One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

The First World War greatly affected the balance of power in Europe and elsewhere. In the case of Turkey and Germany, diplomatic ties had been cut off in 1918, and afterwards both countries, which in the meantime had switched from monarchies to republics, had to forge a new relationship. This study focuses on the re-establishment of German–Turkish relations in a very delicate process which also depended on international developments. Notes 1. See for example G. Mann, Deutsche Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1992); H. Mommsen, Aufstieg und Untergang der Republik von Weimar 1918–1933 (Berlin: Ullstein, 1998). 2. See for example E.J. Zürcher, Turkey. A Modern History (London: Tauris, 2004). 3. See for example J. Glasneck and I. Kircheisen, Türkei und Afghanistan – Brennpunkte der Orientpolitik im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Berlin: VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, 1968); H. Kramer, ‘Türkei’, in G. Hellmann S. Schmidt and R. (eds.), Handbuch zur deutschen Außenpolitik (Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2007), pp.482–93; C.-T. Weick, Die schwierige Balance. Kontinuitäten und Brüche deutscher Türkeipolitik (Berlin: LIT-Verlag, 2001). 4.See K. Kocak, Türk-Alman Iliskileri 1923–1939 (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1991). 5. See Y. Güclü, ‘Turkish–German Relations on the Eve of World War Two’, Turkish Studies, Vol.1, No.2 (2000), pp.73–94. 6. See Weick, Die schwierige Balance, pp.10–23. 7. See Zürcher, Turkey, p.121. According to Zürcher, at one time more than 700 German officers were working for the Ottoman military. 8. Compare Zürcher, Turkey, p.133. Actually, the Ottoman officials went a step further by evicting all German nationals from the Ottoman Empire (see Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes (hereafter PAAA), R78484, record from 27 April 1922 and PAAA, R78484, document III E 638, 23 March 1922). 9. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3488, AA registry receipt stamp from 14 Dec. 1923. 10. See PAAA, R78485, document III O 346, Padel (German Consulate General for Anatolia) to AA, 9 Aug. 1924. 11. See L. Biewer, ‘Die Geschichte des Auswärtigen Amts. Ein Überblick’, http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/AAmt/Geschichte/GeschichteAApdf.pdf (accessed 17 April 2009). From November 1922 until August 1923 the position of the German Minister of Foreign Affairs was filled by Friedrich von Rosenberg. He was followed by Gustav Stresemann (in office August 1923–October 1929), Julius Curtius (October 1929–October 1931), Heinrich Brüning (October 1931–May 1932), Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath (June 1932–January 1938; data according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_foreign_ministers, accessed 17 April 2009). 12. The position of State Secretary to the German Minister of Foreign Affairs was filled from 1922 to 1924 by Adolf Georg Otto (‘Ago’) von Maltzan, who was followed by Carl von Schubert (in office 1924–30); compare R. Blessing, Der mögliche Frieden: Die Modernisierung der Aussenpolitik und die Deutsch-französischen Beziehungen 1923–1929 (München: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008), p.58. 13. Department III was initially led by Carl von Schubert who, having been nominated as State Secretary, passed his office to Walter de Haas (see ibid.). 14. See Blessing, Der mögliche Frieden, p.57. 15. See J. Matuz, Das Osmanische Reich (Darmstadt: Primus Verlag, 1996), pp.267–9. Official recognition of the nationalist government in Ankara had started two years earlier at the Conference of London (1921). Two delegations from Turkey were there, one being sent by the Ottoman government in Istanbul, the other from the Turkish nationalists in Ankara (see The Times, ‘Turk Nationalist Schemes’, 10 Feb. 1921). Only one month after the failure of the conference, in March 1921, the Soviet Union and the Turkish nationalist government concluded a friendship treaty (see Matuz, Das Osmanische Reich, p. 275). 16. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 362, telegram no. 119, Keller (German Ambassador in Paris, France) to Auswärtiges Amt in Berlin (hereafter AA), 22 Feb. 1922. 17. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 363, telegram no. 118, Keller (German Embassy Paris) to AA, 22 Feb. 1922. 18. See PAAA, R78484, document to II E 362/363, undated note. In the note it was further mentioned that even the Sultan's government, representing the Ottoman Empire and as such obliged to follow the regulations of the armistice of 1918, did not hesitate to send emissaries to Germany for the winding up of economic affairs. According to the AA, neither the political situation nor any contracts required the avoidance of contacts with Turkey, the only possible source of constraints being the armistice of 1918 according to which Turkey had to break off relations with the Central Powers. But, as the ministry further commented, Mustafa Kemal completely ignored the contents of the armistice and had messengers in almost all European capitals, among them Colonel Nuri Bey, who had been placed in the German capital Berlin (as an unofficial representative [comment by the authors]) and was also received at the AA (see ibid.). 19. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 638, 23 March 1922. 20. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 843, AA to Regierungsrat Weissmann (state commissioner for public order) in Berlin, 26 April 1922; PAAA, R78484, document III E 847, German Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, to AA, 20 April 1922 and PAAA, R78484, document III E 1021, 15 May 1922. 21. See first source in previous footnote and PAAA, R78484, note to III E 843, 27 April 1922. Also the AA later tried to avoid incidents which could make a negative impression in Turkey. For example, the AA advised against the publication of a manuscript prepared by a Venezuelan, Rafael de Nogales, about his experiences in Turkey some years before and his negative description of some Turkish politicians. This case is well documented because due to an unfortunate series of events the author himself was targeted with negative reports – an incident which caused quite a bit of unease among the co-workers of the ministry and even had the Foreign Minister order an investigation of the case (see various documents in PAAA, R78484 and R78485). 22. During that period, some contacts did take place albeit not always by authorized individuals. For example, quite a bit of confusion at the AA was caused by a former member of the Reichswehrministerium who without the authorization or even knowledge of the AA had approached Ankara's representative in Moscow and enquired whether the Turkish nationalist regime would agree to the despatch of a German representative to Ankara (see PAAA, R78484, note to II E 1290, May 1922 and PAAA, R78484, document III E 1537, Weidenfeld (German Embassy in Moscow) to AA, 15 May 1922). Very likely, Geheimrat Padel from the AA felt awkward when he had to declare the whole matter to be a misunderstanding regarding Ankara's unofficial representative in Berlin (see PAAA, R78484, handwritten undated note to III E 1290). Interestingly, Ankara reacted positively to the idea of a German representative in the Turkish capital in Anatolia, and soon the matter was discussed again between the Turkish and German sides, this time proposed by a Turkish representative to the German ambassador in Moscow. The latter, however, was bound by a former order from the AA and could do no more than react evasively (see PAAA, R78484, document III E 1442, Weidenfeld (German Embassy in Moscow, then Soviet Union) to AA, 17 July 1922). 23. See PAAA, R78484, von Wesendonk (German General Consulate in Tiflis, Georgia) to AA, J.No. 3792, 31 Dec. 1922. 24. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 524, Freytag (German Embassy in Bucharest, Romania) to AA, 11 Feb. 1923. 25. See e.g. PAAA, R78484, document III E 2716, Berlin, 11 Dec. 1922; PAAA, R78484, document III E 2744, Swedish legation in Berlin, Verbalnote to AA, 12 Dec. 1922 and PAAA, R7848, document III E 2866, German legation in Stockholm to AA, 24 Dec. 1922. 26. In December 1923, for example, the AA was irritated by the news that Turkey expected Germany to take the first steps to the establishment of Turkish–German relations whereas in September 1922 the German side had been sure that the Mustafa Kemal's government wanted Germany to wait for a Turkish sign for such steps (see PAAA, R78484, document to III E 3375, telegram no. 258, AA to German Legation in Stockholm, 11 Dec. 1923). 27. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 2186, record, written in Berlin on 27 July 1923 and supplemented with a clipping from Kölnische Zeitung. 28. See for example the article ‘Friede im Orient’, published in Wiener Morgenzeitung, 25 July 1923. 29. See PAAA, R78484, document to III E 2205, Berlin, 1 Aug. 1923. 30. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3488, AA registry receipt stamp from 14 Dec. 1923. 31. See PAAA, R78484, document to III E 2205, Berlin, 1 Aug. 1923. 32. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 2220, record by Prüfer addressed to Reichsminister des Äußeren, Berlin, 27 July 1923. 33. See PAAA, R78484, record III E 2879, Berlin, 22 Sept. 1923. 34. See PAAA, R78484, clipping from Lokal-Anzeiger, article entitled ‘Die Befreiung der Türkei’ of 22 Nov. 1923. 35. See for example ‘Die türkische Republik’, Wiener Morgenzeitung, 31 Oct. 1923. At about the same time, Germany was shaken by unrest and the Hitler-Ludendorff putsch (see for example ‘Bürgerkrieg in Deutschland’, ‘Das Chaos wächst’ and ‘Der Rechtsputsch niedergeschlagen’, published in Wiener Morgenzeitung, 24 Oct. 1923, 29 Oct. 1923 and 10 Nov. 1923, respectively). Nevertheless, the AA in Berlin, then already led by Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann, tried to continue its work. It should be noted here that despite frequent personal changes in the individual politicians holding the position of the German minister of foreign affairs, the officials in Department III, which was dealing with political relations between Germany and Turkey worked there for many years. For example, the name Padel appears throughout the 1920s in association with Referat Pol 2 Türkei, the subdivision of Department III at the AA which specialized in political affairs concerning Turkey. The same holds true for the name Prüfer, for the head of Referat Pol 2 Türkei. 36. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3488, AA registry receipt stamp from 14 Dec. 1923. 37. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3211, AA to Gesandtschaftsrat Holstein (Constantinople) via Swedish Legation there, 12 Nov. 1923. Note: In all German documents from the AA mentioned in this article the city of Istanbul is called ‘Konstantinopel’. In the following, the original statement of place will be maintained albeit in its English translation (‘Constantinople’). 38. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3415, J.No. 2455, Holstein (Constantinople) to AA, 23 Nov. 1923. 39. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 3438, Berlin, 7 Dec. 1923. Interestingly, the correspondence about the Turkish press article in question was not addressed to the German representative in Stockholm as before but to a co-worker in the AA, Gesandtschaftsrat Holstein. Holstein must have either been placed at the Swedish Legation in Istanbul or must have had close contact with the Swedish representatives there as decrees for him were addressed to the Swedish Legation (see PAAA, R78484, document III E 3211, AA to Gesandtschaftsrat Holstein (Constantinople) via Swedish Legation in Constantinople, 12 Nov. 1923). A record, registered at the AA on 3 Nov. 1923, even indicates the presence of another co-worker in Istanbul, a certain Krauss in the position of Geheimrat. The reason for Krauss' presence was declared to be the assessment of buildings in German possession in the metropolis at the Bosporus (see PAAA, R78484, record III E 3212, 12 Nov. 1923). Later on in the corresponding dossier only the name Holstein appears sporadically, indicating that at least Krauss no longer worked for the AA in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey. However, the sources indicate that the AA tried to position unofficial agents there even when they could not act as official German representatives. Both Holstein and Krauss may have fulfilled a similar task to the unofficial representative the Turkish nationalists had placed in Berlin. In contrast to Krauss, Holstein's name also appears in documents composed afterwards, and in 1924 Holstein worked at the German legation in Istanbul (see PAAA, R78485, Nadolny (German legation Constantinople) to AA, 15 Oct. 1924). 40. See PAAA, R78484, record III E 3454 from Padel (AA), Berlin, 8 Dec. 1923. 41. See PAAA, R87484, document III E 3469, telegram no. B 2331, Nadolny (German legation Stockholm) to AA, 6 Dec. 1923. According to Cemil Kocak the above mentionedname Adnan refers to Adnan Adıvar (compare Kocak, Türk-Alman Iliskileri, p.6). 42. See PAAA, R87484, document III E 3469, telegram no. B 2331, Nadolny (German legation Stockholm) to AA, 6 Dec. 1923. 43. See PAAA, R78484, telegram no. 264, Foreign Minister Stresemann to German Legation Stockholm, 15 Dec. 1923. Also in this case legate Nadolny at the German Legation in Sweden was charged with passing the information to the Swedish envoy in Istanbul through the Swedish government. 44. See PAAA, R78484, document E III 3488, AA registry receipt stamp from 14 Dec. 1923. 45. See PAAA, R78484, telegram no. 264, Foreign Minister Stresemann to German Legation Stockholm, 15 Dec. 1923. 46. See PAAA, R78484, record III E 3454 from Padel (AA), Berlin, 8 Dec. 1923. 47. See PAAA, R78484, telegram no. 2, Schubert (chief of Department III of the AA) to German Legation Stockholm, Berlin, 4 Jan. 1924. On 7 January 1924 the AA learnt that the Turkish newspaper Tanin had published news that Turkey and Germany had decided to take up relations officially, to which purpose an agreement would be made (see PAAA, R78485, document III E 63, record from 7 Jan. 1924). 48. See first source quoted in previous note. 49. In detail, Assistant Secretary of State Carl von Schubert instructed the Embassy to answer possible demands that no details whatsoever had been agreed for a German–Turkish friendship treaty as a basis for official relations and that Germany would not send an official representative to Ankara before the main signatory powers of Lausanne had done so (see PAAA, R78484, Schubert (AA) to German Embassy in London, telegram from 4 Jan. 1924). 50. See PAAA, R78484, telegram no. 2 from Schubert (AA) to German Legation in Bucharest (Romania), 4 Jan. 1924. 51. See PAAA, R78485, telegram, Nadolny (German Legation Stockholm) to AA, 5 Jan. 1924. 52. Further attached to the letter was the translation of the treaty of friendship between the Turkish Republic and Poland as an example for such an agreement (see PAAA, R78485, document III E 30/34, AA to German Envoy Freytag in Bucharest, 10 Jan. 1924). A few days later the certificate of authority issued by the German President of the Reich, Friedrich Ebert, followed, providing Ambassador Freytag with the necessary authority to conduct negotiations about the treaty of friendship with Turkey and to sign it (see PAAA, R78485, copy of certificate of authority, issued on 12 Jan. 1924). 53. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 30/34, AA to German Envoy Freytag in Bucharest, 10 Jan. 1924. 54. See PAAA, R78485, document to III E 106, AA to German Embassy in London, 14 Jan. 1924. In the same document the AA also informed the German representative in London that it intended to follow the example of the Great Powers in the question of whether the representation in Turkey should be through an embassy or a legation, and that prior to that Germany was ready for the establishment of a consulate general in Smyrna. 55. See PAAA, R78485, telegram no. 6 from 26 Jan. 1924, Freytag (German Legation at Bucharest) to AA. 56. See PAAA, R78485, telegram to III E 232, Schubert (Assistant Secretary of State to the Foreign Minister) to German Legation in Bucharest, 28 Jan. 1924. 57. See PAAA, R78485, telegram no. 9 to III E 232, von Maltzan (State Secretary to the Foreign Minister) to German Legation in Bucharest, 1 Feb. 1924. 58. See PAAA, R78485, telegram no. 7, Freytag (German Legation Bucharest) to AA, 31 Jan. 1924, received there on 1 Feb. Very likely, this telegram and von Maltzan's telegram crossed. 59. See PAAA, R78485, telegram, von Maltzan (AA) to Diplogerma Bucharest, 2 Feb. 1924. 60. See PAAA, R78485, telegram no. 9, Freytag (German Legation Bucharest) to AA, 3 Feb. 1924. 61. See PAAA, R78485, Freytag (German Legation Bucharest) to AA, 18 Jan. 1924. 62. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 396, telegram, Freytag to AA, Pera, 11 Feb. 1924. 63. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 438, telegram no. 1, Freytag to AA, Pera, 15 Feb. 1924. 64. See PAAA, R78485, Freytag (Section Allemande at Swedish Legation) to AA, Constantinople, 12 Feb. 1924. 65. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 446, telegram, State Secretary von Maltzan to German legation Stockholm, 17 Feb. 1924. 66. Seee PAAA, R78485, document III E 524, receipt stamp at the AA dated on 23 Feb. 1924. 67. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 569, telegram no. 1, Freytag (Ankara) to AA, 25 Feb 7 19247. 68. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 570, telegram no. 2, Freytag (Ankara) to AA, 27 Feb 7 19247. 69. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 580, telegram no. 3, Freytag (Ankara) to AA, 28 Feb. 1924. 70. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 612, telegram no. 6, Freytag (Ankara) to AA, 3 March 1924. 71. See PAAA, R78485, document to III E 1032, telegram no. 180, Schubert (Assistant Secretary of State to the Foreign Minister) to German Embassy in London, 17 April 1924. 72. For Germany, Legationsrat Padel, the head of the political department dealing with Turkish matters at the AA, was appointed to accompany the document to Istanbul where the actual exchange of documents was then performed by Swedish Legate Wallenberg and a representative of the Turkish government (see PAAA, R78495, document to III 1185, Padel to AA, Constantinople, 2 May 1924). 73. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 861, Wallenberg (Swedish Legation in Constantinople) to AA, 23 March 1924. 74. The distinction between legation and embassy goes back to the Vienna Congress after which the Great Powers (France, Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia) established embassies in each other's capitals. Diplomatic missions in other countries were referred to as legations. Thus the upgrading of a legation to an embassy in a certain country mirrored the rise in international position that particular state had won. 75. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 1276, telegram no. 255, Sthamer (German Embassy London) to AA, 19 May 1924. 76. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 1034, telegram no.185, Schubert (Assistant Secretary of State to the Foreign Minister) to German Embassy in London, 19 April 1924. 77. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 1044, telegram 173, Sthamer (German Embassy London) to AA, 22 April 1924. 78. See PAAA, R78495, document to III 1039, telegram no. 21, Padel (Constantinople) to AA, 30 April 1924. 79. See PAAA, R78485, document to III E 1113, record from Schubert (Assistant Secretary of State th the Foreign Minister at the AA), 1 May 1924. 80. See PAAA, R78485, document to III E 1113, draft for a telegram from Schubert (Assistant Secretary of State to the Foreign Minister at the AA) to the German Embassy in London, 2 May 1924 and PAAA, R78485, document III E 1123, telegram no. 208, Schubert to German Embassy London, 2 May 1924. 81. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 1123, telegram no. 198, German Embassy London to AA, 3 May 1924. 82. See PAAA, R78484, document III E 1124, telegram no. 22, Padel (Constantinople) to AA, 3 May 1924. 83. See PAAA, R78485, document III E 1123, telegram no. 212, AA to German Embassy London, 5 May 1924. 84. Seee PAAA, R78485, document III E 1159, telegram no. 205, Sthamer (German Embassy London) to AA, 6 May 1924. The Government in London, however, prefered that at the time being a German legation would be sent to Istanbul only (and not to Ankara, see PAAA, R78485, document III E 1276, telegram no. 255, Sthamer (German Embassy London) to AA, 19 May 1924). 85. See PAAA, R78485, Nadolny to AA, Constantinople, 4 June 1924. 86. See PAAA, R78485, document III O 346, Padel (German Consulate General for Anatolia in Smyrna) to AA, 9 Aug. 1924

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