Naki Tezel’in “Yıkılan Köprü” Adlı Eserine Millî Mücadelenin Yansımaları
Reflections of the War of Independence on Naki Tezel’s Work Titled “Yıkılan Köprü”

Summary/Abstract: The National Struggle is the period during which the Ottoman Empire, with its multinational structure, fought against both external forces and those who, under the threat of territorial integrity by the Allied Powers, mistakenly believed they could secure significant positions by aligning with the occupiers. In this process, the ignorance of corrupt individuals who collaborated with the “other” and remained passive in military and political spheres against the occupations harmed the Turkish war of independence. Their actions facilitated the enemy’s claim, which purported to bring civilization and prosperity to Western Anatolia, making their actions appear legitimate. This situation, as recorded in official history, is also reflected in literary texts that mirror the intellectual and emotional values of national life. Naki Tezel, a significant folklore researcher, in his only storybook “Yıkılan Köprü,” brings to the fictional realm those who possess national consciousness and those who lack it in the Turkish people’s struggle to protect their sovereignty. This study will evaluate the reflections of the painful process of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of a national state in “The Fallen Bridge” within the themes of “being oneself,” “corruption,” and “alienation/lack of national consciousness.”

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