Wednesday, June 18, 1941 - Germany & Turkey sign a non-aggression pact

[Louis]

Turkey began WW2 bound to Great Britain and France by the military alliance of October 1939, moved to non-belligerency in June 1940 after the fall of France, and adopted a policy of "active neutrality" in the spring of 1941 after German occupation of the Balkans and the conclusion of a German-Turkish Treaty of Friendship on June 18, 1941.

The Germans had substantial economic interests in Turkey. There were two Germans banks in Turkey, the Deutsche Bank, Istanbul, and the Deutsche Orient Bank. Six German insurance companies had branches in Turkey. More than 60 German-controlled firms were engaged in trade, transportation, and industry in Turkey. German firms were active in enterprises such as building materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, shipping, forwarding and transportation, machinery and electrical equipment, tobacco merchandising, commission agencies, importing, and exporting. There were German interests in at least 50 other firms in Turkey.

Also doing a good business in Turkey were the branch banks of two major German banks, the Deutsche Bank and the Dresdner Bank. They took advantage of the high prices on the Turkish free gold market to sell looted gold provided by the Reichsbank in return for foreign currency, particularly Swiss francs. Profits from the banks' Turkish gold trade were used to finance not only Germany's diplomatic, espionage, and propaganda activities in Turkey, but also the operations of various other Axis and "Axis friendly" Legations