The Reflection of the 1939-40 Soviet-Finnish Winter War on Yeni Sabah, Cumhuriyet and Tan Newspapers and Evaluations on the Ideological Positions of These Newspapers
Serdar KaraFreedom of the press, which can be considered to have relatively increased during the short-lived multi-party system with the experience of the Liberal (Free) Republican Party in 1930, was restricted after the closure of the party, and later a one-party system began to be consolidated in Türkiye in parallel with the general trend in the world. During this period, the Turkish press was unable to find a chance to reveal clearly its ideological preferences, especially regarding domestic policy and the regime and to hold discussions in this direction. The press demonstrated its ideological tendencies mainly through the world issues of the period. Therefore, the foreign political events of the single-party period are an important source of data in terms of reflecting the ideological preferences of the press in Türkiye. The Winter War, which began with the attack of the Soviet Union on Finland as a local war briefly after the Second World War and lasted for approximately three months, is a remarkable event for understanding the ideological tendencies of the Turkish press.
This study discusses the approach of Cumhuriyet, Yeni Sabah, and Tan newspapers which were known as the newspapers with three different tendencies in Türkiye during the Second World War, towards the Winter War. The study examined the articles and news in these newspapers and evaluated their ideological tendencies through their approaches to the Winter War. In addition, the article analyzed the relationship between the attitude of the press towards the Winter War and Turkish foreign policy between 1939 and 1940.
1939-40 Sovyet-Fin Kış Savaşı’nın Yeni Sabah, Cumhuriyet ve Tan Gazetelerine Yansıması ve Bu Gazetelerin İdeolojik Pozisyonları Üzerine Değerlendirmeler
Serdar Kara1930 yılında Serbest Cumhuriyet Fırkası deneyimi ile kısa süren çok partili sistem esnasında görece arttığı söylenebilecek basın hürriyeti, fırkanın kapatılmasının ardından kısıtlanmış, dünyadaki genel eğilime paralel olarak Türkiye’de de tek partili bir sistem pekiştirilmeye başlanmıştır. Bu dönemde Türk basını özellikle iç politikaya ve rejime ilişkin kendi ideolojik tercihlerini açık bir şekilde ortaya koymak, bu yönde tartışmalar yapmak imkânını bulamamıştır. Basın, ideolojik eğilimlerini daha çok dönemin dünya meseleleri üzerinden göstermiştir. Dolayısıyla tek parti döneminin dış politik olayları, Türkiye’de basının ideolojik tercihlerini yansıtması bakımından önemli bir veri kaynağıdır. İkinci Dünya Savaşı başladıktan kısa bir süre sonra lokal bir savaş olarak Sovyetler Birliği’nin Finlandiya’ya saldırısıyla başlayan ve üç ay kadar süren Kış Savaşı, Türk basınının ideolojik eğilimlerini anlamak bakımından dikkate değer bir olaydır.
Bu çalışmada, İkinci Dünya Savaşı yılları Türkiye’sinin üç farklı eğilime sahip gazetesi olarak bilinen Cumhuriyet, Yeni Sabah ve Tan gazetelerinin Kış Savaşı’na yönelik yaklaşımı ele alınmıştır. Bu gazetelerde çıkan yazılar ve haberler incelenmiş, Kış Savaşı’na yönelik yaklaşımları üzerinden ideolojik eğilimleri hakkında değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Ayrıca basının Kış Savaşı’na dair tutumunun, 1939-40 arası Türk dış politikasıyla ilişkisi irdelenmiştir.
The political system in Türkiye is the main factor that determines the media regime. During the early Republican period, multi-party life was tried twice, and the press gained the opportunity to make its voice heard compared with the single-party years. After the failure of these attempts, the press largely lost this freedom with the adoption of the Press Law in 1931. For this reason, the press demonstrated its ideological tendencies through issues related to foreign policy instead of discussing domestic politics and the regime.
On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began with the German invasion of Poland. The Soviet-Finnish Winter War, which also emerged as a local war during the Second World War, was an event that exhibited the ideological tendencies of the Turkish press.
Immediately prior to the Second World War, Soviet Russia wanted to expand its borders to the Baltic region to secure its borders against the increasing danger from Germany. Toward this end, it demanded certain regulations and argued that the FinnishSoviet border was only 32 km from Petrograd. However, Finland refused these demands. After the talks were interrupted, the Winter War began on November 30, 1939, when Soviet Russia attacked Helsinki. Contrary to expectations, Finland displayed great resistance by using the climatic and geographical conditions in its favor. However, Finland, which did not find the help it expected, needed to ask for peace and submitted to Soviet demands at the end of the war that lasted for 104 days.
Contrary to the common belief in Turkish historiography, Türkiye followed a policy of alliance with Britain and France instead of an active neutrality policy during this period. This policy was a factor that determined the attitude of the press towards the Winter War. However, a number of differences existed among the three abovementioned newspapers. The ideological tendencies of these newspapers played a role in the basis of these differences.
Cumhuriyet, Yeni Sabah, and Tan newspapers represented the three tendencies of the Turkish press during the Second World War. Cumhuriyet is known for being pro-German, Yeni Sabah for being pro-British, and Tan for being pro-Soviet. Therefore, the study also examined the positions taken by these newspapers based on their attitude toward the Soviet-Finnish Winter War
Yeni Sabah, especially its editor-in-chief Hüseyin Cahid Yalçın, was worried that Soviet Russia would approach Germany due to this war. However, in the later days of the war, after the Allied states clarified their stance in favor of Finland, Yeni Sabah also took a stance in favor of Finland. Yet, the tone it used against Soviet Russia was extremely careful. In other words, Yeni Sabah refrained from using a harsh style against Germany and Soviet Russia.
Cumhuriyet, which was described as pro-German due to its editorial policy during the Second World War, openly took the side of Finland during the Winter War. The unexpected resistance from Finland was met with enthusiasm. Cumhuriyet like Yeni Sabah associated the heroism of the Finns against the Russians with their “Turkish roots” and covered the subject intensively. Cumhuriyet differs from the other two newspapers due to its critical language against the Allies and Soviet Russia. In particular, names, such as Peyami Safa (known for his anti-communist ideas) and Muharrem Feyzi Togay (defender of Turanist thought), used harsh language against Soviet Russia. On the other hand, Zekeriya Sertel, the editor-in-chief of the Tan, argued that the Soviet Union had lacked imperialist goals and made justifiable demands in favor of socialism.
