Turkey's Modernization

Refugees from Nazism and Atatürk's Vision

Arnold Reisman

• Publisher: New Academia
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781955835350
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

This historical study examines the lives of European Jews who found safe haven in Turkey and helped the nation transform in the years before WWII. Out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk formed the modern Republic of Turkey. As the nation's founding father and first president, he initiated numerous progressive reforms. In 1933, he welcomed German and Austrian Jews who fled the rise of antisemitic violence in their homelands. In Turkey' Modernization, historian Arnold Reisman chronicles the lives of some of these refugees as they pursued new lives in a new nation. Using archival documents, letters, memoirs, oral histories, photos, and other surviving evidence, Arnold Reisman sheds light on courage and determination of these individuals, as well as their important contributions in several fields of knowledge. With a clear-eyed analysis of Turkey's achievements and shortcomings, Reisman also speculates about its inability to fully capitalize on these emigres' legacy. "This book adds to our knowledge of an important aspect of the Holocaust, and of the behavior of Nation States in the modern world of woe and grief." —Sir Martin Gilbert, Winston Churchill's official biographer

1

Atatürk’s “Üniversite Reformu”

“In its essence, the affair that we call or understand as the Atatürk Üniversite Reformu was not a mere university reform, but the ultimate apex of the Atatürk cultural movement started in the years 1925 to 1926.”1

Before the early part of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman state never accepted responsibility for the basic education of its citizens or subjects. Hence, no formal system of public education then existed. The state trained some of its military and bureaucratic officials; the clergy instructed some of its own future members; but the education of non-official, non-clerical subjects was not conceived as a public responsibility. The process of ‘modernization’ in education involved the gradual and grudging acceptance of this responsibility by the Ottoman state.2

Until the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful countries in the world. Then it dramatically lost status as well as power because it did not keep up with, or better, Europe’s scientific and technological gains, especially during the 18th century. Development of the Empire’s army was the top priority. To achieve this goal, many French officers were brought in to aid the Ottoman modernization. For a long time, the Empire continued to benefit from importing officers, experts, and scientists, mostly from Europe and mostly for its army.3 Officers from Europe were used in its new military schools. In 1735, a new artillery school was established by Sultan Mahmud I, and Alexander Comte de Bonneval from France was named administrator. Some forty years later, in 1773, under Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, the Muhendishane-i Bahr-i Humayun, the Royal School of Naval Engineering, was established to educate chart masters and shipbuilders.

During the Royal School’s formative years, it was supervised by Baron de Tott, a French expatriate military officer. Furthermore, in 1795 bearing the same name Muhendishane-i Berr-i Humayun, the Royal School of Military Engineering, was established to educate technical support personnel. In addition to Baron de Tott, many others were brought in from foreign countries to modernize the army and to teach at those schools. Among these were Englishman Kampell Mustafa, a convert to Islam, a Frenchman named Le Roi et du Reste (naval engineering), Major Lafitte Clavet and a Captain Monier (military and civil engineering), Francois Petolin (cannon testing), Captain Saint-Remy (artillery), and an officer named Tondul (astronomy).4

According to Sisman,5 over a century after the Ottomans westernized education of their military officer corps and following the Reform Edict of 1856, individual students were sent to Europe and to France, in particular, for further education while “a school known as the Mekteb-i Sultani opened in Paris.” At the same time, secondary schools providing a “modern” education were being created within the Empire. Of these, the most important was the Galatasaray Mekteb-i Sultanisi, later known as Galatasaray Lycee.6 In many studies, “this school, has been described as the first window opened on to the West.”

Additionally Turkish secondary education was affected by the telegraph. In 1861, the Funu-i Telgrafiye Mektebi (School of Telegraphic Science) was established. It offered a two-year program for technical education in all aspects of telegraphy.7 Later, Galatasaray, a high school for the poor and orphans, launched courses in telegraphy. Between 1869 and 1923, a number of vocational “Technical Schools” were opened. Among these were a School of Finance (1876), a Civil Medical School (1877), School of Law (1878), School of Commerce (1882), a Civil Veterinary School (1889), a School for Vaccinators (1894), the Finance Officials School (1910), the Tax Collectors School (1911), and a Railroad Officials School opened in (1915).8 None of these was considered to be of university caliber except for the Dar-ül Fünun. The Dar-ül Fünun, built by the Swiss architect Gaspare Fossati in 1854, became the first Ottoman University via a 1919 ordinance.

The Dar-ül Fünun went through three major reforms. In its transformation from a major madrasa, it became a secular university circa 1900; in 1915, its second reform, German academics were brought by the Ottoman Government to upgrade several academic disciplines. Among those invited was Fritz Arndt and two other German chemists. This trio helped to establish the first chemistry department in Turkey. Its curriculum was based on the prevailing German model. However, because the Dar-ül fünun was an Ottoman University, many of its other curricula continued to have a Moslem orientation. Dar-ül Fünun’s third reform took place in 1933 and created the basis for this book.

It all began in 1924. Atatürk, now firmly in power, obliterated the existing system of religious education. The madrasas and all other religious schools maintained by the religious establishment were taken over by the now-secularized Ministry of Education. For centuries, these schools had been responsible for maintaining traditionalism. This was antithetic to the new regime. Consequently, the State under Atatürk assumed the responsibility of educating its citizens at all levels. In 1924, the government launched a process of expanding and improving the existing structure of secular public schools.

On July 31 1933, the Dar-ül Fünun was officially closed by government decree, as a means of canceling all existing good-for-life faculty contracts.9 The very next day, the Istanbul University was opened using Dar-ül Fünun’s physical plant, a small fraction of the original faculty, and more than thirty world-renowned émigré German professors.

Each professor signed some variation of a formal contract similar to the one given to and signed by pediatrician Albert Eckstein:

The Ministry of Health and Social Assistance has appointed Prof. Eckstein as the Director of the Pediatrics Service of the Ankara Nümune Hospital. He should consecrate all his activities to the medical and scientific requirements of the clinical services and the laboratory work attached to his specialty. He is expected to develop the knowledge of the doctors and the assistants and to contribute to the education of the students when necessary. He is also bound to report his thoughts about the scientific matters pertaining to his specialty as requested by the Ministry and to publish articles prepared according to the usual practices of the scientific circles.

The duration of this contract is 5 years.

This contract may be renewed for 3-5 years on the wishes of both parties.

The salary is 750 Turkish liras10 net after all taxes and fees are deducted.

Prof. Eckstein may take out with him all the savings from his salary when he leaves Turkey with the permission of the public office he works for.

He will be paid 250 Turkish liras for himself, his wife and his children aged over 10 years and 125 Turkish liras for each child aged less than 10 as relocation expenses.

He will be granted six weeks paid leave every year. He can travel wherever he wishes but will not be paid travel expenses for these trips.

He will be compensated according to the same rules for civil servants of high grade whenever he is asked to travel by the government.

This contract may only be annulled by the consent of both parties due to inevitable causes. Full salary is paid for the first three months in case of sickness. After three years of service, the total amount corresponding up to 6-months salary will be paid for each year. Dr. Eckstein accepts to submit a medical report on his health prepared by an official doctor. In case of death, an amount of 1000 Turkish liras as well as six months’ salary will be paid to his widowed wife or to his children in the absence of a wife.

Prof. Eckstein cannot practice medicine privately outside the Ankara Nümune Hospital, nor can he open an office. In exceptional cases, if he is invited for consultation by Turkish doctors and his opinion is requested on the case under consultation, he may accept the invitation and submit his opinion on the case, provided it does not take the form of private medical practice.

Prof. Eckstein does not have the right to demand any compensation whatsoever in return for the medical and surgical care he provides for the non-paying and paying patients admitted to the hospital or examined in the polyclinic.

This contract enters in force the day it is signed by both parties. His salary will begin to be paid when he starts working in Ankara.

Contracts were signed every year. Most of the senior faculty were given the title Ordinarius Professor or “Ord. Prof.” for short. It corresponds to the German Auserordentlicher (extraordinary) professor. In America, there is no fully equivalent title. The closest might be Distinguished or Chaired professor except the latter usually carries an endowment from some individual’s, family’s, company’s, or foundation’s financing, generally good for the professor’s lifetime. The latter was not at all the case with the Ordinarius appointments in Turkey. In fact, all contracts albeit renewable were for fixed terms and did not include pension rights.

In 1933, distinguished American mathematician, professor Richard Courant and Nobel Laureate in Physics James Franck were asked by the American Rockefeller Foundation to assess the state of Istanbul University. On October 25, Courant filed their joint report. Courant and Franck noted that they had found “a decided wish [among the officials] to create a promising scientific center in Istanbul, which should contribute to the development of higher education in Turkey. The earnest wish to reconstruct [to change] existing conditions was repeatedly expressed in conversations with the Minister, other officials and private individuals as well as in the press.”11

At the same time, the Americans were shocked at prevailing conditions, writing that the state “of the so-called university organizations in Istanbul is so miserable that for the present there can be no question for the next few years of a university life modeled on European lines, especially since the [available] Turkish material in students and assistants probably is not yet sufficiently trained for a true cultivation of the sciences.”

One particular barrier to progress they saw was that “between students and foreign professors considerable difficulty would exist at the beginning owing to language.” There were some areas—they noted geography and chemistry—in which the starting point would be better because European professors had made previous progress (during Dar-ül Fünun’s 1915 reform), and they found the clinics also promising. But, “in the field of physics and mathematics, there are, however, almost no practical preparations. They [the Turks] lack institutes, equipment, apparatus, and library. The acquisition of all these things will require much organizing power on the part of the professors in question.” Courant goes on to say:

We had the impression that out of a certain ignorance the Turks underestimate these problems and are of the opinion that merely adding a line-up of recognized scholars, would be sufficient to start up a real university. Although by doing so we somewhat offended their prestige requirement, we advised them to recruit primarily younger workers for mathematics and the natural sciences and occasionally bring in older scientists like Frank [sic] for a limited time as guests and liaisons with European science.

History shows that the Turks did not follow the above advice. The overall assessment by Courant and Franck however was optimistic:

Our whole impression is that if general conditions remain as they are in Turkey, a promising career for science can spring up in Turkey, that the enterprise promises to be profitable to the country, and that in our fields after a certain preparatory period, scientific research will also be possible.12

Moreover, on December 8 1933, Arnold Knapp, M.D. of New York wrote to Dr. Alan Gregg of the Rockefeller Foundation: “Prof. Joseph Igersheimer, of Frankfort, Germany, is now taking charge of the Eye Clinic at the University of Istanbul. He writes me that conditions are very primitive there, and all opportunities for doing research work are very meager, principally on account of lack of funds.... The Professor is one of the eminent younger ophthalmologists of Germany.... He was one of three men selected to report on tuberculous eye diseases at the International Oph...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Atatürk’s "Üniversite Reformu"
• 2. The Émigrés
• 3. The Builders
• 4. The Preservers
• 5. The Creators
• 6. The Social Reformers
• 7. The Healers
• 8. The Scientists
• 9. Problems They Encountered
• 10. Turbulence Due to WWII
• 11. Attempts to Emigrate to the US
• 12. Correspondence
• 13. Memoirs and Then Some
• 14. Momentum Lost, Opportunities Foregone-Turkey’s Policies and Practices
• Concluding Remarks
• Epilogue
• APPENDIX 1 Contemporary Mission Statements of the Original Three Turkish Universities
• APPENDIX 2 List of the Émigré Professors and Their Disciplines
• APPENDIX 3 Quantitative Cross-country Comparisons
• Notes
• References
• Index