MESOP BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Five years after the German original, Corry Guttstadt’s study on “Turkey, the Jews and the Holocaust” has finally appeared in English. Even in shortened form, its main research findings have lost none of their value: Based on research in about fifty archives worldwide, Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust analyzes the minority politics of the Turkish republic and the country’s ambivalent policies regarding Jewish refugees and Turkish Jews living abroad. Although Turkey stayed neutral during World War II, the country’s policies proved crucial not only for the 75,000 Jews who lived in Turkey, but also to the 25,000 Turkish Jews living throughout Europe and the tens of thousands of Jews who desperately sought refuge in Turkey or transit to refuge elsewhere. Contrary to the official Turkish self-portrayal, this comprehensive study by Corry Guttstadt shows that Turkey was far from welcoming toward the Jews during the Holocaust era.