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164 
 
free the Caucasus, being pro-Turkish was a must in the service of their country. 
Caucasian emigres who opposed the Turks or Turkey, he argues, were overtly or 
covertly pro-Russian groups.
419
 
Then he explained his ‘Turkophilizm’ by correlating moral and cultural 
values of the Caucasus to Turkey. This was a psychological bond. In addition some 
objective criterion such as geographical position also forced them to be pro-
Turkish. Therefore Bammat’s aim, as some groups asserted, was not to remain 
under Turkish control.
420
 
 
While the Caucasian emigres were discussing not so relevant issues such as 
the borders, the German troops annexed Austria. This annexation or ‘Anschluss’ 
was gratified by the Kavkaz group and, received as the removal of one of the unjust 
consequences of the 1
st
 world War. In Kantemir’s words, among the unfair 
treatments, the worst two were done to the ‘German and Turan’ worlds, therefore 
this was merely the overturning these injustices. What Hitler did for the Germans 
was akin to Atatürk’s achievements for Turks. By with the spread of national 
socialist ideology one of the anomalies of the post-world war period was recovered 
at the end. One nation in two states unified into one entity. Henceforth, there was 
one big Germany stretching along from the North Sea to the Mediterranean.  
The next step was not so far, the bells of a clash between the ideologies of 
Communism and national socialism were ringing. The war was closer than ever 
before. Therefore, the Caucasians would have to be prepared for their own terms.
421
 
                                                 
419
 Bammat, “Türkiye ve Kafkasya,” 69. 
420
 Bammat, “Türkiye ve Kafkasya,” 69. 
421
 A. Kantemir, “Anşlus Münasebetile,” Yazılar Dergisi II, 62-64. 

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However, the Nazi-German Pact in August 1939 put a dramatic end to the 
expectations of Haydar Bammat and caused the dissolution of the Kavkaz group.
422
 
Bammat, because of the shift in Nazi policy, disgruntled and disengaged from the 
Germans. He ceased to play an active role in politics, settled down Switzerland and 
increasingly devoted himself to religious subjects. 
For the Prométhée events could not perceived within the same psychology. 
In 1938 the name of the periodical was changed to La Revue de Prométhée, and an 
Ukrainian Aleksandr Shulgin, replaced Georges Gvazava as the editorial director. 
With the German occupation of Poland, they lost their most important financial 
support and with the German invasion of Paris in 1940 the publication of the 
periodical ceased.
423
 
 
From the side of the Caucasians in general and the North Caucasians in 
specific, The German occupation of Poland in September 1939 was the death of the 
idea of independence. Members of the Caucasian Mountaineers People Party 
fought against the German troops together with the Polish Army, but they had to 
abandon Warsaw after fall on 27 September.
424
 
 
                                                 
422
 After the first German language edition of Kavkaz was appeared in 1937 the French authorities 
took steps against the émigré organization on its soil. In that year Bammat moved to Berlin and 
according to Muhlen, the next year he associated with German counter-intelligence. After the 
signing of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, however the publication of the Kavkaz probably banned by the 
Germans. Muhlen, ibid., p. 18. 
423
 Muhlen, Gamalıhaç ile Kızılyıldız Arasında, 36-45. 
424
 Muhammed Ayaz İshaki, March-December 1984. “Lehistan’dan gidiş,” Emel, 141/145, 120. 

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166 
 
8- The World War II and the North Caucasian Emigres: 
World War II, initially, caused retrogression in the activities of the North 
Caucasian emigres. First of all, German policy, in contrast to the expectations of 
the North Caucasians, was arrogant and cynical, geared to the exploitation of non-
Russian nationalist sentiments within very tight parameters, for propaganda 
purposes only. The Germans never had an intention of giving the desired 
independence to the eastern peoples of the Soviet Union. Instead they planned to 
occupy and colonize all these regions. 
The first German initiatives were in the military area. By late 1941 and 
early 1942, in order to fight against the Soviets, along with the German troops, the 
Germans organized legions which consisted mainly of prisoners of war. For this 
they established Turkistani, Armenian, Georgian and Muslim legions. The latter 
later divided into two, the Azeri and North Caucasian and sent to the region 
together with the German troops.
425
 
The political dimension of German interest emerged relatively late. The 
German Foreign Ministry organized the first German initiative, to use the ‘Eastern 
Peoples’ of the Soviet Union in the spring of 1942. On the recommendations of 
Franz von Papen, the German ambassador to Turkey, the Foreign Ministry 
organized a meeting in Berlin called Adloniade.
426
 The names from the different 
and even rival camps were invited to Berlin, such as Said Shamil, Haydar Bammat, 
Ali Khan Kantemir and Ahmet Nabi Magoma. Interestingly enough, the first to 
                                                 
425
 For the structure and the establishment of the legions see the detailed study of Muhlen, 
Gamalıhaç ile Kızılyıldız Arasında, 39-53. Also see, Tahir Çağatay, “Türkistan Kurtuluş Hareketile 
İlgili Olaylardan Sahneler,” 11; İskenderoğlu, August 1952. “İkinci Dünya Savaşında Kafkasya 
Gönüllüleri,” Kafkasya (Der Kaukasus), (Munich), 13: 25-26. 

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