Documents On Turkish Republican Era In The Swiss Archives (Example Of Bern)

Abstract

Especially as structures where institutional memory is preserved over centuries, archives are undoubtedly of great importance for historical studies. Documents, as written records of internal and external information flow and communication, and the analysis and determinations that can be made on them, have the ability to illuminate the past as well as chart the future. In this context, documents regarding domestic political developments, diplomatic negotiations and commercial developments within the state, as well as memoirs and travelogues produced by members of the society, are important documents that shed light on the past and the future.

While until recently it was inevitable for a historian to go directly to the archive and see the documents in person, as the archives started to transfer their materials to the digital environment, accessing the source for research has brought more trouble-free processes and has become an inevitable necessity of catching up with the times. In fact, Türkiye has not been late in digitizing its treasure trove of documents and meeting the requirements of the age. On the contrary, it has left many other countries behind in this respect and has provided an important service to the academy and scientific research. Switzerland has also recently joined the race to digitize documents and offers a comfortable research opportunity in this respect.

The political and commercial rights and laws of the Swiss living in Ottoman lands have led to an increasing communication between Switzerland and the Ottoman Empire based on agreements since the 19th century. Apart from this, the activities of the Ottoman intellectual community in Paris, as well as in Bern and Geneva, were followed closely by both countries, starting from the First Constitutional Era until the Turkish War of Independence, and provided an unavoidable research pool for the recent political history of Türkiye. With the establishment of the Republic, more precise boundaries were drawn in bilateral relations, and apart from various agreements and contracts, diplomatic relations were placed on a more institutional basis with the opening of Switzerland’s first embassy in Türkiye.

This article will present a section of the research conducted in the Swiss archives for six months in 2018-2019. In addition to the importance of Swiss archives for Turkish history research, the construction of relations between Türkiye and Switzerland and how to access the archive material in this context will be discussed. In this framework documents directly accesible in the archives and especially documents transferred to the digital environment and accesible in the digital environment will be touched upon.