National Committee of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Komitəsi, german: Nationales Komitee von Aserbaidschan) was an organization created in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

by Azerbaijani political immigrants. Established in late 1941, the committee's main goal was to make

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 ...

recognize an independent

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, and stop the German annexation of the Caucasus as a whole. In that period, German forces had a great success on

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, thus the state officials were convinced that the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

could win the war without the need of additional local assistance. Not being able to come to any substiantal agreement with the Nazi German government, the committee was disbanded in August 1943.

History

Creation

The political committee was founded in 1941, in

. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany invited Mustafa Vakilov, Mir Yagub Mehdiyev,

Khosrov bey Sultanov Khosrov bey Alipasha bey oghlu Sultanov ( az, Xosrov bəy Əlipaşa bəy oğlu Sultanov; 1879 – 1943), also spelled as Khosrow Sultanov, was an Azerbaijani statesman, General Governor of Karabakh and Minister of Defense of the Azerbaijani Democ ...

and Hilal Münşi to

, who at that time, resided in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. The committee only had four members. Its composition was submitted to the German Foreign Ministry for approval. Along with this document,

Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh Mahammad Amin Akhund Haji Mulla Alekber oghlu Rasulzade ( az, Мәһәммәд Әмин Ахунд Һаҹы Молла Әләкбәр оғлу Рәсулзадә, italic=no, Məhəmməd Əmin Axund Hacı Molla Ələkbər oğlu Rəsulzadə, ; tr ...

's broad statement of proposals, which included the immediate recognition of

's independence by the

and the creation of a united Azerbaijani army, was also submitted to the ministry.

Activity

The Committee considered possible cooperation with the

Nazi German 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 ...

leadership only on the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

issue. It was proposed that Nazi forces would not enter the

after they overthrow the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, and the region's fate would be decided by the locals themselves. However, the Nazi German government did not accept these proposals. The main reason why Rasulzadeh's proposals were not accepted by the

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 ...

's leadership was because of German misconception about the future of

. The Nazi officials were convinced that they would win without additional assistance. As a result, there was a disagreement with the Nazi government, and the committee's cooperation with the

Third Reich 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 ...

did not take place. The Committee was disbanded in August 1943.

References

Citations

Sources