Commemorations of Lausanne in the press of the National Chief era and their reflections in archival documents

In the introduction part of the study, the process leading to the World War I and the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty is discussed and explained. Then, it is mentioned how the anniversaries of the treaty were celebrated during the reign of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the purpose and method of the study are stated. In the first part of the study, how the Lausanne Peace Treaty was celebrated in the Turkish press during the period of İsmet İnönü, who served as the President of the Republic between 1938 and 1946 and who is referred to as the 'National Chief' in the literature, and the columns written on the subject were analysed. In order to legitimise Turkey's policy of neutrality in the Second World War and to make the public accept İsmet İnönü as a charismatic leader, it was stated that there was no article in the Lausanne Peace Treaty against Turkey and it was emphasised that İnönü alone achieved this success. It was constantly emphasised that it was thanks to the Lausanne Peace Treaty that Turkey remained neutral during the war and avoided a great destruction, and the Lausanne Peace Treaty was equated with the conquest of Istanbul. In order to better understand this process, Antonio Gramsci's 'Hegemony Theory' was used to explain the process. In the second part, archival sources on the celebrations between 1923 and 1950 were analysed. As a result of the examination, two sub-headings emerged. The first one is "Celebrations Among State Officials" and the second one is "Celebrations in Public Houses and Community Centres". While the first subheading consists entirely of archival sources, in the second subheading, academic studies on Halkevleri and Halkodaları were also utilised in order to provide a broader perspective. Many important findings were reached. The fact that Lausanne Day was celebrated with an incredible increase after İsmet İnönü became the president. While the language used in the celebrations of the Lausanne Peace Treaty during Atatürk's reign was plain and ordinary, the situation was exactly the opposite under İsmet İnönü. First of all, the value and importance of the treaty is constantly emphasised and İnönü is seen as the only hero of the treaty. In addition to this, Halkevleri and Halkodas acted in line with the wishes of the Republican People's Party. This shows that the speeches made during the celebrations did not take place within the framework of freedom of thought.