Svres as Monument, Europe as Eternal Other

Ed Webb, Dickinson College

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha/Mustafa Kemal Atatrk

WRITING HISTORY IS AS IMPORTANT AS MAKING IT

Russell Shorto, NYT Magazine Feb 14 2010

THE NARRATIVE OF THE PAST IS CONSISTENTLY RESHAPED BY PRESENT-DAY FORCES

Nietzsche Four Modes of History

Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie fr das Leben (1873)

1.Antiquarian 2.Monumental 3.Critical

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93452909@N00/36272330 by brewbooks CC BY-SA 2.0

Saladin the Turk . From Akan & Sarmat ( 1956 )

Progres s in human clothing Akan & Sarmat ( 1956 )

The foundational myth of the Republic and modern Turkish peoplehood necessarily includes both European and Christian others. One cannot celebrate the Treaty of Lausanne and the establishment of the Republic without remembering what preceded it. The Treaty of Svres is an essential monument on the terrain of Turkish national consciousness.

The monumental status of Svres makes Europe and minorities eternal others

It is hard to see what kind of counter-narrative could be composed for todays history books that could overcome the contradiction inherent in the monumental role of Svres. Forgetting does not seem to be an option.