Working Class People in the Urban Areas during the Second World War in Turkey Can Nacar Although Turkey did not become a part of the military conflict in the World War II, wartime conditions heavily affected the economic, political, and social life in the country. Large segments of the society were hard hit by the wartime scarcities, high levels of inflation, and decreasing real wages. Amongst them, this article focuses on the experiences of working class people in urban areas. Although in most cases working class people laboured long hours in unhealthy environments, they faced great difficulties in meeting their basic needs, such as accommodation, food and education. However, they did not remain mere objects of the social circumstances. Their struggle, in the form of strikes, petitions, and high turnover rates, to challenge the social relations imposed on them became a critical dynamic in the formulation of social and economic policies in Turkey in the post-War era