Nejdet Sançar

Ahmet Nejdet Sançar (May 1, 1910 – February 22, 1975) was a Turkish literature teacher, who became one of the prominent personalities of the Pan-Turkist ideology. He was the younger brother of another notable Turkish nationalist, Nihâl Atsız.

Nejdet Sançar
Born
Ahmet Nejdet Sançar

(1910-05-01)May 1, 1910
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
DiedFebruary 22, 1975(1975-02-22) (aged 64)
Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityTurkish

Politics

The two brothers had strong similarities in many ways. They were both literature teachers and they were defending the same political ideology. Just like his brother, he was tried during the Türkçülük Davası (Trial of Pan-Turkism) and he faced torture. The trial was a state reaction to the growing power of the nationalist front in the country because the nationalists were against the policies of the second president of Turkey, İsmet İnönü. In the end, Sançar wasn't found guilty and he was acquitted. He kept his extreme right-wing ideas until his death.

Literature

Sançar's numerous articles were published in nationalist magazines. Also, he wrote five books which are Türklük Sevgisi (Love of the Turkic Identity), Irkımızın Kahramanları (Heroes of Our Race), Tarihte Türk-İtalyan Savaşları (Italo-Turkish Wars in History), Afşın'a Mektuplar (Letters to Afşın) and İsmet İnönü İle Hesaplaşma (Face to Face with İsmet İnönü).

Death

Nejdet Sançar died on February 22, 1975 while he was working on an expanded version of his book Tarihte Türk-İtalyan Savaşları. Not even a year later, his brother died because of a heart attack. The deaths of the brothers caused a gap in the Pan-Turkist front.

Trivia
  • His only son, 15 years old Afşın, died in 1960. When Sançar heard the news, he had a serious stroke which he could only recover from partially.
  • Sançar took active role in associations like Türkiye Komünizmle Mücadele Derneği (Turkish War on Communism Association) and Türk Ocakları (which was formed by his brother).
  • Surnames of Nihâl Atsız and Nejdet Sançar are different because during the announcement of the Law on Family Names, they couldn't communicate because of Sançar's military service.
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