The History from the View of the Founder Fathers of the Republic of Turkey: The War of Independence

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This study aims to reveal how the Turkish War of Independence was told in the history textbooks in elementary schools to the Republic of Turkey’s first generation. The research has been carried out using the historical research method, one of the qualitative research methods. The data of the study have been collected through the primary school history textbooks published between 1924-1928. The data have been obtained through document review. According to the research findings, the subjects of Istanbul’s occupation, the occupation of Izmir, the resistance against invasions, the Battles of Inonu, the Eastern Front, the Battle of Sakarya and the Battle of Dumlupınar are included in the textbooks. In contrast, the Battle of Kütahya-Eskişehir is not included. It is understood that since the textbooks were written right after the War of Independence, this directly affected the content and the language used. It is possible to see the enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, and perspective of the Turkish War of Independence in the textbooks. This situation shows that the process and the atmosphere in the country affect the history education. Moreover, it has been observed that the subjects were told in the form of stories, taking into account the students’ cognitive levels. It is remarkable how the Republic’s fathers told and conveyed the Turkish War of Independence to the Republic’s children about the events that took place just recently. In conclusion, this study demonstrates how the present-day Turkish history textbooks have evolved from those entirely subjective textbooks of the early Republic era.