Reha Oğuz Türkkan (born 12 October 1920, Istanbul – died 18 January 2010) was a Turkish academic, journalist and a leading ideologue of Turkish nationalism. During his lifetime, he published many books which focused on Turkish nationalism and Pan-Turkism. He was the grandnephew of Fakhri Pasha.
Early life and education He studied Law at the Ankara University and following his graduation, he worked at the Ministry of Justice.
Publishing
He began to publish the outlet Ergenekon on the 10 November 1938. The Ergenekon appeared only a few times, but it was an influential outlet for Pan-Turkism as it depicted a Bozkurt (the Grey Wolf) on every front-page as well as the slogans "The Turkish race above everything" or "The Turkish race above every other race".Landau, Jacob M. (1995).pp.88–89 He was a fierce opponent of a fascist or communist ideology and claimed that the first country founded by race was Turkey and that it was not Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. He also published two other Pan-Turkist magazines called the Bozkurt (1939) and the Gök Börü (1942). In those magazines, he attempted to prove that the Turkish race was superior to other races due to the physical qualities and the historical accomplishments of the Turks.
Views He was in constant rivalry with Nihal Atsiz in defining the racial purity of Turkishness. Whereas Atsiz was more tolerant, Türkkan demanded a Turkish lineage of 9 generations.The Racist Critics of Atatürk and Kemalism, from the 1930s to the 1960s, Ilker Aytürk (Bilkent University, Ankara), Journal of Contemporary History, SAGE Pub., 2011 Nevertheless, he was convinced of the Turkish origin of the Native Americans and in 1999, he even wrote the book ‘Kızılderililer ve Türkler‘ (Native Americans and Turks) which focused on the subject. He led a group of racists who referred to themselves as the Bozkurtçu (In memory of the Grey Wolf) in the 1940s and was prosecuted but acquitted in the Racism Turanism trial. He defined Pan-Turkism as Turkish nationalism and as a vehicle for the establishment of a "national union" for all the Turkic people between Bulgaria to the Altai mountain range which then would strengthen Turkey as well.Landau, Jacob M. (1995), p.119
Personal life He was the father of four children and was married twice. He died in January 2010 and was buried in the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
Works
Novels
4 İçtimai Mesele, Arkadaş Matbaası, İstanbul, 1939 Türkçülüğe Giriş, Arkadaş Matbaası, İstanbul, 1940 Irk Muhite Tabi midir?, İstanbul, 1941 (Race et Milieu), Paris, 1942 Les Summeriens et les Rites Funéraires, Paris, 1942 Les Armes Serétes, Paris-La République, 1943 Milliyetçiliğe Doğru, İstanbul, 1943 Solcular ve Kızıllar, İstanbul, 1943 Kızıl Faaliyet, İstanbul, 1944 Tabutluktan Gurbete, İstanbul, 1950-1974-1985 İleri Türkçülük ve Partiler, Rafet Zaimler, İstanbul, 1947 Correlation in Twin Psychology, New York, 1951 One America, New York, 1951 Talking Turkey, New York, 1955 Turkish Literature, New York, 1956 Türks in Retrospect, New York, 1956 Conditioned Learning, New York, 1964 Revolution in Education (Programmed Instruction & Multi-Media), New York, 1967 Progr. Instruction Based Courses (Atoms & Electrons, French I, How to Recognize Names & Faces) Chicago Turkish National Character, New York, 1971 Kitle Halinde İşlenen Suçlarda Cezai Mesuliyet ve Kitle Psikolojisi, İstanbul, 1974 Pre-Columbian Americans & Turks-Cultura Turcica, 1975 Türk'ün dışarıda kalan mirası (Avrupa bölümü: film-çekim Balkanlar) Psikoloji, Yaykur, Ankara, 1976 İkna Psikolojisi, Ankara, 1976 Eğitim Teknolojisi Planı, Ankara, 1976 Yenilenmiş Türk Destanları ve Hikâyeler - "6 Minik Kitap ve Müzik Kaseti", 1977
Magazines
Milli Kültür Magazine, 1975 Kızıl Derililer ve Türkler, Hürriyer, 1996
Movies (production, direction and script)
To be Born Again, 1970 Rions Ensemble (On Turkish humor), 1973 First steps of the Moon (Live shot and interpretation of the first landing on the Moon) Türk Çocukları İçin (Turkish culture for children abroad), 1974 Öyle bir Özleyiş ki (Director Reha Oğuz Türkkan and Yücel Çakmaklı, Scenario Reha Oğuz Türkkan), 1977 Stranger in Paradise (tourist documentary), 1977 İpek Kadife, 1978 Too Early for Death (NBC-N.Y.) (Ölüm için çok erken), 1954 (Scenario only) İçtiğimiz Çay, 1976 (Scenario only) Altın Yumurta, 1976 (Scenario only)
References