Germany adventurism in Turkey and the Middle East before WW1 15 /9 /15
This book covers the whole story of Germany's relationship to the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey.
von Oppenheimer of the German Jewish banking firm. A "free-lance" diplomat in Egypt, amateur archeologist, and agent provocateur stirring up jihadist sentiments against the British in Cairo. Converted to Christianity. Took to himself the title of "von." Removed lots of Iraqi antiquities to his private collection, which have recently been put on display in a Berlin Museum - major archeological specimens.
1871 Germany became a united country, by which time most other European countries had colonised the "Third World". Germany saw an opportunity in building a railway to Baghdad and the port of Basra to be able to trade directly over land with terretories that the British ships traded with by sea.
She also tried to encourage jihad of Islam against Britian and France in their colonies that had large Moslem populations to undermine them. This reminds us of the cold war where the USA supported the Mujadin against Russia. This attitude of your enemy is my friend has consequences which we are now seeing in Afghanistan. We also see organizations at present like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza that exist because they get money from Iran.
The interesting aspect that Turkey remained neutral and tried to manipulate both sides in WW1 until she eventually joined Germany, thinking it was joining the winner.
The whole story of the Young Turks also that France was considered the protector of Christian in the Moslem world. The German realpolitik was at the expense of the Armenians.
The fact that the Bosphorus was closed to Russian shipping for 2 years during WW1 was another reason causing the Russian Revolution is not mentioned in the texts books.
Barbara Tuchman at the time travelled by ship to visit her grandfather Henry Morgenthau in Istambul and was witnes to a sea battle between British and German ships, The Groeben and Breslau 2 German ship got away and took shelter in Turkey.
Through Turkey the Germans were hoping to gain control of Suez, had there tunnels through the Taurus and Amana mountains been completed at the start of WW1, German influence would have been greater.
The German's who encouraged a jihad against the Entente found themselves victim and ended up paying more and more for the war. The railway was not commercially viable because it was incomplete and most Germans including long time railway workers and residents were leaving Turkey because of the anti-German sentiment violence and lynch mobs against them. Deuschebank wanted to cut its losses on the railway but the Turks said they could nationalize it once it was complete.
Gallipoli was won without a jihad attitude as you had a capable officer in charge Mustafa Kemal (Attaturk)
The Tsarist Caucasus army was beating the Turks and marching into Turkey from the east when Germany allowed Lenin to go to Moscow and called for peace, as the Tsarist army was losing on the western front.. Lenin told soldiers to return home where land would be divided up to give them. Then Turkey was able to regain her territory and Germany attempted to get Baku oil fields and gave Georgia independence.
Britain occupied Mesopotamia and joined with the new Russian revolutionry regime to keep the Turks off the oil of Baku. 1917
The book discusses that Zionism was very strong in Germany and one of Britian reasons for supporting the Belfour Declaration was to get Jewish support before Germany did? Antisemitism in the middle East in WW2 was the result of this with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem going to Berlin.Von Oppenheimer became a Hitler supporter.
This book is well researched and covers every detail, is fascinating but not easy reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment