Mehmet Cevat Rıfat Atilhan (1892 – 4 February 1967) was a Turkish career officer and

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

writer. Known as one of the most prominent Nazi sympathizers in Turkey, he was an initiator of the

1934 Thrace pogroms The 1934 Thrace pogroms (, "Thrace incidents" or "Thrace events", Ladino: ''Furtuna/La Furtuna'', "Storm") were a series of violent attacks against Jewish citizens of Turkey in June and July 1934 in the Thrace region of Turkey. One of the main ...

Biography

He was born in 1892 in

Vefa Vefa is part of the district of Fatih in Istanbul, and lies inside what was once the old walled city of Constantinople. It lies roughly northwest of the eastern section of the Aqueduct of Valens, and is rich in monuments, both Byzantine and Ott ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. His father Rifat Pasha was the Ottoman Governor of Damascus. His grandfather was Hurşit Paşa, who was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born Hungarian revolutionary that sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire either after 1831 or after the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

, and served as an Ottoman official principally in

Bosnia Vilayet The Bosnia Vilayet (Serbo-Croatian: Bosanski vilajet/Vilajet Bosna) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, mostly comprising the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with minor parts of ...

. The first years of his childhood passed in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Then he came to Constantinople and went to Fatih İptidaisi (primary school). After graduating from primary school, he started to Kuleli Military High School, preferring to military service. In his first days in the lieutenant years he took part in the Albanian campaign. He was taken prisoner by the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

in the siege of Edirne. Bondage lasted two years. At the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was ordered by Ahmed Cemal Pasha to be posted in the Middle Eastern front. He came forward with his heroism in the Sinai and Palestinian fronts. Upon the conclusion of the First World War, Mehmed Cemal Pasha of Mersin came to

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

. The establishment of the National Front had great benefits. He met with Sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

as the first national representative. When Sultan Mehmed VI left his post,

Damat Ferid Pasha " Damat" Mehmed Adil Ferid Pasha ( ;‎ 1853 – 6 October 1923), known simply as Damat Ferid Pasha, was an Ottoman liberal statesman, who held the office of Grand Vizier, the ''de facto'' prime minister of the Ottoman Empire, during two ...

had Atilhan arrested because of a conspiracy. He was imprisoned in the Bekir Ağa Bölgesi. During 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 ...

, he was appointed as the commander of the fronts of Zonguldak-Bartın and its vicinity by

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic language, Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in t ...

. It prevented the spread of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in this region. Upon the victory of the War of Independence, he left the army and went into writing. After in the late 1920s, Atilhan started publishing antisemitic books. After publishing ''Suzy Liberman, Jewish Spy'' in 1935, the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

gave the order to buy 40,000 copies and distributed them amongst the officers. The book was banned on September 17, 1936. In 1940, Atilhan was arrested on suspicion of preparing a pro-Nazi coup. He was incarcerated for 11 months before being released by the results of an investigation led by

Fevzi Çakmak Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak (12 January 1876 – 10 April 1950) was a Turkish field marshal (''Mareşal (Turkey), Mareşal'') and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Imperial Government (Ottoman Empire ...

. During the

1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

, Atilhan organized the Turkish Legion, a volunteer unit composed of 300 retired Turkish soldiers, to fight against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. According to Atilhan, the Turkish volunteers managed to capture an Israeli village and later joined the

Jordanian Army The Royal Jordanian Army (Arabic: اَلْقُوَّاتُ ٱلْبَرِّيَّةُ ٱلْأُرْدُنِيَّةُ; ) is the ground force branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF). It draws its origins from units such as the Arab Legion, ...

. During the one-party period of Turkey, Atilhan who was close to the ideas of Turkism, contributed writings to two of the most influential magazines of Islamist ideology in early Turkey: ''

Sebilürreşad ''Sebîlürreşâd'' (Turkish: Straight Path) was a Turkish print magazine created by Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Eşref Edip Fergan along with Ebül'ula Mardin as its lead writer in August 1908, to spread the idea of Islamism under the name of ''Sıra ...

'' and '' Büyük Doğu''. His writings and his political activities affected growing Islamist movements in Turkey. He was one of the founders of the National Development Party in 1945 and the Democratic Party of Islam in 1951. He was arrested in 1952 along with

Necip Fazıl Kısakürek Ahmet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (May 26, 1904 – May 25, 1983) was a Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, Islamist ideologue, and conspiracy theorist. He is also known simply by his initials NFK. He was noticed by the French philosopher H ...

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

as responsible for the assassination attempt of

Ahmet Emin Yalman Ahmet Emin Yalman (14 May 1888 – 19 December 1972) was a Turkish Sabbatean (crypto-jew) journalist, publisher, professor and influential policy-advisor in the Republic of Turkey. He was a liberal and opposed the spread of the Nazi ideology in h ...

. He was detained for 11 months and 15 days. He wrote 74 works and thousands of articles. He was influenced by antisemitic politicians like

Şerif Yaçağaz Şerif Yaçağaz (1876 – 5 October 1938) was a Turkish career officer, civil servant and antisemitic politician, who served as an officer in the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army. His antisemitic and anti-communist lectures drew the attention o ...

and Ali Galip Yenen. Because of his antisemitic writings, he was described as the '

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

of Turkey'. In August 1964 he was invited to the Congress of the Islamic States in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. He was elected as the chairman of the executive committee of the Congress. This post was his last major mission. He died of a heart attack in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 4 February 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atilhan, Cevat Rifat 1892 births 1967 deaths Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Turkish War of Independence Anti-Zionists Antisemitism in Turkey 20th-century Turkish writers Writers from Istanbul People of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Prisoners and detainees of Turkey Turkish conspiracy theorists Turkish Islamists Turkish Nazis