The Ottoman Home Front During World War I: Everyday Politics, Society, and Culture
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The Ottoman Home Front during World War I: Everyday Politics, Society, and Culture Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Yiğit Akın Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Carter V. Findley, Advisor Jane Hathaway David L. Hoffman Copyright by Yiğit Akın 2011 ABSTRACT This dissertation aims to examine the socio-economic and cultural dimensions of the home-front experience of the Ottoman people during World War I. It explores the new realities that the war created in the form of mass conscription, a state-controlled economy, government requisitioning of grain and possessions, widespread shortages, forcible deportations and voluntary displacements, death, and grief. Using archival and non-archival sources, it also focuses on how Ottomans wrestled with these wartime realities. World War I required the most comprehensive mobilization of men and resources in the history of the Ottoman Empire. In order to wage a war of unprecedented scope effectively, the Ottoman government assumed new powers, undertook new responsibilities, and expanded its authority in many areas. Civilian and military authorities constantly experimented with new policies in order to meet the endless needs of the war and extended the state’s capacity to intervene in the distant corners of the empire to extract people and resources to a degree not seen before. Victory in the war became increasingly dependent on the successful integration of the armies in the field and the home-front population, a process that inescapably led to the erosion of the distinction between the military and civilian realms. ii This process had profound implications for Ottoman society. Each policy formulated for this purpose brought about further intervention by the state in the daily lives of ordinary Ottomans with disastrous consequences. Ottomans, regardless of age, gender, and ethno-religious affiliation, had to cope with deprivation, bereavement, and hardships of all kinds. The unprecedented expansion of the state, however, inevitably created new sites of interaction between the state and society, transforming existing modes of interaction. In tandem with deteriorating social conditions, the increasing encroachment of the state apparatus into the Ottoman people’s lives strained the legitimacy of the Ottoman state, intensified the pressure on the government and the military command, and undermined the mobilization effort. This loss of legitimacy in turn posed a sharp challenge to the state’s authority and its capacity to maintain social and cultural integration. iii To the memory of my father iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many individuals and institutions have helped me in the long process of completing this dissertation. It is a pleasure for me to acknowledge my gratitude to all of them. I would like to thank first of all my advisor, Professor Carter V. Findley, for his unfailing support in every phase of my graduate education. I am grateful to him for his willingness to share his expertise in Ottoman history and for his efforts to provide challenging and insightful critique on the previous drafts of my dissertation chapters. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Professor Jane Hathaway for her continued support of my dissertation from the very beginning. This dissertation has immensely benefited from her invaluable comments and suggestions. I am also thankful to Professor David L. Hoffman, who not only carefully read this dissertation and offered incisive recommendations, but also introduced me to the rich world of Russian/Soviet History. As a graduate student, I was first introduced to Ottoman history at the Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History at Boğaziçi University. Graduate education at ATA gave me first rigorous training in analyzing historical sources and approaching different periods and paradigms of Ottoman history with a critical perspective. Readings and discussions from those graduate seminars continue to inform my work. I am particularly grateful to Professor Şevket Pamuk who has generously supported me until this time. Throughout all these years, I have also accumulated debts to many wonderful friends. I offer my personal gratitude to Hülya and Arif Çetintaş, Müfit Balabanlılar, v Binnaz and Bülent Bekçioğlu, Duygu Uçar, Günhan Börekçi, Safa Saraçoğlu, Steve Hyland, Rob Padilla, and, Howard and Meral Crane. Over the years, I have spent many hours with Emre Sencer discussing politics, culture, history, food, and sports. He has been a rigorous reader of my chapters and has provided me with profoundly useful critiques. I consider myself fortunate to be a friend of him. My friend Kyle Heatherly read everything I wrote and made much-appreciated suggestions and stylistic comments, which greatly contributed to this dissertation. I also owe special thanks to all the müdavims of the Columbus Rakı Table. Our long dinners on Wednesday evenings could not “save the country,” but certainly made the life in Columbus more enjoyable for me. During my archival studies in Istanbul, I benefited from the warm friendship of more people than I could list here. Thanks must be extended, in no particular order, to Erdem Çıpa, Şükrü Ilıcak, Seçil Yılmaz, Nilay Özok-Gündoğan, Ebru Aykut, Nurçin İleri, and, Can Nacar. Their company made the long hours spent at the archives more pleasant than one can imagine. Several institutions provided essential funding for the research and writing of this dissertation. My thanks must go to the Department of History and the Office of International Affairs at the Ohio State University, the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations at Koç University, and the Bradley Family Foundation for the grants and fellowships they provided. The Ohio State University Presidential Fellowship helped me to complete the writing of this dissertation. I am indebted to the personnel of various archives and libraries for facilitating my research: the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives, İzmir National Library, Ankara National vi Library, İstanbul Beyazıt Library, and, finally, the Ohio State University Library. I would like to particularly thank the Interlibrary Loan Services and Dona Straley of the Middle East Studies Collection at the OSU Library for their constant support for acquiring library resources whenever I needed them. My family has always supported my pursuit of an academic career in history, although they struggled to understand my reasons for leaving engineering. I cannot possibly thank them enough for their understanding and ceaseless love and support. I wish my father too could see the product of these long years in gurbet. I am also thankful to Halil and Ayşe Fazlıoğlu, whose warmth and support have been second to none. I would like to acknowledge the gracious help of my sister-in-law, Müge Fazlıoğlu, who has always been with us in times of both grief and joy. My brother Altuğ has always shared my enthusiasm and been a constant source of encouragement from many different cities around the world. Finally, I express my deepest gratitude to Zülal. It would have been simply impossible to write this dissertation without her unwavering love, companionship, enthusiasm, and emotional support. vii VITA 2000....................................................B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Middle University Technical University, Ankara 2003....................................................M.A., Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul 2004 to present...................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Book Gürbüz ve Yavuz Evlatlar: Erken Cumhuriyet'te Beden Terbiyesi ve Spor (Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2004). [Robust and Vigorous Children: Physical Education and Sports in Early Republican Turkey] Edited Volume Issue Editor, Toplum ve Bilim (Society and Science), special issue on sports and physical education (no: 103, Summer 2005). Articles in English “The Dynamics of Working Class Politics in Early Republican Turkey: Language, Identity, and Experience,” International Review of Social History 54, no.17S (2009): 167-188. “Reconsidering State, Party, and Society in Early Republican Turkey: Politics of Petitioning,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 39, no.3 (2007): 435-457. “Not Just A Game: The Kayseri vs. Sivas Football Disaster,” Soccer and Society 5, no.2 (2004): 219-232. viii Articles in Turkish “Totalitaryen Paradigmadan Post-Revizyonizme Sovyet Rusya Tarihçiliğinde Yeni Gelişmeler,” Praksis 18 (Special Issue on Historiography) (2008): 61-93. “Yeni Kaynaklar, Yeni Yaklaşımlar: Erken Cumhuriyet Dönemi Emek Tarihçiliğine Katkı,” Tarih ve Toplum-Yeni Yaklaşımlar 2 (2005): 73-111. “Ana Hatları ile Cumhuriyet Döneminde Beden Terbiyesi ve Spor Politikaları, 1923- 2005,” Toplum ve Bilim 103 (2005): 53-93. “Fazilet Değil, Vazife İstiyoruz: Erken Cumhuriyet Dönemi Sosyal Tarihçiliğinde Dilekçeler,” Toplum ve Bilim 99 (2003/2004): 98-128. Book Chapters “Ulus İnşasında Bedenin Terbiyesi ve Politika İlişkisi: Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e” in Bedende Kıpırtılar, eds. Gülnur Elçik and Tuğba B. Özenç (Istanbul: Varlık Yayınevi, 2010), 237-254. “Umutlar, Korkular, Kaygılar: Dünya İktisadi Buhranının Siyasal Düşünce Ortamına Etkileri” in Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce vol. 9, ed. Ömer Laçiner (Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2009), 334-348. “Uluslararası Etkileşim İçinde