Abstract
This article excavates one of the stranger episodes that took place in the transnational microcosm of the German expatriate world in Ankara and Istanbul during the Second World War. Professor Herbert Melzig's story, the 'Melzig affair', illustrates how this microcosm, with its very different constituent members - Jewish and non-Jewish refugees from Nazism, German pro-Nazi expatriates, and an extensive embassy and Nazi Party network - acted as a conduit in German-Turkish relations, albeit one that produced unexpected results. This 'Melzig affair' sheds new light on the German presence in Second World War Turkey as well as the so-called German 'exile on the Bosporus' as it has been (re-)constructed and used in recent years; it also contributes to our understanding of Turkish foreign policy during the Second World War, especially regarding Turkey's reluctance to join the war on Hitler's side. At the end of the Melzig affair stood the 'leaking' of an internal Ministry of Propaganda memorandum. It prepared the ground for further leaks of this nature and was one of the turning points of public opinion in Turkey against the Third Reich.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 109-125 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | International History Review |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
Keywords
- Franz von Papen
- German refugees in Turkey
- Second World War
- Third Reich
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- History
- Sociology and Political Science