Reha Oğuz Türkkan (born 12 October 1920,

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 ...

– died 18 January 2010) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

academic, journalist and a leading ideologue of

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

. During his lifetime, he published many books which focused on Turkish nationalism and

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

. He was the grandnephew of

Fakhri Pasha Ömer Fahrettin Türkkan (1868–1948), commonly known as Fakhri Pasha and nicknamed the Defender of Medina, was a Turkish career officer who commanded Ottoman forces and served as governor of Medina from 1916 to 1919. His British and Arab o ...

Early life and education

He studied Law at the

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

and following his graduation, he worked at the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Publishing

He began to publish the outlet Ergenekon on the 10 November 1938. The ''Ergenekon'' appeared only a few times, but it was an influential outlet for

as it depicted a Bozkurt (the

Grey Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

) on every front-page as well as the slogans ''"The Turkish race above everything"'' or ''"The Turkish race above every other race".''Landau, Jacob M. (1995).pp.88–89 He was a fierce opponent of a

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

or communist ideology and claimed that the first country founded by race was

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 ...

and that it was not

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

under

Adolf 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 ...

. He also published two other Pan-Turkist magazines called the ''Bozkurt'' (1939) and the ''Gök Börü'' (1942)''.'' In those magazines, he attempted to prove that the Turkish race was superior to other races due to the physical qualities and the historical accomplishments of the Turks.

Views

He was in constant rivalry with Nihal Atsiz in defining the racial purity of Turkishness. Whereas Atsiz was more tolerant, Türkkan demanded a Turkish lineage of 9 generations.''The Racist Critics of Atatürk and Kemalism, from the 1930s to the 1960s'', Ilker Aytürk (

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

, Ankara), Journal of Contemporary History, SAGE Pub., 201

/ref> Nevertheless, he was convinced of the Turkish origin of the Native Americans and in 1999, he even wrote the book ‘''Kızılderililer ve Türkler''‘ (''Native Americans and Turks'') which focused on the subject. He led a group of racists who referred to themselves as the ''Bozkurtçu'' (In memory of the Grey Wolf) in the 1940s and was prosecuted but acquitted in the Racism-Turanism trials, Racism Turanism trial. He defined Pan-Turkism as

and as a vehicle for the establishment of a "national union" for all the Turkic people between

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

to the Altai mountain range which then would strengthen Turkey as well.

Personal life

He was the father of four children and was married twice. He died in January 2010 and was buried in the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

Works

Novels

* 4 İçtimai Mesele, Arkadaş Matbaası, İstanbul, 1939 * Türkçülüğe Giriş, Arkadaş Matbaası, İstanbul, 1940 * Irk Muhite Tabi midir?, İstanbul, 1941 * (Race et Milieu), Paris, 1942 * Les Summeriens et les Rites Funéraires, Paris, 1942 * Les Armes Serétes, Paris-La République, 1943 * Milliyetçiliğe Doğru, İstanbul, 1943 * Solcular ve Kızıllar, İstanbul, 1943 * Kızıl Faaliyet, İstanbul, 1944 * Tabutluktan Gurbete, İstanbul, 1950-1974-1985 * İleri Türkçülük ve Partiler, Rafet Zaimler, İstanbul, 1947 * Correlation in Twin Psychology, New York, 1951 * One America, New York, 1951 * Talking Turkey, New York, 1955 * Turkish Literature, New York, 1956 * Türks in Retrospect, New York, 1956 * Conditioned Learning, New York, 1964 * Revolution in Education (Programmed Instruction & Multi-Media), New York, 1967 * Progr. Instruction Based Courses (Atoms & Electrons, French I, How to Recognize Names & Faces) Chicago * Turkish National Character, New York, 1971 * Kitle Halinde İşlenen Suçlarda Cezai Mesuliyet ve Kitle Psikolojisi, İstanbul, 1974 * Pre-Columbian Americans & Turks-Cultura Turcica, 1975 * Türk'ün dışarıda kalan mirası (Avrupa bölümü: film-çekim Balkanlar) * Psikoloji, Yaykur, Ankara, 1976 * İkna Psikolojisi, Ankara, 1976 * Eğitim Teknolojisi Planı, Ankara, 1976 * Yenilenmiş Türk Destanları ve Hikâyeler - "6 Minik Kitap ve Müzik Kaseti", 1977

Magazines

* Milli Kültür Magazine, 1975 * Kızıl Derililer ve Türkler, Hürriyer, 1996

Movies (production, direction and script)

* To be Born Again, 1970 * Rions Ensemble (On Turkish humor), 1973 * First steps of the Moon (Live shot and interpretation of the first landing on the Moon) * Türk Çocukları İçin (Turkish culture for children abroad), 1974 * Öyle bir Özleyiş ki (Director Reha Oğuz Türkkan and Yücel Çakmaklı, Scenario Reha Oğuz Türkkan), 1977 * Stranger in Paradise (tourist documentary), 1977 * İpek Kadife, 1978 * Too Early for Death (NBC-N.Y.) (Ölüm için çok erken), 1954 (Scenario only) * İçtiğimiz Çay, 1976 (Scenario only) * Altın Yumurta, 1976 (Scenario only)

References

{{Authority Control 1920 births 2010 deaths Turkish writers Pan-Turkists Turkish nationalists Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Bulgarian Turks in Turkey Turkish Turkologists Turanists