That Winston Churchill tried to entice Turkey into the war is common knowledge. His secret motivation for doing so is much less well known.
Maybe the Turks were just bad at picking the winning side. In World War I the Central Powers were defeated by the Allies, so in October 1939 they switched to ally with Britain and France. Four days after the fall of Paris, Turkish President Ismet Inönü suspected his country might be on the wrong side yet again. To rectify the situation, he signed the German-Turkish Treaty of Friendship, setting the terms for Turkey’s indefinite neutrality.
While the major world powers mauled each other for five years, Inönü tactfully resisted the invitations of both sides to enter the conflict. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill took a particularly aggressive interest in luring Turkey to the Allied camp. Why did Churchill exhaust so much diplomatic and economic effort on the Turks? After the war had ended, the prime minister conjured myriad reasons for wanting Turkey’s help, but declassified War Cabinet documents tell a different story. The truth Churchill strove to bury was that he needed Turkey’s support, either directly or indirectly, for a planned invasion of the Balkans.
Turkey, officially known as the Republic of Turkey, has a complex history regarding its involvement and role during World War II (WWII). As a country that was not occupied by Axis powers and maintained a policy of active neutrality, Turkey walked a fine line between the Allied and Axis countries However, behind this neutral façade, Turkey had significant business and diplomatic ties with Nazi Germany that came under scrutiny after the war
Maintaining Neutrality
When WWII broke out in 1939 Turkey was bound to Great Britain and France through a military alliance pact. However after the fall of France in 1940, Turkey shifted to non-belligerency and neutrality, signing a Treaty of Friendship with Germany in 1941.
Throughout most of WWII, Turkey sought to balance its relationships with Germany and the Allies. On one hand, Turkey was a major trading partner with Germany, providing vital raw materials like chromite ore used in military production. On the other hand, Turkey maintained relations with the Allies and received modern military equipment and aid from countries like the United States.
Turkey halted chromite exports to Germany in 1944 and severed diplomatic ties the same year. But it did not formally declare war on Germany until February 1945, after joining the United Nations. Even then, Turkey did not actively engage in combat.
Business Ties with Nazi Germany
Behind its neutral position, Turkey had significant business and financial links with Nazi Germany. By the start of WWII, Germany had major economic interests in Turkey’s industry, banks, insurance, and trade sectors.
German banks like Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank took advantage of Turkey’s free gold market, selling looted Nazi gold in exchange for foreign currency. Profits supported German diplomatic and intelligence activities in Turkey.
Turkey also imported war materials from Germany in exchange for chrome and other raw materials, tying its economy closer to the Axis powers. Throughout WWII, Turkey’s chromite exports were crucial for Nazi military production.
Passageway for Jewish Refugees
Despite close German business ties, Turkey did play a humanitarian role in WWII. Over 100,000 Jewish refugees are estimated to have passed through Turkey escaping Nazi persecution in Europe.
Turkey provided transport for rescue missions picking up Jews from neighboring countries. The port city of Istanbul was also a hub for Jewish groups coordinating refugee passages to Palestine.
However, Turkish refugee aid was limited. Restrictive visa policies obstructed refugee journeys, leaving many stranded in Turkey or unable to pass through. More Turkish Jews ultimately died in the Holocaust than were granted refuge.
Post-War Scrutiny of Nazi Ties
After WWII, Turkey’s relationship with Nazi Germany came under greater scrutiny. An estimated $3.4 million in looted Belgian gold was traced to Turkey. Additional investigations revealed other transfers of looted Nazi gold to Turkish banks and government reserves.
Allied countries sought agreements from Turkey to return looted assets and gold. But negotiations stalled as Turkey insisted on using German funds and assets to settle its own war claims first. Eventually, the onset of the Cold War led the Allies to drop demands for restitution from Turkey, a key strategic ally against the Soviets.
So while neutral on paper, Turkey’s complex wartime history reveals a nation navigating risky relationships with Axis and Allies powers, while also aiding some Jewish refugees. Turkey’s neutrality was a delicate balancing act driven more by pragmatism rather than ideology.
Churchill’s Overtures to Turkey
In January 1943, Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met at Casablanca and outlined the future of Allied grand strategy. American and British staffs clashed throughout the week, but it was the British “Mediterranean strategy” that carried the day. The British vision called for an invasion of Italy supported by more aggressive attempts to draw Turkey into the war. Churchill suggested that this might best be accomplished by a personal meeting with the Turkish leadership on Turkish soil.
That meeting took place at Adana, Turkey, over the last two days of January 1943. On the first day of the meeting, Marshal Fevzi Cakmak, the Turkish chief of the General Staff, outlined the necessary equipment for his military to be combat-ready. The enormous quantities of equipment included 2,300 tanks, 2,600 guns, and 120,000 tons of aviation fuel. Cakmak also requested trucks, other motor transport, and locomotives complete with coal. As the stunned British delegation took notes, Marshal Cakmak chided the British for not filling his standing request for 500 fighter planes.
In his meeting with President Inönü, Churchill agreed to increase Allied supplies to Turkey. In return, Inönü promised nothing more than to reconsider Turkish neutrality. When Churchill inquired about the possibility of Allied air bases in Turkey, Inönü again made no assurances. As long as Axis forces were positioned in Bulgaria, they could threaten Istanbul, the economic center of Turkey. Until this threat was removed or more military assistance was received, the Turks would remain neutral. Remarkably, two days after the Adana Conference Churchill cabled President Roosevelt to report that his visit to Turkey was a “great success.” Unbeknownst to his American allies, Churchill had a very good and very secretive reason to expend so much diplomatic and economic effort to draw Turkey into the war.
The Tehran Conference Ends Churchill’s Schemes
Despite the lack of cooperation from Turkey, Churchill refused to give up on the invasion of the Balkans. Churchill decided to carry his case to Soviet Premier Josef Stalin at the Tehran Conference in November 1943. The week before the meeting he authored a memorandum calling for the British to “seize a port or ports and establish bridgeheads on the Dalmatian coast….” Before the memo could be cabled to Washington, Field Marshal Alan Brooke, chief of the Imperial Staff, advised the prime minister to strike any reference to the Balkans for fear of alarming the Americans before the meeting at Tehran. Churchill allowed the line to be struck but personally resolved to bring up the issue at the conference.
In November 1943, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met face to face for the first time. On the very first day of the Tehran Conference, November 28, Churchill summoned all of his charisma to present Stalin with the Balkan option to ease pressure on the Eastern Front. Roosevelt had not expected the British prime minister to break ranks with him and was at first surprised. Stalin had long since suspected that the British might try to cross the Adriatic, an area Stalin already considered in his sphere of influence.
Now it was Stalin’s turn to surprise Churchill. The Soviet dictator adamantly insisted that the Allies stick to their preparations for Overlord along with a diversionary attack through southern France. In the Mediterranean, including in Italy, he wished no offensive action to be taken. Stalin then turned his attention to Turkey, Churchill’s pet project, and expressed his opinion that Turkey was a lost cause. Now that the war was beginning to swing against the Axis, he saw no point in continuing to pamper Ankara with attention.
Why was Turkey Neutral in WW2?
FAQ
What side was Turkey on in ww2?
Why did Turkey not join ww2?
Why did Germany not invade Turkey in WWII?
Did Turkey side with Germany in WW1?
Why was Turkey important during WW2?
See my answer for more details. Turkey, like Spain and Sweden, was a country that “served the purpose” for Germany during World War II without being attacked. Specifically, Turkey was a major supplier of chrome, a key war material, both in her own right, and through “transshipments” from modern Rhodesia and South Africa.
Was Turkey neutral in WW2?
Prior to joining the Allied Powers late in the war, Turkey was officially neutral in World War II. Despite its neutrality, Turkey maintained strong diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany during the period of the Holocaust.
What was Turkey’s policy after WW2?
After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Turkish President İsmet İnönü pursued a policy of neutrality, tried to avoid involvement in the war and asked for military equipment deliveries from both the Axis powers and the Allies. Germany tried to draw Turkey away from Britain by using diplomatic efforts.
What happened to Turkey during the Second World War?
Former imperial power, British Empire, no longer had the financial and military capacity to hang on to their vast territories. During the Second World War Turkey was faced with military threats from Germany and the Soviet Union.