History education within the scope of the national education policies during the Second World War (Secondary education, first period)

The National Chief Period Upon the decease of Ataturk during which the President of Republic Ismet Inonü, as a political entity, was more in the forefront witnessed both political and cultural changes. The changes experienced by the world particularly with the World War II affected he Turkish History. With the World War II, the humanist tendencies came into play with the better understanding of the importance of the concepts like peace, freedom, independence etc. In the post Ataturk period, there was a shift of attitude from nationalism to humanism on the one side. While this new cultural perspective does not explicitly object to the official historical thesis of the Ataturk period, it emerged as a different historical discourse to replace it. Humanism the presence of which we see in the cultural policy and particularly in history teaching, made its presence felt in all cultural and educational institutions of the state and the secondary school history course books of the period appeared as tools reflecting the ideology of the period according to this perspective. The development of the history teaching and in the secondary education in Turkey during the era of the World War II was addressed within the framework of the policies of the Ministry of Education and the continuity and change emerged in the official historical perspective of the period was put forth. It is clearly seen in the course books that the approaches to the history were evolved with the changes and transformation in the period of 1939 and later, and when the Ataturk period and post Ataturk periods are compared. Having made its mark in the cultural policy in the Ministerial period of Hasan Ali Yücel during the World War II and in the new world order, Humanism shaped the history course books and approach to history. With the diminishing effect of the Turkish History Thesis in this period, a tendency occurred towards the Western resources. Within this period, the history curriculums and course books were re-organized in line with the Humanist mindset after 1938 and underwent certain changes without denying the Turkish History Thesis.