The 'Doctor' of the working class, in the hearts and minds of those whose hearts are full of love for the homeland...

Fear is not a medicine for any disease. On the contrary, fear is the root of every ailment.

It is better to die than to become afraid of expressing one's love for the homeland!”

Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı

Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı proclaimed his love for the homeland. A deep treasure trove of ideas… He made a great effort to identify the unique characteristics of Turkey. He examined the structure of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish society in detail. At the same time, he was a volunteer soldier of the Kuva-yı Milliye (National Forces)…

A 17-YEAR-OLD KUVA-YI MİLLİYE FIGHTER, KÖYCEĞİZ KUVA-YI MİLLİYE COMMANDER

With the end of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire also came to an end. On May 15, 1919, Greek troops landed in İzmir, and the Aegean region was occupied. Subsequently, the Kuva-yı Milliye was organized, and the fire of resistance was lit. Leaving his school, young Hikmet (Kıvılcımlı) joined the resistance on the Aydın front against the enemy occupation in 1919 as a 17-year-old Kuva-yı Milliye volunteer. He participated in the war in Yörük Ali Efe's band. Later, he was appointed as the Military Commander of the Köyceğiz Kuva-yı Milliye. His first writings were published in the Menteşe newspaper, which was published in Muğla and served as the publication organ of the Kuva-yı Milliye.

“İzmir under Greek occupation, pulling weapons from warehouses. Kuva-yı Milliye volunteerism. Yörük Ali Efe, who could shoot a coin in the air with a pistol. The Zeybeks. The Aydın Front. The Çine Bridge, being appointed as the ‘Köyceğiz Kuva-yı Milliye Military Commander’. The indifference and arrogance of the landowners. The warm, motherly hearts of the mountain Turkmens. The Menteşe Newspaper, printed by hand on a lithograph.”

ONE OF THE MILESTONES OF OUR POLITICAL THOUGHT LIFE

At the beginning of 1920, Hikmet (Kıvılcımlı), who entered the Tıbbiye-i Şahane (Military Medical School) by examination from the 9th grade of the Istanbul Vefa High School, studied medicine at the expense of the military. The purpose of his journey to Istanbul was to begin his medical education, but “Armistice Istanbul” did not welcome this young Kuva-yı Milliye member with boots on his feet and a kalpak on his head.

He met socialist ideas in Armistice Istanbul. From the 1920s onwards, he was a member and leader of the TKP (Communist Party of Turkey). He never stopped his intellectual work either. In his life, during which he spent 22.5 years in prison, he produced numerous books, translations, hundreds of articles published in newspapers and magazines, and thousands of pages of unpublished work. Instead of just benefiting from translated works and re-analyzing or adapting them to the process, he examined the original works himself.

With the scientific methodology he applied in his studies, he strove to reach the reality of the society he was a part of. He studied Ancient History and revealed the laws of the general course of this history. He wrote the book of understanding and grasping history as a science; his “History Thesis”. This work, in which he examined human history and societies, is a ‘monumental’ work. He addressed issues in terms of their meaning in the course of capitalism and their place in the course of the country. He examined the women's issue and the effects of religion on Turkish society, and devoted intense effort to establishing the connection between socialism and religion.

IT BELONGS TO THIS LAND...

When the calendar showed October 11, 53 years ago, he passed away in Belgrade, where he had to go abroad despite battling cancer.

Those who have questions and problems in their minds that they want to change, those who want to grasp this land, its people, and humanity, and understand today, should read the Doctor. In Turkey, patriots, laborers, intellectuals, those involved in politics, those who want to understand society and the historical course, and not stopping there, those who want to change it and have objections, need to read Kıvılcımlı. With his rights and wrongs, his virtues and sins, Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı belongs to this land. He is progressive and has not involved a single foreigner in his destiny, nor has he hoped for help from them. He is one hundred percent local. Not giving/being able to give him the attention and value he deserves is also our shortcoming!

In the person of his cause to which he gave his life, the corpus he wove stitch by stitch, and his labor; I respectfully commemorate the ‘Doctor’ of the laborers, intellectuals, patriots, progressives, and anti-imperialists…

“What is Republic Day?

The person who summarizes this best for us is the immortal founder of the Republic.

Mustafa Kemal hoisted the first flag of the Republic on the flagpole of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on the day he proclaimed that Turkey had been crushed by two great devastating forces, two great cursing forces for centuries.

What were these two devastating, cursing, troublesome forces?

According to Mustafa Kemal; one was Imperialism, the other was the Sultanate…”

Bibliography:

1) Fetih ve Medeniyet (Conquest and Civilization), Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, Derleniş Yayınları, 1980.

2) Kuvayımilliyeciliğimiz ve II. Kuvayımilliyeciliğimiz (Our National Forces and Our Second National Forces), Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, Sosyal İnsan Yayınları, Istanbul, 2017.

3) “Kendi Kaleminden Hayatı” (His Life in His Own Pen), Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, Sosyalist, October 18, 1977, Issue: 45.

4) “Cumhuriyet Bayramı Nedir” (What is Republic Day)?, Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, Türk Solu, October 29, 1968.