The Beginning Of The Barbarossa Operation Organised By The German Army Against Soviet Russia During World War II And The Turkish Press

Abstract

When the Germans made a pact with the Soviets on August 23, 1939, they continued the Bismarckian policy of not fighting on two fronts at the same time. The Soviets, on the other hand, managed to make an alliance with their closest enemy in the West. This alliance lasted until the Germans declared war on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, about two years after the Second World War started on September 1, 1939. The setbacks and blocs that occurred in the first months of this struggle that would last for many years played a decisive role in the course of the war. Even the plans for this war, which Hitler and his staff believed would end in a short time, were not designed to cover the winter months. However, it was realized that this belief was too optimistic in the face of the Soviet Union’s resistance on the fronts, and the inability of the Germans to capture the regions they had determined on the planned dates and the onset of winter marked the beginning of the end for the Germans. This situation of the German army increased the belief of many states, especially Britain, that the Germans would be defeated. The negotiations that began with Britain’s aim to provide aid to the Soviets led to the formation of a new bloc against the Axis powers. The aim of the study is to examine how the Turkish press evaluated the new war order that was introduced with the beginning of the Barbarossa Operation and their views on the subject. In this context, the newspapers Akşam, Cumhuriyet, Tan and Ulus were selected and document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Türkiye’s relations with both the Soviets and Germany, despite not having a land connection, caused Türkiye to attract the attention of all states during the war, and the pressures from both sides for Türkiye’s involvement in the war continued to increase during this period. Both diplomatically and through the media, these pressures were frequently responded to and Türkiye’s non-combatant status was defended. At this point, the Turkish press also sought answers to the allegations that Türkiye was taking sides or leaning towards one side.

There is no study that would require the approval of the Ethical Committee in this article.

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