For Erdogan, northern Cyprus is Sudetenland 

Speaking from the United Nations podium on September 24, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likened Turkey to the Allied Powers who defeated Nazism during World War II. "Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his murder squad must be stopped by the 'alliance of humanity.'"

It is a ridiculous analogy, but a Hitler obsession is central to Erdogan's character. In 2005, "Mein Kampf" became a bestseller in Turkey as Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) subsidized multiple print runs and promoted the book to its members. Just over a decade later, as he amended Turkey's constitution to support a stronger presidency, he cited Nazi Germany as an example to emulate, not because of its mass murder of Jews, but rather because he saw the Third Reich as efficient. Having to win consensus or...