Pan-Turanism activities under scrutiny
Although the CHP government was tolerant towards Pan-Turanists in the early years of World War II, it hardened its position in the matter once the course of the war was crystallized. Following the court process that began once State Conservatory instructor Sabahattin Ali filed a suit against racist-Turanist movement leader Nihat Atsız, the Turanism issue came to be debated widely among the public. The official announcement the government released on May 18th upon the incidents emerging during the court case clearly indicated the change in position against Pan-Turanists:
They [Pan-Turanists] are abusing the purely nationalist and patriotic sentiments of innocent youngsters and recruiting supporters from the young generation, thereby engaging in a continuous and systematic activity to attain their objectives, and thus are working towards realizing their harmful ideologies.
A day after this announcement, President İsmet İnönü’s following words in his May 19th address also reflected the state’s approach to the developments: “We are Turkish nationalists, but we are enemies of racism in our country.”
In the two weeks following the address, racists were taken into custody and the Racism-Turanism Case that prosecuted 23 leading names of Turkish politics began in September of 1944.
