Photos reveal child heroes of Turkey in times of war

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The photos in the ATAM archive reveal that children all around in Anatolia displayed heroism especially in places under occupation. AA photo

To mark April 23 Children’s Day, the Atatürk Research Center (ATAM) revealed its archive photos from the War of Independence. Most of the photos in the archive have never been seen before.

The photos are preserved with special techniques for future generations and depict children, whose name and age are not known. They reveal that, as well as men and women, children also had many important missions during the war period when the Turkish nation defended the country against enemies.

A large number of children, who joined the war of the Dardanelles and Independence, impacted history with their self sacrifice both on the front and behind the front. Some schools could not produce graduates because young people at the age of 15 and 16 were martyred during the War of Independence, and were not able to return from the war area.

The photos reveal that children all around in Anatolia displayed heroism especially in places under occupation. The deep traces of poverty and helplessness caused by the war can be seen in the faces of these children. The origins of some photos in the ATAM archive are not known.

Among the photos are those taken a short time after the war was won. In one of these photos, the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his wife Latife Hanım take a break with Kazım Karabekir Pasha, İsmet İnönü and the other heroes of the national struggle in 1923 on the Edremit highway. The close interest of the public, especially of children, in Atatürk and Latife Hanım can be seen in the photo.

Another photo shows children from the Aegean province of Uşak, who are greeting Atatürk with great enthusiasm when he returned from victory.

Encyclopedia on Atatürk

ATAM is also currently working on a new encyclopedia outlining the story of Atatürk and the early Republican years. The encyclopedia will cover every detail of Atatürk’s life and his activities, according to reports.

The Atatürk Encyclopedia was set to be completed within 18 months, but was delayed due to research issues, according to officials. There is detailed information on Atatürk’s thoughts and personality, as well as events during the republican years in the encyclopedia.

Reference book

“There were a total of 563 articles in the former encyclopedia, all of these had been revised. This encyclopedia will also be a very historical reference book. The encyclopedia will first be published in Turkish before being translated into different languages,” ATAM President Mehmet Ali Beyhan said.

“If you give too many articles to one person, it will not be a very objective encyclopedia. That’s why we aim to spread the articles to different people and make them write objective information. This will be an objective work,” Beyhan said, adding that the people who are on the research council of the encyclopedia are researchers and professors.