Crisis over 'Atatürk' opera in Germany grows: 34 Turkish organizations support joint statement, lawyer signals legal action

The tension surrounding the "Atatürk – Die Legende von Mustafa Kemal" (Atatürk - The Legend of Mustafa Kemal) opera, which the Stuttgart State Opera plans to stage in the 2027 season, is escalating. The reactions have moved beyond individual statements. An organized movement is forming within the Turkish civil society in Germany. The process is now entering a new phase on both public and legal grounds.

In our previous news analyses, we reported that the presentation of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the opera's promotional texts alongside concepts such as "violence," "authoritarianism," "nationalist ideology," "historical crimes," and "oppression" had caused a major backlash within the Turkish community in Germany.

Now, the crisis is deepening.

A total of 34 Turkish non-governmental organizations and representatives from across Germany have signed the open letter sent to the Stuttgart State Opera by Elif Özel İsmailoğlu, President of the Stuttgart Atatürkist Thought Association (ADD Stuttgart). The initial signatories include not only Atatürkist thought associations but also organizations from the fields of education, women's studies, culture, arts, immigrant advocacy, parent-teacher associations, music groups, and the business world.

WARNING OF LEGAL ACTION

One of the most notable developments in the process is the comprehensive legal warning letter sent to the Stuttgart State Opera by Özgür Dobruca, a Turkish lawyer practicing in Germany. Dobruca stated that in the opera's promotional materials, Atatürk is systematically presented as an "authoritarian," "nationalist," "violence-associated," and "historical crime-linked" figure, arguing that this is a "one-sided, ideological, and inconsistent with historical reality" approach.

The Turkish lawyer argued that the current promotional language is now pushing the boundaries of artistic freedom.

"WILL BE TAKEN TO COURT IF NECESSARY"

In his letter, lawyer Özgür Dobruca clearly stated that he would examine the opera from a legal perspective and would take the matter to court if necessary.

Dobruca noted that he could file a criminal complaint by drawing attention to the articles in the German Criminal Code regarding "defamation," "insulting the memory of the deceased," and "incitement to hatred and hostility."

The letter also cited the "Mephisto decision," a landmark ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court concerning freedom of expression and post-mortem personality rights.

34 ORGANIZATIONS UNITE ON THE SAME TEXT

Among the organizations supporting the open letter are Atatürkist Thought Associations from many cities across Germany, primarily in Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Hanover, Mainz, Limburg, Duisburg, Bielefeld, Villingen-Schwenningen, and Siegen.

The supporting structures and their representatives include the following:

Stuttgart and Surroundings Atatürkist Thought Association (Elif Özel İsmailoğlu), Augsburg Atatürk Culture and Art Center Association (Ali Osman Aslaner), Herrenberg and Surroundings Turkish Workers Association (Mürsel Uslu), culture and art association Turkuaz e.V (Işın Ertürk, Nazan Akgül), Stuttgart Turkish Women's Association (Selma Şen), KlangOase Music Association (Derya Bektaş), Turkish Mother Tongue Education Association (Alev Uysal), Turkish-German Dialogue Bridges Association (Nuran Demir), Esslingen Nürtingen and Surroundings Turkish School Parent-Teacher Associations (Güven Toymaz), International Democrats Union Württemberg (Burak Şahin), Fellbach Turkish Association (Hüseyin Babuşçu), Baden-Württemberg Beşiktaş Association (Burak Girgin), Ludwigsburg and Surroundings Atatürkist Thought Association (Sebahat Dalkılıç), Pforzheim Classical Turkish Music Ensemble and Arkadaş Turkish Folk Dance Ensemble (Ayşe Nur Dobruca), Stuttgart Culture Center (Ali Derya Doğan), Nuremberg and Northern Bavaria Atatürkist Thought Association (Süleyman Akgün), Rhineland-Palatinate Atatürkist Thought Association Mainz (Ali Seyfi), Lower Saxony Atatürkist Thought Association Hanover (Fatma Avcı), Duisburg Atatürkist Thought Association (Bülent Karabiber), Atatürkist Thought Association Bielefeld (Kamile Karaköse), DİTİB Baden-Württemberg State Union (Erdinç Altuntaş), Frankfurt Atatürkist Thought Association (Kasım Işık), Limburg-Weilburg Atatürkist Thought Association (Umut Ozan Horasan), M.K. Atatürk Association Villingen-Schwenningen (Sevgi Çelik), Siegen Atatürkist Thought Association (Serkan Delibaş), Baden-Württemberg Association of Turkish Immigrant Education, Integration and Culture Associations – BUND-BİK (Güven Toymaz), ÇYDD Baden-Württemberg (Zeynep Bahriye Taş), CHP Baden Union (Cengiz Yavuz), ADD Limburg-Elz (Hüsnü İlhan), MÜSİAD Stuttgart (Celal Tayar), Turkish Union Association Stuttgart (Saadet Karabulut), Karandere Friendship and Culture Association Sindelfingen (Cengiz Karakaş), and BW Turkish School Parent-Teacher Associations Federation (Güner Öztel).

Looking at the big picture, we see that the debate has moved beyond a narrow circle and has become an issue for much broader and more diverse segments of the Turkish-origin community in Germany.

LAWYER ÖZGÜR DOBRUCA'S LEGAL WARNING LETTER

Meanwhile, the full text of the letter sent to the Stuttgart State Opera by Turkish lawyer Özgür Dobruca, who practices in Germany, is as follows:

“Subject: "Atatürk – The Legend of Mustafa Kemal" Opera

To Whom It May Concern,

I have read the description of your planned opera, "Atatürk – The Legend of Mustafa Kemal," with great astonishment and serious concern.

First and foremost, it is certainly gratifying that such an important historical figure is being made the main character of an opera.

However, your promotional materials on social media accounts, your website, and likely in future brochures or program booklets, give the impression that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk will not be presented primarily as the founding leader of modern Turkey, but rather as a "controversial," authoritarian, and nationalist figure. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that his political activities are predominantly associated with violence, exile, and historical traumas.

I consider this approach to be one-sided, ideological, and a narrative that does not align with the historical integrity of Atatürk.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is the leader of the Turkish War of Independence, fought against occupying forces following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He led a nation under the threat of political fragmentation and foreign domination toward national independence. For this reason, for millions of people in Turkey and around the world, Atatürk is a symbol of independence, modernization, and anti-imperialist resistance.

The reforms he implemented—the establishment of a modern education system, legal equality for women, the secularization of the state, and the prioritization of science and civil rights—transformed Turkey into a modern nation-state. Many peoples living under colonial pressure in the 20th century viewed Atatürk as an exemplary leader of a successful struggle for independence against imperial powers.

Therefore, it is highly problematic that your opera's promotional material addresses historical conflicts almost exclusively from a negative perspective and indirectly associates Atatürk with general accusations directed at various peoples.

The historical events of that era are complex and have been the subject of scientific debate for decades. An artistic production should be aware of this complexity; it should not present political prejudices as indisputable historical facts.

A respected cultural institution like the Stuttgart State Opera bears a special responsibility regarding balance and historical sensitivity. Art can certainly be provocative; however, it should not unilaterally discredit historical figures or present a nation's symbols of identity primarily through their negative aspects.

For this reason, the language in your announcement is particularly disturbing. Although Atatürk is ostensibly not being "heroized," he is effectively being portrayed as a largely problematic figure.

This creates the impression that there is a deliberate attempt to downplay his historical significance in the founding of an independent Turkish state and his international standing.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is respected worldwide as a state founder, a modernizer, and a symbol of resistance against foreign domination. Reducing his political legacy solely to a dark and controversial narrative is appropriate neither to his historical role nor to the meaning he holds for millions of people.

Therefore, I request that you re-evaluate the public presentation of this production and adopt a more balanced approach that considers Atatürk's historical achievements as much as the complex political conditions of the era.

In this regard, I will either attend and support the opera personally or evaluate the necessary legal steps. Because, in my legal opinion, the current promotion of the event is no longer within the bounds of freedom of expression and art; it carries the nature of deliberate propaganda, contains partially false information, and harms social peace as well as the human dignity of certain groups.

(The Mephisto ruling—the German Federal Constitutional Court's landmark decision regarding post-mortem personality rights—is a guide on this matter.)

Your opera plans to associate Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with violence, exile, and oppression; furthermore, it intends to portray him as an authoritarian, ideologically nationalist person guilty of "historical crimes." In addition, it draws connections to allegations of "violence against Armenians, Greeks, and Kurds."

I view this as a severe distortion of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's life.

Freedom of art is very broad; however, it ends where human dignity and post-mortem personality rights are severely violated. In my view, the promotion of your opera crosses exactly this line. This promotion poses a danger of severe negative characterization, falsification of a life story, and permanent defamation in the eyes of the public.

The issue here is not merely historical criticism or interpretation; it is a matter of profound personal defamation.

If Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is severely disparaged within the scope of the announced opera, I hereby notify you that I will file a criminal complaint with the competent prosecutor's office on charges of defamation (§§ 186, 187 of the German Criminal Code), defamation of the memory of the deceased (§ 189 StGB), and incitement to hatred (§ 130 StGB).

Making claims that a person has 'committed genocide,' 'oppressed other nations,' or 'organized ethnic violence' when these are historically objectively false is legally unacceptable and punishable. This is because it constitutes a deliberately fabricated factual claim, targeted defamation, a severe distortion of a life story, and character assassination based on propaganda. In this case, it is no longer possible to speak of a genuine artistic or scientific debate.

In particular, accusations of 'genocide' are extremely serious historical allegations.

Furthermore, I will evaluate civil law remedies regarding preliminary injunctions, retractions, the protection of post-mortem personality rights, and the protection of historical reputation, and I will convey the necessary information to the rights holders.

Sincerely,

Özgür Dobruca

Lawyer"

IS THE TENSION ENTERING A NEW PHASE?

The crisis that began with the Stuttgart State Opera's announcement is not limited to calls for protest. The possibility of a legal process is also clearly on the table.

It remains to be seen whether the Stuttgart State Opera will take a step back, change the language used, or issue new statements regarding the project in the coming period.

However, it appears that for the millions of people of Turkish origin living in Germany, the issue has now gone far beyond a mere opera project.

The crisis in Stuttgart could be a harbinger of a new rift that will deeply affect the relationship between the Turkish community and cultural institutions in Germany in the period ahead.

IŞIN ERTÜRK – STUTTGART