20.08.2026 09:51
In the early years of the Republic, an archival document has emerged revealing that Turkey permitted Denmark's request in 1933 to send an expert to investigate the potential for establishing a dairy industry in the Erzurum and Kars region. The document, found by Taner Özdemir, a member of the Turkish Language and Literature Association's Erzurum branch, shows that the region's economic potential attracted international interest and that the initiative was carried out within an official framework with state approval.
A striking archival document regarding Erzurum's economic potential in the early years of the Republic has come to light. A 1933 document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uncovered by Taner Özdemir, a board member of the Erzurum branch of the Turkish Language and Literature Association (TDED), revealed that Denmark was investigating the possibilities of establishing a dairy industry in the Erzurum and Kars region.
93-YEAR-OLD DOCUMENT COMES TO LIGHT Just ten years after the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Denmark's economic interest in the Erzurum and Kars region was reflected in official correspondence. According to the document found in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives, the Royal Danish Embassy sent a note to Turkey on December 4, 1933. The correspondence requested that Alfred Thorvald Larsen and Peter Weigel go to the Kars and Erzurum region to examine on-site the conditions necessary for establishing a dairy industry. Turkey granted permission for this request. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs document states that these individuals were permitted to go to the region to conduct inspections and that the necessary instructions were communicated to local authorities.
DENMARK WANTED TO CONDUCT ON-SITE INSPECTIONS The historical document was uncovered by Taner Özdemir, a board member of the Erzurum branch of the Turkish Language and Literature Association. This document, which Özdemir, who continues his work on archival documents related to Erzurum's historical and cultural past, reached, brings to light a striking detail about the city's economic potential in the early years of the Republic. The term "l'industrie laitire" used in the document for the dairy industry is particularly noteworthy. Denmark's desire to conduct on-site inspections of Erzurum and Kars shows that the region was considered not merely as a geography for animal husbandry, but as an economic center where a modern dairy industry could be developed.
WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO THE REQUEST? Considering Denmark's experience in the field of milk and dairy products, this research request directed at Erzurum and Kars in 1933 holds particular significance. The region's vast pasturelands, strong animal husbandry culture, and livestock assets constituted significant potential for an industry based on milk production. The desire to send Danish experts to the region reveals that this potential attracted attention at the international level as well. One of the most striking parts of the document is that Turkey officially permitted the initiative. In the response letter prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is stated that Alfred Thorvald Larsen and Peter Weigel were permitted to conduct inspections in the Erzurum and Kars region, and that the necessary instructions on this matter were sent to local authorities. This detail reveals that the initiative was not an ordinary visit, but an official study conducted within the knowledge and approval of state institutions.
A NEW PAGE IN ECONOMIC HISTORY The 1933 document uncovered by Taner Özdemir brings back to the agenda an important detail regarding Erzurum's economic history. In the early years of the Republic, the animal husbandry and milk production potential of Erzurum and Kars was deemed worthy of examination by Denmark. The aim was to research on-site the conditions necessary for establishing a dairy industry in the region. Despite the years that have passed, this correspondence, preserved in the files of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sheds light today on Erzurum's past economic potential. In 1933, Denmark's eyes were on Erzurum. The Royal Danish Embassy requested official permission from Turkey to send its experts to investigate the possibilities of a dairy industry in Erzurum and Kars. Turkey granted permission, and instructions were sent to local authorities. This striking historical document was uncovered by Taner Özdemir, a board member of the Erzurum branch of the Turkish Language and Literature Association.