This paper discusses the ways in which translation was used as an instrument of modernization in Turkey by exploring the ideological backdrop of the state-sponsored Translation Bureau. The Bureau, which was operational in 1940-1966, produced over a thousand translations of mainly western classics and proved to be the most influential translation institution founded in republican Turkey. The paper carries out a critical analysis of the discourse formed around this institution and looks at how it recently achieved a symbol status for certain sections of the society mainly due to its ideological grounds.