Turcia în timpul celui de-Al Doilea Război Mondial. O neutralitate dificilă
Turkey during the Second World War. A Difficult Neutrality

Summary/Abstract: Turkey was not the only neutral state during World War II, but it was certainly in the most dangerous situation, especially in the early years of the conflict. The presence of German troops 60 kilometers from the Bulgarian-Turkish border and the considerable distance from British troops forced Turkey to adopt a policy of neutrality that proved to be a real diplomatic balancing act. Germany and the United Nations benefited from friendly policies which, in many cases, went beyond the framework of strict neutrality, leading to tense situations. Some of examples were: the American pressure in the spring of 1944 to stop chromium exports to Germany; mirrored by the policy of „turning a blind eye” to the presence and transit of Greek partisans, of evacuated British troops but also of the Greek emigrants of Jewish origins, who managed to escape the Holocaust and take the sea route to the Anatolian coast. Turkey achieved its goal: non-involvement in the global war. The rejection by the Americans (and Soviets alike) of the Balkan landing project saved Turkey’s neutrality. At the same time, the effectiveness of this policy was challenged by Moscow, which became Turkey’s open enemy during the early years of peace. Subsequently, wartime politics paved the way for the „Cold War”.

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