British Propaganda in Neutral Turkey

This book analyses if and how British propaganda was used to influence Turkey during WWII through a variety of channels from radio broadcasts to rumour-spreading.

This book explores if, and how, British propaganda influenced the Turkish government and people of Turkey during the Second World War. It sheds new light on how central neutral Turkey was to Britain’s wartime decision-making, and how the propaganda war on Turkish soil played a critical part in Britain’s fight against German influence in the country.

With its strategic geographic location between two theatres of war, Turkey was uniquely placed during WWII. Keeping Turkey neutral, or even drawing them into the Nazi orbit, was a key objective of the Germans, while the British, who were Turkey’s allies throughout the conflict, wanted to keep them as such. This book contrasts the German and British efforts to influence Turkish opinions towards their own ends through an uncoordinated stream of magazines, cultural propaganda, radio broadcasts and rumour-spreading.

Analysing British propaganda objectives and effectiveness in a country with low levels of literacy, Corse shows how their methods changed over the course of the war. Highlighting lessons on the effectiveness of propaganda it demonstrates the importance of communication and intelligence, and the active role of neutrality and neutral states in wider conflicts.