Turkish Youth Groups

Figure 1.--Here we see a coed Turkish youth group in 1975. The children are earing police uniforms. We are not sure if it is a local or ntinal group. They may be a kind of junior auxilery group.

Youth groups in Turkey first appeared during the Ottoman period, mostly just before World War I. We see Boy Scouts otganized by PE teachers in schools (1909). We have not yet found evidence of Girl Guides in the Ottoman era. The Scouting efforts were put on a hold during the Balkan Wars (1911-13) and World War I (1914-18). This probably reflects the British image still associated with Scouting. We do see a substantial Turkish nationalist group being organized beginning just before the World War I. Much of this effort was associated with World War I. After the war and the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) we see a renewed effort to organize a Scouting movement. We note Scouting activities beginnuing to be organized nationwide in the schools (1926). We are not sure what impact the rise of the NAZIs had. Scouting had a British tunge to it. And Trukish officials may have been hesitant to become deply invested in it abs the conflict betwenthe Allies and Grmans shaped up. After World War II and the defeat of the NAZIs, in which Turkey did not participate, there seems to have been an interest in promoting Scouting along European lines. Ahmet Han, the Director of Scouting, and Muhittin Akdik, the Director of Education in İstanbul, put together a European tour. They visited France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, countries with strong Scouting movements. They studied study Scouting activities and the way it was administered. Their idea was to expand Turkish scouting along modern lines. Sıtkı Sanoplu helped found the Cub Scout program (1950). Cub packs existed in the coeducational primary schools, and were themselves coed, but boys and girls were placed in separate sixes, or dens. Almost all the Cubmasters were women, like British akelas. J. S. Wilson, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, began a tour of Asian scouting (1952). As part of his tour he visited with Cub Scout packs, Scout troops and Girl Guide companies in noth İstanbul and Ankara. The Ottoman Empire and the Young Turks who helped found the Turkish Republic had an interest uniting the ethnic Turkish people of Central Asia . They dreamed of a vast Turkish state extending from Anatolia into Central Asia. It was one reason for the Armenian Genocide. Thus after the implosion of the Soviet Union (1991), there was some interest within the Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation to help found Scout movements in the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, allmof which had ethnic Turkish populations. The existing Young Pioneer Movement had imploded along with the Soviet Union. Nothing came fom this, however, in part bcause the Government authorities in those new countries saw Turkish Scouting as Turkish meddling in their affairs. The Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey was legally associated with the General Directorate of Youth and Sport. This was changed to an autonomous status (Februry 2007).

Ottoman Empire

Youth groups in Turkey first appeared during the Ottoman period, mostly just before World War I. We see Boy Scouts otganized by PE teachers in schools (1909). We have not yet found evidence of Girl Guides in the Ottoman era. The Scouting efforts were put on a hold during the Balkan Wars (1911-13) and World War I (1914-18). This probably reflects the British image still associated with Scouting. We do see a substantial Turkish nationalist group being organized beginning just before the World War I. Much of this effort was associated with World War I.

Modern Turkey

After the war and the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) we see a renewed effort to organize a Scouting movement. We note Scouting activities beginning to be organized nationwide in the schools (1926). We are not sure what impact the rise of the NAZIs had. Scouting had a British tinge to it. And Trukish officials may have been hesitant to become deply invested in it abs the conflict betwenthe Allies and Grmans shaped up. After World War II and the defeat of the NAZIs, in which Turkey did not participate, there seems to have been an interest in promoting Scouting along European lines. Ahmet Han, the Director of Scouting, and Muhittin Akdik, the Director of Education in İstanbul, put together a European tour. They visited France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, countries with strong Scouting movements. They studied study Scouting activities and the way it was administered. Their idea was to expand Turkish scouting along modern lines. Sıtkı Sanoplu helped found the Cub Scout program (1950). Cub packs existed in the coeducational primary schools, and were themselves coed, but boys and girls were placed in separate sixes, or dens. Almost all the Cubmasters were women, like British akelas. J. S. Wilson, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, began a tour of Asian scouting (1952). As part of his tour he visited with Cub Scout packs, Scout troops and Girl Guide companies in noth İstanbul and Ankara. The Ottoman Empire and the Young Turks who helped found the Turkish Republic had an interest uniting the ethnic Turkish people of Central Asia . They dreamed of a vast Turkish state extending from Anatolia into Central Asia. It was one reason for the Armenian Genocide. Thus after the implosion of the Soviet Union (1991), there was some interest within the Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation to help found Scout movements in the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, allmof which had ethnic Turkish populations. The existing Young Pioneer Movement had imploded along with the Soviet Union. Nothing came fom this, however, in part bcause the Government authorities in those new countries saw Turkish Scouting as Turkish meddling in their affairs. The Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey was legally associated with the General Directorate of Youth and Sport. This was changed to an autonomous status (Februry 2007).