Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt 41T2 028 0261

German-Turkish Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression

The German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship (german: Türkisch-Deutscher Freundschaftsvertrag, tr, Türk-Alman Dostluk Paktı) was a

non-aggression pact A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a treaty between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in military action against each other. Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a tr ...

signed between

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

on 18 June 1941 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

by German ambassador to Turkey Franz von Papen and Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs

Şükrü Saracoğlu Mehmet Şükrü Saracoğlu (; 17 June 1887, Ödemiş – 27 December 1953, Istanbul) was a Turkish politician, the fifth Prime Minister of Turkey and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs during the early stages of World War II. He signe ...

. It went into effect on the same day. The pact stipulated that it was to last for ten years, but Turkey severed its diplomatic and commercial relations with Germany in August 1944, after the Soviet Army invaded Bulgaria, and on 23 February 1945 Turkey declared war on Nazi Germany. The pact was dissolved on 24 October 1945, after the fall of the Third Reich, when Turkey joined the United Nations.

Geopolitical context

After the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in 1939, Turkish President

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

pursued a policy of neutrality, tried to avoid involvement in the war and asked for military equipment deliveries from both the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

and the Allies. Germany tried to draw Turkey away from Britain by using diplomatic efforts. As Germany was preparing to invade

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in April 1941, German troops arrived at the Bulgarian border and demanded Bulgarian permission to pass through its territory. On 1 March 1941, Bulgaria, wishing to acquire the areas in which Bulgarian-speaking communities lived in Greece (East Macedonia and Thrace) and Yugoslavia (Vardar Macedonia), signed the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...

and so formally joined the Axis powers. On 4 March 1941, Franz von Papen forwarded a letter from

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

to İnönü in which Hitler wrote that he had not started the war and did not intend to attack Turkey. Further, Hitler emphasised that he had ordered his troops in Bulgaria to stay far from the Turkish border to avoid making a false impression of their presence. Hitler proposed a

with Turkey. On 6 April, Axis troops attacked Yugoslavia (in Operation 25) and Greece (in

Operation Marita The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

) through Bulgaria in an effort to secure its southern flank. The invasion of Yugoslavia ended on 17 April and the invasion of Greece on 1 June. Bulgaria annexed the Greek and Yugoslav regions that it had claimed, and the Axis annexation and the occupation of the Balkan region was complete. In the meantime, on 1 April 1941,

Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani Rashid Ali al-Gaylaniin Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany (" Sayyad" serves to address higher standing ...

launched a ''coup d'état'', which overthrew the pro-British regime in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. The four generals leading the revolt worked closely with German intelligence and accepted military aid from Germany. Hitler asked Turkey for permission to pass through Turkish territory to give Iraq military assistance. In exchange, the Turkish government demanded border concessions from Iraq. As the negotiations were taking place, British forces attacked Iraq. Between 18 April and 3 June, Britain restored the regime of Emir Abdul-Illah, the regent of four-year-old

King Faisal II Faisal II ( ar, الملك فيصل الثاني ''el-Melik Faysal es-Sânî'') (2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regici ...

. The issue between Turkey and Germany was resolved by that development. The German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship was signed on 18 June 1941. In August 1944, Turkey severed its diplomatic and commercial relations with Germany, which had predated the Friendship Treaty, and on 23 February 1945, Turkey declared war on Germany.Allied Relations and Negotiations With Turkey

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

, pp. 6-8

Clodius Agreement

In October 1941, Turkey and Germany signed the Clodius Agreement, named after the German negotiator Karl Clodius. Turkey agreed to export up 45,000 tons of chromite ore to Germany in 1941 and in 1942, and 90,000 tons of the mineral in both 1943 and 1944, contingent on Germany's supplies of military equipment to Turkey. Germany would provide as many as 117 railway locomotives and 1,250 freight rail cars to transport the ore. In an attempt to prevent the supply of the strategic mineral reaching Germany, both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

went on a buying spree to buying out Turkish chromite even if they did not need so much of it. As part of the "package deal", the Anglo-Americans also bought Turkish dried fruit and tobacco.Allied Relations and Negotiations With Turkey

, pp. 6-8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:German-Turkish Non-Aggression Pact Treaties concluded in 1941 Treaties entered into force in 1941 1941 in Germany 1941 in Turkey Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Nazi Germany World War II treaties Foreign relations of Nazi Germany Germany–Turkey relations Non-aggression pacts Turkey in World War II Franz von Papen

Geopolitical context

Clodius Agreement

See also

References