Today in History – 15 December

Notes from Erzincan

From the entry İsmet İnönü made in his journal on December 15, 1939 on a visit to Erzincan and its environs:

A journey to the eastern provinces… The market of Erzincan is full of mud; waterlines are not properly installed. There is a power line, but no contractor. Trachoma is at 50 percent at the center. Newspapers are not delivered. German military attachés are wandering about. The men of Dersim only serve in the military for six months; some run away from chiefs in exile. The easiest point of escape is Kayseri…