What if Turkey was far more powerful during WW2?

What if Turkey was just as powerful as Germany in terms of military, economy and industry during WW2? Which side would they take and how would it affect the war?
 
How do they manage to do that in 20 years when the starting point is the carcass of the Ottoman empire?

It took more to Japan and they didn't have the handicap of an abysmally low literacy rate.

For this to work, we need an earlier PoD and transform it into something more like the Austro-Hungarian empire.
 
No Balkan Wars + no participation in WWI might help. But no Turkey in WWI means different outcome and maybe different WWII as well. If Germant still beats Russia but loses the war and the Nazi's take power in Germany... I'd expect Turkey to turn towards the allies rather than the axis. Fighting against Italy, Bulgaria etc.

I see other less likely options:
- US gives massive aid for some reason after 1923. Not likely but a way to help.
- Soviet style industrialisation. Also too unlikely with 10% the population of the USSR.
 

nbcman

Donor
What if Turkey was just as powerful as Germany in terms of military, economy and industry during WW2? Which side would they take and how would it affect the war?
That would be extraordinarily difficult. The per capita GDP of Germany in 1938 was 7,337 (2007 US Dollars) and the Turkish per capita GDP was 2,533. Germany's population was about 78 Million in 1938 while Turkey's was about 17 Million. So the Turkish GDP was about 7.5% of Germany. It would take an ASB intervention for Turkey to improve enough to make up that gap.
 
That would be extraordinarily difficult. The per capita GDP of Germany in 1938 was 7,337 (2007 US Dollars) and the Turkish per capita GDP was 2,533. Germany's population was about 78 Million in 1938 while Turkey's was about 17 Million. So the Turkish GDP was about 7.5% of Germany. It would take an ASB intervention for Turkey to improve enough to make up that gap.

Well, there is one way you could make them equal; have Germany dragged down rather than racheting Turkey up. Have Weimer go through a major 20's "Brain Drain" and economic doldriums rather shifting back to economic growth and then get wolluped by the Depression. Of course, that would just mean WWII is a curbstomp against the Axis...
 
What if Turkey was just as powerful as Germany in terms of military, economy and industry during WW2? Which side would they take and how would it affect the war?

Which side they would take actually depends on how they got as powerfull as Germany.

If they are Fascist and join the axis they just won WWII, if they are Communist they wait long enough and join the Soviets against the axis and take control of the Balkans. If they are democratic they wait untill the time is ripe an invade the Balkans, cutting off the Soviets to their OTL puppets. Of course this all pretending that WWII will happen as OTL, which it won't of course.
 
Lets say Turkey's post-WWI population is somewhere around 50 - 60 million and they went through an economic boom just like Germany did, giving them time to rebuild their military up. The leader is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk still, how would things play out?
 

CalBear

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Lets say Turkey's post-WWI population is somewhere around 50 - 60 million and they went through an economic boom just like Germany did, giving them time to rebuild their military up. The leader is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk still, how would things play out?
The question now is how? In 1912 the entire Ottoman Empire was under 25 million population.
 
I think you can make an argument for Turkey being a stronger regional power, but it is not going to be competitive to a level of Germany (unless you nerf Germany into the ground).
 
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