Education in the Shadow of War: Turkish Naval School during the First World War

Abstract

The First World War, one of the largest global conflicts, was fought between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers from 1914 to 1918. The war significantly disrupted education and training processes across various sectors. In schools,some educators were sent to the war front following the declaration of war, while economic hardship prevented many families from sending their children to school. These challenges extended beyond civilian education to military training institutions. In military schools, several officers were reassigned to active duty on the battlefield. Additionally, senior students nearing graduation were required to complete their studies early and were deployed to the front lines. This article examines the impact of the war on the Turkish Naval School (Bahriye Mektebi), which provided military naval training in the Ottoman Empire. It explores how the Ottoman Empire’s alliance with Germany influenced the education processes at the school. The study situates the Turkish Naval School within the broader context of Turkish military education history and evaluates the effects of the four-year conflict on its operations. The analysis draws primarily on archival documents to provide a detailed account of the challenges faced by the institution during this period.

Keywords

• first world war
• turkish naval school
• military education
• cemal pasha
• germans