• LIFE

Syria in 1940: Crossroads of the Middle East During WWII

3 minute read

The ongoing chaos and violence that have come to define the Syrian civil war have not only pushed the names of ancient cities (Aleppo, Homs) back into today’s headlines, but have also served as a reminder that Syria has long been a major player not merely in the Middle East, but on the global stage.

[See the TIME article, “Brief History of Aleppo: A Great World City Now in the Grip of War”]

In 1940, seven months before the United States entered World War II and nine months after Germany invade Poland, LIFE sent photographer Margaret Bourke-White to the young (and, as it turned out, short-lived) republic in order to document Syria’s pivotal role—cultural, geographical, military—in the region. More than seven decades later, in photographs that ran in LIFE and many more that did not, LIFE.com recalls Damascus, Homs, Aleppo and other Syrian cities and towns as they appeared in the middle part of the last century.

This is how LIFE described the situation to its readers in the magazine’s May 20, 1940, issue, published mere weeks before Paris fell to the Germans, leaving Syria (briefly) under the rule of Vichy France:

Should Hitler strike east or Mussolini jump into the war or Soviet Russia pile on, the world spotlight would instantly narrow on far forgotten Syria. Here is now massed a formidable French army under the old warhorse Maxime Weygand, ready to rush either to the defense of Egypt or of Turkey and the Balkans. Here is a sample of the brains, the men and the material of France and its colonies. Here flies the flag of France . . . raised at sunrise to the bugle call Au Drapeau at Aleppo.

The French expeditionary forces in the Levant States, chief of which is Syria, has tanks and planes, motorized guns . . . The army’s numbers and the names of its generals are dark military secrets. Best guess is that it has now at least 150,000 men. It includes men from the far-flung domains of France: Moroccans, Algerians, Tunisians, Senegalese, Annamites, Madgascar Malgaches, Lebanese, Syrians, Bedouin camel fighters, Cherkess Cossacks of Syria and large units of the French Foreign Legion. One of the most polyglot companies ever assembled, these men of many tongues and colors now bathe on Beirut’s one fine beach, shop in the suks, peer into the Tomb of Saladin in Damascus and swelter in the heat of Homs and Aleppo.

The ancient fortresses of Syria could not long stand against air bombing. But the olive groves are just high enough for a small tank to get under. . . . Action may come without warning. For Syria, long a crossroads of world trade, has been watered by men’s blood for far longer than Flanders. In this natural cockpit where Asia, Africa and Europe meet, have fought Abraham, David, Alexander, Ramses, Sargon, Menelaus, Pompey, Bohemond, Nureddin, Saladin, Tamerlane, Baibars the Panther, Suleiman, Mohammad Ali, Lawrence of Arabia and [British General Edmund] Allenby.

As it happened, of course, Syria and neighboring Lebanon did see action in WWII, during a month-long Allied campaign in June and July of 1941. The Free French took control of both countries after a rout of mainly Vichy French and German troops, and before the war was over, both Lebanon and Syria had become free states—and had declared war on both Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.

A view of Damascus, Syria, 1940.
A view of Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Raising the French flag at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
Raising the French flag at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Women carry water containers on their heads as they lead mules along a road in a desert village near Damascus, Syria, 1940.
Women carry water containers on their heads as they lead mules along a road in a desert village near Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Members of the Bedouin "camel cavalry" near Damascus, Syria, 1940.
Members of the Bedouin "camel cavalry" near Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Street scene, Damascus, Syria, 1940.
Street scene, Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
View of the downtown area of Aleppo from atop the ramparts of the great citadel built in the 4th century B.C.
View of the downtown area of Aleppo from atop the ramparts of the great citadel built in the 4th century B.C.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
View from above Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
View from above Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Soldiers urge a mule up the steps of the citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
Soldiers urge a mule up the steps of the citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Scene in Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
Scene in Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Inside the garrison of the French expeditionary force in the great citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
Inside the garrison of the French expeditionary force in the great citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Street scene, Aleppo, 1940.
Street scene, Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A narrow street in downtown Aleppo, Syria, 1940.
A narrow street in downtown Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A Moroccan soldier of the French expeditionary force holds an officer's Arabian horse inside the great citadel at Aleppo, 1940.
A Moroccan soldier of the French expeditionary force holds an officer's Arabian horse inside the great citadel at Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Engineers relax on the grounds of the great citadel, Aleppo, 1940.
Engineers relax on the grounds of the great citadel, Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
French Foreign Legion soldiers at their outpost at Homs, Syria, 1940.
French Foreign Legion soldiers at their outpost at Homs, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
French Foreign Legion soldiers gather around newly erected tents as they set up their outpost near Homs, Syria, 1940.
French Foreign Legion soldiers gather around newly erected tents as they set up their outpost near Homs, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
South of Homs, men of the Tunisian infantry prepare to eat.
South of Homs, men of the Tunisian infantry prepare to eat.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Archaeological ruins with modern homes in background, Syria, 1940.
Archaeological ruins with modern homes in background, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A family walks past the walled town and beehive-shaped homes of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.
A family walks past the walled town and beehive-shaped homes of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
View of the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.
View of the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Syrian children outside the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.
Syrian children outside the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Page spreads, LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940
LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE Magazine
Page spreads, LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940
LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE Magazine
Page spreads, LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940
LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE Magazine
Page spreads, LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940
LIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE Magazine

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com