Renowned for his research on the history of the Turkish Republic, one of the most striking work by German historian Gotthard Jaeschke bears the title “Kurtuluş Savaşı ile ilgili İngiliz Belgeleri” (British Documents Related to the War of Independence)

At the time of its publication in 1970s, it was a single-volume book. Two follow-up volumes were written afterwards. The primary reason why Jaeschke was so much enthusiastic about the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic was his age; born in 1894, he and Mustafa Kemal were contemporaries. Thus he was able to witness the trial and tribulations of the times. The second reason was based on his knowledge of Turkish. He had learned this language in Berlin before the onset of World War I. Jaeschke was fortunate enough to be appointed to the German Embassy in Ankara in 1927 as a clerk. There he found the opportunity to meet Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The author gained first-hand access to relevant documents when British diplomatic correspondence dated until 1922 was declassified in 1966. The book was published for the first time in 1971.