Have you ever wondered why the ‘Republic’ was declared on October 29? You probably guessed that it coincided with the circumstances, but Atatürk has a very special reason for choosing this day.
Why exactly 29 October and not 3 days ago or 5 days later? The choice of this day was no accident. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had actually given a secret message, especially by choosing October 29. So to whom and why was this message? What was the secret of October 29?
The reason why our great leader chose this day specially is that it was a slap on October 30, 5 years later. What happened on October 30? It is the day when Mondros was signed in 1918. The Mudros Armistice Agreement is a disintegration and collapse agreement that ended the Ottoman Empire due to someone’s betrayal and led to the British occupation.
In other words, by declaring the Republic of Turkey on October 29, our Ata actually declared “the revenge of a nation” against October 30.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Fahrettin Altay (1925)
The reason he announced on this date was that he hosted him for 10 days in Ankara during the Republic Day celebrations in 1925. He explained it to Fahrettin Altay Pasha. Fahrettin Altay was the commander of the cavalry corps that entered Izmir on 9 September.
Let’s listen to what they have to say: Atatürk always said “an oppressed nation”. It has been quite some time since the proclamation of the Republic. I have always asked myself why October 29. One day, after the table was scattered in Çankaya, he said, “Pasha, it caught my attention. I always thought. The armistice was declared on October 30, 1918. I remember the password you gave to the Başkent (Istanbul) from your headquarters in Adana. Now, time has passed, the Republic “Is it a coincidence that our announcement was made on the night of October 29? It could have been three days ago or five days later,” I asked.
Then Atatürk says: You remember the first days of the armistice. The palace and the government had accepted the surrender. The government was in the hands of the palace, and the palace in the hands of the Entente Powers. The palace was content with this. But I couldn’t accept that. By resisting this, I considered it my duty to take action against those who wanted to erase this oppressed nation from the stage of history, by providing a way out. We were alone in the world, but those who were with me also connected to the ideal I believed in, and the result was achieved. The armistice was signed on 30 October 1918. The country was divided and invaded. Well, how many years passed from October 30, 1918 to September 9, 1922, when we entered Izmir? four years. We declared the Republic on 29 October 1923. Here is the great revolution that we have packed into five years, which has come under the conditions we live in, in which nation’s history does it exist? This oppressed nation has reached its rightful place.This is the greatest reward for our pain and suffering. The whole world has seen this. There is more to see. The event that makes me most happy is that this oppressed nation comes to the place it deserves. You know the agony I suffered in the days after October 30, 1918. You were with me. Mondros is October 30, Republic is October 29. This is a nation is the soul of an oppressed nation. I think the states at that time understood this.
Atatürk stopped for a moment, looked at Fahrettin Pasha, and then slammed his hand on the table: Say, this is the vengeance of a nation that wants to be erased from history…
Atatürk with Fahrettin Altay at the Izmir Turkish Hearth
After Fahrettin Altay said “But you never mentioned it”, Atatürk “It would be to brag, it is the right of those who believe in the ideal, the nation and the army to be proud with me” says. Fahrettin Altay’s thoughts on Atatürk’s view of this event are as follows: The proclamation of the Republic could have happened three days ago or two days later. There were some currents that had taken action against them. But what did not escape my attention was that he wanted the negotiations to end as soon as possible. Since I was with him in the code he gave from Adana to Istanbul, I knew very well his fierce objection to the terms of the armistice and his torment that day. Let’s say I can deduce a conclusion from the phrase “This is the vengeance of a nation”, maybe he wanted to achieve both results.
Atatürk, who said, “The genius is that when he first puts forward what will be appreciated and accepted by everyone in the future, everyone calls them crazy”, Atatürk was showing another example of genius to the world and the Turkish nation even when choosing the date of the Republic.
Republic Day celebrations on October 29, 1925
Fahrettin Altay told this wonderful story to journalist Taylan Sorgun, who compiled his memoirs. Taylan Sorgun reveals the secret of October 29 “Bekirağa Squadron” quoted in his book. He is the last witness to hear this secret from Fahrettin Altay’s mouth.
Due to the effects of the 1st World War, the nation became tired and poor, and the staff of the Union and Progress, which brought the country into war, left the country worrying about their own lives.
Groom Ferit Pasha
On the other hand, in the rush of the Sultan himself and only his throne, the government of Damat Ferit finds helplessness and salvation only in an agreement with the British. The conditions of the State with the Entente States on 30 October 1918 in Mudros a heavy surrender signed.
Allied States, taking advantage of especially article 7 of Mudros It occupies almost every part of the country. While this patriotic and proud Turkish nation, which lived through the massacres along with the occupations, was struggling with the external enemy, it was also betrayed by the internal collaborators with a burning heart.
Nâzım, for those days “We are a nation that has seen both fire and betrayal” says. Despite all these harsh external and internal conditions, there is a Mustafa Kemal who, with his loud voice, has opposed Mondros from the first day and shouted what is happening to the nation. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Republic at the end of a great five-year struggle, which brought about the Anatolian revolution with his military and political genius.
The Republic, which is the essential and cherished property of the great Turkish nation in every sense, will always rise and live forever in the hands of its precious children.
Sources: 1, 2