The Historical Evolution Of The Political Archive Of The German Ministry Of Foreign Affairs And Its Significance For The Modern Turkish History

Abstract

This article aims to introduce the Political Archive of the German Foreign Ministry from a historical perspective and explain its significance in writing the modern Turkish history. Being established in 1870, the history of the Political Archive is of the same age not only as its affiliated Ministry of Foreign Affairs but also as the relations between Türkiye and Germany in the late Ottoman Empire and the subsequent Republic of Türkiye. This period is marked by almost uninterrupted and intense relations between the two countries across various fields, including military alliances, cultural exchanges, and commercial activities. The Political Archive, which serves as the repository of Germany’s foreign policy memory, reflects the tumultuous history of Germany from 1871 to the present day which encompasses various names and regimes, as well as numerous highs and lows. The Political Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was influenced by the reorganization of state institutions in the Weimar Republic which was established following the First World War and the archiving system, which remains in use today, was established in 1921. Additionally, with the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the destruction of the Third German Reich, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Political Archive ceased to exist between 1945 and 1951. Therefore, there are no Foreign Office documents from this six-year period. In 1945, the Foreign Office Political Archive was seized by the Allied Powers occupying Germany and transported to London for examination by Britain, the United States, and France. As a result of extensive efforts and negotiations by the Federal Republic of Germany, established in 1949, the archive was moved to Bonn, the new capital, in 1956. This relocation allowed Germany to regain its foreign affairs memory. The publication of the documents from the German Foreign Ministry, initially begun by Allied historians during the archive’s tenure in England, persisted under German historians in 1959 through the Institute for Contemporary History (Institut für Zeitgeschichte). As a result, numerous volumes of documents spanning the years from 1918 to 1995 were published under the title Germany’s Foreign Policy Documents (Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik Deutschlands). Germany typically enforces a thirty-year period, with some exceptions, before historical documents can be made accessible to the public. It’s worth noting that the Political Archive of Foreign Affairs serves as a unique resource for analyzing Türkiye’s international relations over the past century and a half, alongside its endeavors toward modernization throughout this era. From the 1880s to 1918, there were uninterrupted relations between the two countries both under Abdulhamid II, the Second Constitutional Period and the rule of the Union and Progress Party which also covers the First World War years. Following the interruption of diplomatic ties between 1918 and 1924, Turkish-German relations reached their zenith until 1944, particularly flourishing in cultural and commercial domains, with Germany emerging as Türkiye’s foremost foreign trade partner. In the diplomatic relations re-established after the Second World War (in 1951-1952), particularly gaining momentum after 1961, TurkishGerman relations took on a new dimension with their shared NATO membership and Türkiye’s involvement in the European Economic Community (the European Union from 1993 onwards) process. Since then, the bilateral relations have persisted with uninterrupted continuity and intensity up to the present day. During this period, fueled by the influx of Turkish laborers migrating to Germany and the establishment of a sizable Turkish community, now numbering in the millions, the bonds between the two countries and their peoples have grown remarkably resilient, forging an almost inseparable connection. Hence, Germany’s Political Archive of Foreign Affairs, alongside the Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv) and other archival repositories, holds undeniable significance for understanding and documenting the modern Turkish history.

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