Necmettin Erbakan

With almost 800,000 men and 70,000 officers, the Turkish army is the second largest in NATO. This 1998 documentary by ZDF examines how this powerful force asserts itself in all spheres of Turkish life. From the annual celebrations of the republic to the military's strict position on the Kurdish conflict and their ongoing war against the PKK, the film highlights the contrast between the army's political influence and Ataturk's defining principle that the military should stay clear of everyday politics.

No matter what he did, no matter how selflessly he served his country, and even if he were to be remembered for founding or saving that nation, history would be the one to pass the final judgment. He would either become a name gradually fading into the forgetful memory of history, or he would shine like a precious jewel engraved in history’s steel vault. History would be the ultimate judge. Years passed, and Turkey came to know pluralistic democracy, military coups, economic upheavals, technology, the world, and modernization. But it never gave up on him.