You are kindly invited to the seminar entitled “Türkiye in German Strategic Considerations during the Nazi-Soviet War, 1941-1944” organized by the Department of History.
Date: 26 January 2026, Monday
Time: 12.30
Avenue: AZ-31 Seminar Room
Title: Türkiye in German Strategic Considerations during the Nazi-Soviet War, 1941-1944
Speaker: Alan Donohue, University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Abstract:
Dr. Donohue will analyse the role of Türkiye in German strategic thought during the Nazi–Soviet War from 1941 to 1944. Key to its understanding is how National Socialist racial ideology classified the state of Türkiye and its “non-Aryan” population — positioning them ambiguously within Nazi hierarchies yet keeping them within Germany’s strategic imagination. The main section will examine Germany’s wartime aims: did Berlin genuinely seek Turkish entry into the conflict, or was strict neutrality more advantageous? Drawing on Wehrmacht assessments of the Turkish military, German intelligence reports, and diplomatic exchanges, the lecture will outline the perceived benefits and dangers of Turkish intervention. It will also situate Germany’s policies within wider geopolitical concerns — including the Straits, pan-Turanism, and Balkan security — while simultaneously assessing the strong imprint on German policy of Hitler’s personal strategic and racial convictions.
Bio:
Dr. Alan Donahue is Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic. He received his PhD in History from Trinity College, Dublin, in 2015. Dr. Donahue’s research examines the relationship between military institutions, political authority, and state formation in late 19th and 20th-century Europe. His recent monograph, entitled “Warlord Hitler: With Reference to the Campaign in Southern Russia in 1942”, examines Adolf Hitler as military commander and strategist between the outbreak of the Second World War and the end of 1942, reconstructing Hitler’s strategic decision-making across a range of functional domains.