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Ernst Jäckh papers

 Collection
Call Number: MS 467

Scope and Contents

These papers, purchased from Ernst Jäckh in 1949, consist of correspondence, reports, and other materials dealing with political and diplomatic affairs in Turkey and the Middle East from 1908 to 1921, particulary in reference to the interests of the German Foreign Office in that area.

Papers of the German naval attache Hans Humann form the bulk of the material. Included are his correspondence with Jäckh (1911-1918) and reports from Constantinople (1914-1916), many in the form of telegrams and extracts of official correspondence, to the chiefs of the German admiralty and of the naval administration. Humann was a close friend and foster brother of the Ottoman general and commander-in-chief Enver Pasha, a member of the Young Turkish Revolution of 1908 and one of the triumvirate that virtually ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1918. Enver played a key role in allying the Ottoman Empire with Germany in World War I, and Humann was in constant contact with him regarding Turkish national and international issues, especially the preparation of Ottoman war policy.

Other materials included in the Ernst Jäckh Papers are extracts of Enver Pasha's letters from Albania (1911), from the Tripolitanian War (1911-1912) in Libya where he successfully organized and led Arab resistance to the Italian invasion, and from the Second Balkan War (1912-1913) where he was chief of staff. In addition, the papers contain part of his unpublished autobiography. Some correspondence of grand vizier Mehmed Talât Pasha and his unpublished autobiography accompany these papers, as do a manuscript describing Baron Oppenheim's designs for an Islamic holy war from India to Morocco and information about native Moslems used by the German intelligence service (1914). Finally, also included are reports to German ambassador Baron Wangenheim in Constantinople on the "Armenian Massacres" of 1915-1917 from observers in Asia Minor and from Wangenheim to the Foreign Office in Berlin, and a collection of political drawings relating to the Young Turkish Revolution of 1908.

This material was originally part of the Edward M. House Papers, Manuscript Group Number 466.

Dates

  • 1908-1921

Creator

Language of Materials

The papers are in German.

Conditions Governing Access

The entire collection is available on microfilm. Patrons must use HM 250 instead of the originals.The materials are open for research.

Existence and Location of Copies

Entire collection is also available on microfilm (1 reel, 35 mm.) from Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, at cost. Order no. HM250.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Ernest Jäckh, 1949.

Extent

0.75 Linear Feet

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0467

Abstract

The papers consist of correspondence, reports, and other material relating to political and diplomatic affairs in Turkey and the Middle East from 1908 to 1921, particularly in relation to interests of the German Foreign Office in that area. Papers of the naval attache Hans Humann form the bulk of the material. Included are his correspondence with Ernst Jäckh (1911-1918) and reports from Constantinople (1914-1916), many in the form of telegrams and extracts of official correspondence, to the chiefs of the German admiralty and of the naval administration. Humann, friend and foster brother of Enver Pasha, was in contact with him regarding Turkish national and international issues. Enver Pasha's letters from the Tripolitanian war (1912-1913) and a draft of his unpublished autobiography accompany these papers. Other papers include the Grand Vizier Talât Pasha's unpublished autobiography as well as some correspondence with Ernst Jäckh; Baron Oppenheim's designs for the Holy War of the Islamic world from India to Morocco, 1915; information about native Moslems used by the German Intelligence Service; the "Armenian Massacres" of 1915-1917, as reported to the German Ambassador, Baron Wangenheim, in Constantinople, by observers in Asia Minor, and by him to the Foreign Office in Berlin; and a collection of political posters of the Young Turkish Revolution of 1908.

Biographical / Historical

Ernst Jäckh was born in 1875 in Urach, Germany. He studied at the Universities of Breslau, Geneva, Munich, and Heidelberg, becoming an expert on Turkish and Middle Eastern matters. A journalist and academic, he promoted the German-Turkish alliance (1908-1914), founded the German-Turkish Association (1912), and became professor of Turkish history at the University of Berlin (1914).

During World War I Jäckh served as a member of the diplomatic service attached to the general head quarters, and afterwards was a member of the German delegation to Versailles, Genoa, Locarno, and Geneva.

Jäckh was an organizer of the liberal movement of Friedrich Naumann (1902-1912). In Berlin after World War I he helped found the German League of Nations Union and the Hochschule für Politik. As a result of his advocacy of German democracy and of German-British understanding it was necessary for him to emigrate to Britain when Hitler came to power. There he held the position of international director of the New Commonwealth Institute until 1940, when he became a professor at Columbia University. While at Columbia he helped found the Columbia Near and Middle East Institute, and in 1946 became a consultant to the Columbia School of International Affairs.

Jäckh died in New York City on August 17, 1959. He was the author of over twenty-one books and numerous articles, many of them dealing with Turkey and the Middle East.

Title
Guide to the Ernst Jackh Papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Janet Elaine Gertz
Date
August 1981
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

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