İkinci Dünya Savaşı hakkında Türkiye’de yapılan çalışmaların en önemli kaynaklarından bir basındır. Türk toplumu savaş yıllarında ülkenin de kaderini etkileyen cephelerdeki hadiseleri ve konferansları basından takip etti. 1941’de Balkanlarda yaşanan gelişmeler üzerine SSCB’ni işgaline hazırlanan Almanya, “Barbarossa” planını erteledi. Ordularının yönünü Balkanlara çevirerek, Yugoslavya ve Yunanistan’ı işgal etmiştir. Alman ordusu, Türk-Yunan sınırına dayanırken Türkiye, olası bir Alman saldırısı karşısında teyakkuz durumundaydı. Yunan direnişine yardımcı olan İngiliz birliklerini püskürtmek ve güney kanadını tamamen güvenceye almak için Alman birlikleri Ege adalarının işgaline başladı. 25 Nisan 1941’de Taşoz, Semadirek’i işgal etti. Limni ve Midilli’nin ardından 5 Mayıs’ta Sakız adasına çıkan Almanlar, Girit'in işgali için 20 Mayıs’ta “Merkür Operasyonu”nu başlatarak, o zamana değin en büyük hava indirme harekâtına başladı. Ege adalarının Almanya tarafından işgali, savaşın Akdeniz’deki seyri hakkında birçok spekülasyona neden oldu. Türk basınında da Almanya’nın sonraki hedefinin Türkiye veya Kıbrıs olacağı şeklinde değerlendirmeler yayınlandı. Bu makalede, Alman birliklerinin Ege adalarına çıkarma yaptığı zaman diliminden başlayarak Girit muharebesini takip eden süreçte, Türk basınında yayınlanmış haber ve köşe yazıları incelenmiştir. Çalışmada izlenen yöntem, gazete haberleri üzerinden hadisenin izlenişi yerine her bir gazeteye alfabetik sırayla başlık açılarak hadise üzerine yayınlanan haberlerin mukayeseli incelenmesidir. Bu doğrultudaki çalışma, 1941 Nisan ve Mayıs dönemini kapsamaktadır. Çalışmada, dönemin yedi başat gazetesinden, ege adalarının işgali ile ilgili telif ve tetkik eserlerden istifade edilmiştir. Türk basınında çıkan haberlerin dış kaynaklı olduğu ve yayıncı görüşlerinin haberler üzerindeki etki oranı ortaya koyulmuştur.

Press about the Second World War is one of the most important factors in studies in Turkey. The Turkish public has followed the developments and conferences in the war from the press. Following the developments in the Balkans in 1941, Germany postponed the 'Barbarossa' plan. He turned his armies to the Balkans, occupied Yugoslavia and Greece. The German army reached the Turkish-Greek border. Turkey, was on guard against a possible attack by the Germans. German troops began to occupy the Aegean islands in order to repel British troops aiding the Greek resistance and to fully secure the southern flank. On April 25, 1941, Thassos and invaded Samothrace. After landing on the island of Chios on 5 May after Limnos and Mytilene the Germans started the 'Mercury Operation' on 20 May for the invasion of Crete, and started the biggest airborne operation up to that time. The German invasion of the Aegean islands caused much speculation about the course of the war in the Mediterranean. The Turkish press also Germany's next attack targets in Turkey or Cyprus in the form of assessment would be published. The content of the study covers the occupation of the Aegean islands by German armies. Seven major newspapers published in the Turkish press during the period of April and May 1941 were analyzed in alphabetical order. The newspapers were obtained from the Gazette Department of the Beyazıt State Library and twenty-two notebooks were scanned. Spelling corrections were not made in the headlines and columns transferred from newspapers. News and columns published in the Turkish press were examined. Turkish-German relations with the Second World War for the purpose of research in Turkey was prepared to contribute to the literature. The sources of this study are academic books and academic articles besides the examined newspapers. The importance of this study is to reveal the approach of the Turkish press to the Aegean Islands during the Second World War. The first newspaper examined is Akşam newspaper. The owner of the Akşam Newspaper is Necmeddin Sadak and its editor-in-chief Hikmet Feridun Es. The first issue of Akşam newspaper examined was dated April 6, 1941. The newspaper reported the war news in this issue before other newspapers. Akşam newspaper gave the first news about the occupation of Limnos and Samothrace islands on the homepage on April 23. Sabis put forward the thesis that the next target of the Germans would not be Cyprus but the African front, and that the goal of seizing Suez might be the priority. The fifth newspaper examined is Ulus newspaper. Ulus newspaper had determined its publishing approach in line with the government's line. Lead author Falih Rıfkı Atay was sympathetic to the Allies, but approached issues to a certain extent. In its 25 May issue, Ulus newspaper wrote about the possibility that the Germans could leave the Aegean islands to the Bulgarian. The sixth newspaper examined is Vatan. The newspaper, owned and edited by Ahmet Emin Yalman, was on the side of the Allies. On May 27, Yalman wrote in her column, following Churchill's statement, that even if the loss of Crete would mean a partial loss of dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean, the democracy bloc should not be hopeless. In the newspaper Vatan on June 2, İhsan Boran predicted that the Germans' next target would be Libya or Malta. The seventh newspaper examined is Yeni Sabah. Murat Sertoğlu was the editor-in-chief of Yeni Sabah newspaper, owned by Cemalettin Saraçoğlu. The editor of the newspaper was Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın. Yeni Sabah newspaper had an attitude against both the Nazis and the Soviet Union. As a result of the inspected newspapers, the way Turkish press reports on the occupation of the Aegean islands and the authors' approach to the events came together at least in common. Ulus and Akşam newspapers made an effort to maintain an impartial and simple line. Different news were seen in Cumhuriyet and Vatan newspapers, while duplicate news and unconfirmed news were observed in other newspapers. all military writers, after the invasion of crete is of the opinion that the not of attack Turkey. Another point where newspapers differ from each other is the way political and private names are written. For example, in some newspapers the British General Freiberg was written as Freyberh, in some newspapers the Greek government was mentioned as Elen. While it was understood that the Turkish media reported on the invasion of the Aegean Islands on a small scale, it was seen that they detailed the Cretan war.