutiyet, p.247. 76. Bali, Trakya, p.267. 77. R. Bali, Türkiye Yahudileri, p.266. 78. R. Peker, C.H.P. Genel Sekreteri R. Peker'in Söylevleri (Ankara: Ulus Basımevi, 1935), p.5. See also §95 of the 1935 bylaws: 'the Party forms a Unity with the government'. C.H.P. Tüzüğü (Ankara: Ulus Basımevi, 1935), p.25. 79. C.H.P. Tüzüğü, p.25. 80. After the 1935 congress party chairmen were advised to get on well with state officials. Uran, Hatıralarım, p.240. 81. C.H.P. Programı (Ankara: Ulus Basımevi, 1935), pp.41-–2. 82. Y. Akın, Gürbüz ve Yavuz Evlatlar. Erken Cumhuriyet'te Beden Terbiyesi ve Spor (Istanbul: İletişim, 2004), pp.70–71. 83. Apparently some 'boy scouts demanded the putting down of the Greek flag on 29 October 1934'. Similar demands were made to American and Italian diplomatic staff, who in turn complained to local state authorities. The deputy governor told the Greek consul that the culprits were 'the boy scout team of the nearby high school. All were punished and students were advised to refrain from similar events that could provoke unpleasant incidents.' Gogos to Athens, No.62, 27 Nov. 1934 and No.57, 30 Oct. 1934, AYE/1934/β/I. 84. Interior to prime minister, 27/11/34, BCA Bakanlar Kurulu Kararları (Decisions of Council of Ministers), 030.18.01/50.81.7, in M. Yılmaz and Y. Doğaner, Cumhuriyet Döneminde Sansür 1923–1973 (Ankara: Siyasal Kitabevi, 2007), p.273. 85. C.H.P. Programı, §67, p.49. 86. Taylak, Saltanat, pp.106–7. 87. Akın, Gurbuz ve Yavuz, pp.76–8. 88. Koçak, 'CHP-devlet kaynaşması'. With the 'merging' the interior minister also headed the party in Ankara and governors in the provinces. The aim was to control the provincial party through state bureaucrats. 89. For a contemporary observer it was the sign of a government that could not tolerate even its own party. Uran, Hatıralarım, p.247. 90. H.R. Soyak, Atatürk'ten Hatıralar (Istanbul: Yapı Kredi, 1973), Vol.II, p.485. In June 1934, Atatürk was also reported applauding the purge of the SA in Germany as necessary because until then they had almost represented and applied the state's official power. For Atatürk the official security forces must be the only representatives of the state's authority. Kocak, Türk–Alman, pp.103–4.