Polish Contributors to the Modern Turkish State

Abstract

Poles have found a place of refuge in Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) for centuries. For example, there is a village near Istanbul, Polonezköy (former Adampol), which was especially created with the Poles on the search for a second home in mind. When one considers the Polish community in Turkey during and after the Second World War, the contributions made by the Polish engineers to the development and expansion of the Turkish aviation and industry are often forgotten. The assistance that Turkey provided Poles with during the war as a ‘friendly’ neutral country has also been overlooked. Although, there were relatively few Poles living in Turkey during this period, they played a vital role in the development of the country. Nowadays they barely receive a mention. For the most part, their accomplishments have been overlooked. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the shared past and to the period when these two countries came to each other’s assistance once more.