Customer Reviews

The Evasive Neutral: Germany, Britain and the Quest for a Turkish Alliance in the Second World War

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Book examines Turkey's relations with the major powers during WWII. It includes historical background on the 20s and 30s. Shows how Turkey swayed from Axis to Allies depending on events and avoided Nazi invasion. Some of the more interesting parts of book are not on Turkey but about events in Syria and Iraq and rest of mideast. Extensive Japanese intrigues in Baghdad, for example, sometimes at crosspurposes with German designs. Japan considered Iraq in their sphere

It deals with diplomacy throughout the Second World War when Turkey was a non-belligerent but not an ineffective bystander. Though she bound to Great Britain and France in mutual assisatance treaty since October 1939 broke her pledge to them and to all allied forces and declared war against Germany and Italy on February 1945 just before Yalta Conference when the fighting was all but over to be qualified in her inclusion of United Nations Organization. Thirty years later the Turks invaded Cyprus and revealed that, after all they had been dissastisfied with what diplomacy had gained for them. The book is very instructive for policy makers and leaders of the world and should have a reading copy of this outstanding book to better understand that diplomacy in nowadays should observe standards of honesty and integrity.