Social life in Izmir between 1960-1970

This thesis is a study which covers the political, social and economic structure of İzmir and examines İzmir in all its aspects between 1960-1970. The period that formes the subject matter of the thesis starts with the military coup of May 27, 1960 and ends in 1970, including the process leading to the Military Memorandum of March 12, 1971. What happened in this 10-year period is a turning point in terms of the history of Turkish democracy. The changes that took place in the political arena were felt in every area of society; deeply affected people's daily lives, cultural activities, education and social life, demographic structure and economy. The subject is addressed in terms of İzmir because İzmir hosted many civilizations throughout the centuries and it is Turkey's third largest city. Izmir's restructuring process, the cultural changes that came with migration, squatting, reflection to Turkey of the youth movements experienced in the world and the 68 generation events reinforces once again the importance of this time period. The study is confined to the city center. Where it is deemed necessary, the towns and villagers are mentioned. While those people who witnessed the period are now remembering for better or for worse their childhood and youth memories with a great longing, new generation should not be left uninformed and thus all the details of the 1960s are revealed to readers in this study. In this thesis, as the working method, archive sources, newspapers and magazines of the period, official documents, statistical data were used and the memoirs of those who witnessed the time priod were utilized. The thesis is mostly written by using primary sources. the previous researches have also been examined in order to provide an integrity for the thesis. The point reached as a result of the dissertation is that the changes in the social structure started in 1960; the foundation of structuring and of cultural diversity of modern-day İzmir was laid in 1960s.