The inside story of the book 'Grey Wolf'...

Let us recall;

British citizen H.C. Armstrong wrote a book about Atatürk in 1932. And this book caused quite a stir in the world. Because it contained biographical information about a leader who left his mark on the 20th century, brought the world giant Britain to its knees, and defeated Italy and France—namely, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

It was titled “GREY WOLF” (Bozkurt).

And it appealed to the primordial and mythological historical sentiments of the Turks.

However, this book also contained incomplete and incorrect information. It even misrepresented Atatürk and attempted to create a negative perception against him through various slanders.

Ultimately;

This negative perception campaign, which partially achieved its goal, was embraced and turned into a source of pride even today by some segments who pass themselves off as Turkish nationalists.

So, what kind of book was this, and what kind of information did it contain?

First of all, let us state that the author of the book, Armstrong, was a spy, and during the occupation of Istanbul, he was conducting activities against the Turkish War of Independence while attached to the Intelligence Service. He was tasked with uncovering all Turkish organizations in Istanbul, including the MM (Milli Mücadele), which provided support to the National Struggle in terms of weapons and personnel, and with capturing those who fled to Anatolia.

Therefore, looking at the book he wrote about the Turks with suspicion was already a sufficient reason. Beyond being a history book, this was a psychological warfare book. Moreover, regarding the “GREY WOLF” book, The Observer said, “This book resembles a cinema script more than a true story.”

The Sunday Referee referred to it as “Like a story imitated from the cinema.”

Because, while Armstrong acknowledged Atatürk’s victory and genius in the Grey Wolf book, he was trying to disparage the Turkish society and its revolutions along with Atatürk’s private life.

For example;

He claimed that Mustafa Kemal was an oriental dictator and that the Turkish people were a backward and primitive people.

He said that Mustafa Kemal was born at the wrong time, and that is why he was chasing cheap politics and small traps.

“It is a dream to develop and advance the Turkish society with a few orders and laws,” he said, for example.

He was saying that “The Revolution Laws cannot be immediately implanted into the Turkish people, and that the development of society must come by filtering through its hundreds of years of spiritual accumulation.”

Unfortunately, some of today’s conservative intellectuals have also defended this idea. They used the same language. The reason for this is that the development of Turkish society was not in the interests of the imperialists.

In the book, Mustafa Kemal was also shown as a dictator, while his opponents like Refet Bele and Hüseyin Rauf were shown as democrats. However, this was absolutely not true.

The spy named Armstrong also touched upon women, of course.

He said in his book that he thought “Mustafa Kemal believed women should be used, enjoyed, and then cast aside once the job was done.” However, this was a huge slander and a lie. Because the Turkish woman had found life thanks to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

It was crystal clear that these slanders cast at Mustafa Kemal were entirely the product of a psychological war.

When the “Grey Wolf” book was published in 1932, its entry into the country was banned. Atatürk heard about the matter and asked those around him;

-What did you do about this book?

-We banned it from entering the country.

-Why?

-Because of the slanders about you.

-About drinking and such?

-Yes, Sir.

-He wrote too little. Let the book enter the country. Let the nation read it too, he replied.

Now I ask you.

In an era like the 20th century, when there were dictators and kings, which leader would allow a book containing slander about himself to enter the country?

This example alone shows how democratic, how revolutionary, how brave, and how tolerant a leader Atatürk was.

Today, now, in a world where we live in the space age, let us see if you can bring a book of slander written about a leader into the country.

The Grey Wolf book does not only target Atatürk. It also targets the Turkish people. It calls the Turkish people a “primitive, backward tribe.”

But nowadays, this book is mentioned as if it were a source of pride and honor.

Its author is an enemy of the Turks. He is an enemy of Atatürk. And it contains slanders.

Therefore, this book cannot be taken seriously. It cannot be.

It cannot be used as a source of pride just because the epithet of Grey Wolf was attributed to Atatürk.

Historians should not take it seriously either. In fact, The Sunday Times says, “This book cannot be used as a source for historians.”

One should not be a tool for ignorant, uninformed approaches. In any case, Atatürk did not accept the Grey Wolf emblem as the State Emblem, nor did he embrace this book written by the spy Armstrong.

His permission for it to enter the country stemmed from his tolerance and greatness.

Otherwise, he did not care much that a book had been written against him or that slanders had been cast.

He proceeded on the path he knew, and embraced reason, science, and human intelligence.