Today in History – 14 April

Condolence message for Roosevelt

President İsmet İnönü broadcasted a radio message upon the death of U.S. President Roosevelt. Also published in all the newspapers on April 14, 1945, the condolence message read as follows:

Today, the world has lost one of the most valuable citizens of the United States of America, a great and noble man of humankind, and a valuable friend of the Turkish nation. I am certain that the profound sadness I feel over this sudden and tragic loss is also the expression of the sincere and heartfelt sentiments of all my citizens.

This eminent man, whose redeeming qualities I greatly admired in my personal encounters with him, was a friend of our nation and the advocate of justice and truth in every endeavor. With a resilience that far exceeded the limits of the human body, he became an exemplary man of action in war and peace. Like a soldier fighting on the battlefield until the end, he died heroically on duty, struggling until the final days…

Our only consolation is that Roosevelt, the forerunner of the enemy’s defeat, died after seeing victory on the horizon… Once the ideas he defended come to define the relations between countries in the future, the name of Roosevelt will remain the epitome of international agreement and harmony.

Let us bow before this great man and respectfully cherish his memory. On behalf of the Turkish nation, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the United States of America.