Turkuaz Uluslararası Türk Dünyası Bilimsel Araştırmalar Dergisi

Abstract

Turkey remained out of the Second World War by following a policy of balance against the Allied and Axis powers. During the war, which continued for six years, significant efforts were made to protect society from all kinds of troubles. However, despite being out of the war, it faced significant economic difficulties. The fact that more than one million people, who are in a productive position, were assigned to military service, shook the economy deeply. In this period, those who raise prices unnecessarily were defined as profiteer. During the Second World War, profiteers, whose numbers increased considerably, took advantage of even the smallest incident and resorted to profiteering to make more profit. The government formed committees to prevent profiteers. In these committees, it was decided to include people with extraordinary powers, consisting of the governor, commerce/economy directors, municipal economics directors, general clerks of chambers of commerce and industry. However, on January 18, 1940, the National Protection Law was enacted and extraordinary powers were obtained based on this law. In addition, the Undersecretariat of Food was established on October 28, 1940 to fight profiteers and control prices. Price Inspection Commissions were activated under this undersecretariat. In addition to these, National Protection Courts were established and decisions regarding profiteers caught red-handed were taken quickly. Prisoners were given fines, shops/stores/business closures, and exile. However, the desired success could not be achieved due to the unsystematicity of the methods applied in the measures taken, the lack of qualified personnel and the lack of tools and equipment.