Atatürk's Address To The Youth of Turkey () is a famous speech by the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's first president, founding father, and national hero,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, spoken as the concluding statements to his 36-hour 20 October 1927 address to the Parliament, wherein he laid out, in a sweeping and thoroughly-detailed retrospective, the history and intellectual foundations of the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

and the fight for modernity, liberty and democracy that fueled the Turkish Revolution, and ultimately led to the October 29, 1923 establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The speech is a direct address to the present and future younger generations of the country, and functions as a call to vigilance in the face of difficulties that may face the nation, as well as a reminder of the civic and patriotic duty of each citizen to protect their freedoms in the face of internal and external adversaries. A framed version of the speech typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of Turkish schools, accompanied by a

Turkish flag The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag (), is a red flag featuring a white crescent and star on its emblem, based on the 18th-century Ottoman Empire flag. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the ...

, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of the national anthem.

Atatürk's Address To Turkish Youth

O, Turkish Youth! Your first mission is to forever safeguard and defend Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic. This is the foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most valuable treasure. Even in the future, there will be domestic and foreign evils who will want to deprive you of this treasure. One day, if you are obliged to defend independence and the Republic, you will not worry about the means and the condition of your circumstances. These means and condition may appear to be of an unfavourable character. The enemies that threaten your independence and your Republic may be the representatives of an unprecedented victory around the world. By force and trickery, all the strongholds of the holy motherland may have been captured, all of its dockyards may have been occupied, all of its armies may have been disbanded, and every corner of the country may have been materially occupied. Even more severe and horrible than all these circumstances, those who have power within the state may act with blindness and heresy, even treachery. These rulers may amalgamate their personal interests with the occupiers' political objectives. The nation may be devastated and exhausted in abject poverty. O, child of the Turkish future! Here it is, even in these circumstances and conditions, your mission is to save Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic. The power you need is in the noble blood in your veins! Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 27 October 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ataturk's Address To Turkish Youth Culture of Turkey 1927 in Turkey 1927 speeches Speeches by heads of state