The Impacts of World War II the economic practices in Turkey (1939-1945)

The causes of World War II resulted from the treaties that had been signed after World War I. The countries defeated in World War I had been suffering serious loss of territory and reputation. The Axis Powers and the Allied Powers were the two sides of World War II. Turkey remained neutral and did not enter war. From the very first day of war, Turkey declared that it would fight back if its territories suffered any attack. During that period, Turkey took certain measures against the extraordinary conditions that were brought along by World War II. The most important of those measures was to meet the food requirements of both the army and major cities. An inevitable result of war was the emergence of stockpiling and black-marketeering. Meanwhile, the Turkish Government decided to buy the villagers? crops at prices that were decided by the Government at its own discretion. This led to public nuisance and corruption. Enacting the National Defense Act, the Government aimed at the prevention of inflation, black-marketeering, and unfair profits. Another aim was to overcome the bottleneck that the country had to confront with respect to a wide range of diverse goods. Central administrations introduced food rationing in order to meet the needs of the Turkish nation such as bread, food etc. The Wealth Tax was a specific type of tax that aimed at the taxation of wealth and gains earned during World War II. The Soil Products Act applied to all soil products and used to be levied in the form of products. Pressure was imposed on Turkey, and meeting were held to force Turkey enter into war. The purpose of the Land Provision Act, which was enacted after World War II, was to provide land for farmers that owned no or only little land. It was necessary to make sure a continuous cultivation of all agricultural areas nationwide. Another purpose was to prevent excessive growth and/or excessive downsizing of land ownerships. However, the targets could not be accomplished. During World War II, Turkey displayed huge diplomatic success, and thus, managed to remain neutral during war. After the end of war, Turkey took its place among western countries and introduced diverse improvements, both in the political and economic sense. KEY WORDS 1. World War II 2. National Defense Act 3. Wealth Tax 4. Turkish Economy 5. İsmet İnönü