The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) congratulates Congressman Sarbanes for his initiative and for bringing to the forefront the inaccuracy made by a high-ranking U.S. government official by the State Department on this issue of “crucial historical importance.”

Contrary to Admiral Mullen’s statement, the truth is otherwise. Turkey not only did not fight in WWII alongside the Allied Forces, but in reality aided and abetted the war effort of the Axis Powers. Turkey failed to honor its treaty with Britain and France to enter the war, remained neutral and profited from both sides! In fact, Turkey supplied Hitler with chromium, a vital resource for Nazi Germany’s armaments industry and war effort. See F. Weber, The Evasive Neutral p. 44 (1979).

Further, Hitler’s armaments chief, Albert Speer, provided Hitler a memorandum in November 1943 on “Alloys in Armaments Production and the Importance of Chromium Imports from the Balkans and Turkey,” which stated that the loss of chromium supplies from Turkey would end the war in about 10 months. See A. Speer, Inside the Third Reich pp. 316-17, 405, 550 n.10 (1970).

One can make the argument that, “Turkey’s supply of chromium to Nazi Germany prolonged World War II by 7 months. Thus, based on Turkey’s support of Nazi Germany, all battlefield and concentration camps deaths in the last 7 months of World War II lie at Turkey’s doorstep” said Executive Director of AHI, Nick Larigakis.