Today in History – 5 October

A letter from İnönü to Atatürk

The following letter İsmet İnönü sent to Atatürk in the fall of 1938 as his health increasingly deteriorated indicated how the mutual affection and friendship between the two men stood strong despite occasional ups and downs:

Dear Atatürk! The esteemed Celal Bayar brought me your greetings. I was thrilled. Your swift recovery is my only and most sincere wish. I kiss your two hands and your dear and refreshing face a thousand times, dear Atatürk, great Atatürk, Atatürk my benefactor!

Following a disagreement in 1937, Atatürk and İnönü had reconciled and agreed that it would be better to appoint Celal Bayar as prime minister. Hence, İsmet İnönü released the seat of the prime ministry he had assumed for 12 years on October 25, 1937 and took some time off.

After this incident, Atatürk and İnönü saw less of each other; once Atatürk moved to İstanbul in the spring of 1938 due to health concerns, their meetings became even more infrequent.

Despite all, the two old friends continued to receive news of each other and remained in contact via third parties. Celal Bayar, Dr. Tevfik Rüştü Aras, Salih Bozok, and Sabiha Gökçen were the main sources of mutual information during this period. Each letter İnönü wrote and sent during this period, as he noted in his Memoirs, was a “letter of dedication and affection for a loved one that had fallen gravely ill.”