Smyrna



Jennings Honored in New York for Aid in Smyrna Holocaust, Descendants Give Testimony Jennings, an Upstate Methodist minister now buried in Oswego County, in 1922 helped organize ships that saved more than 300,000 people —mostly Greeks — who likely would have perished at the hands of theTurkish government. Among those saved were Arvantides’s and Bantuvanis’s mother and grandfather. “He helped all those people during the extermination and genocide in Turkey — he helped get the ships to Smyrna,” said Arvantides, who lives in Lysander and has a dental practice in Baldwinsville. His story was told during a special program on September 14th at his gravesite in Cleveland Village Cemetery, followed by a program and display at Cleveland United Methodist Church, with a speech by Jennings' grandson, Roger Jennings, of Queensbury, New York. Read full article.
AHI's Commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the Destruction of Smyrna. Remarks by James Marketos, Esq., at the Gravesite of George Horton There are occasions -- usually sad ones -- when looking backward helps us to see forward; when, by refreshing a memory, we fulfill the obligation never to forget. This is one of those occasions. Today, AHI commemorates an event that shook the world ninety years ago -- the destruction of Smyrna, an event that lives in Greek memory as the “Katastrophi” -- the Catastrophe. Read entire speech by Marketos.
Review by Stavros Stavridis of Sophia Kostos' Before the Silence: Archival New Reports of the Christian Holocaust That Begs to Be Remembered "This is the author’s first book in documenting the Genocides of Christians who lived in the Ottoman Empire covering the period 1822-1926 with 1922 containing the largest number of news reports. The book is a collection of newspaper articles organized chronologically from a diverse range of English-speaking newspapers from as far as Japan and Australia showing the destruction of the Christian populations domiciled in Asia Minor. Whilst there are numerous books written on the Armenian Genocide, however, the research on the Greeks and Assyrians has been overlooked largely by historians. . . . The book captures the brutalization, torture, starvation and state-sanctioned murder of ordinary people". . . by using contemporary "news articles as a primary source." Read more.
AHI Forum Commemorates 89th Anniversary of Smyrna Catastrophe The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) hosted a forum titled, “Greeks from Asia Minor: Remembrance of Things Past” presented by Alice James, professor of Anthropology, Shippensburg University, and visiting research associate at the Asia Minor Study Center, Athens, Greece. The forum was held September 27, 2011 at AHI’s Hellenic House in commemoration of the 89th anniversary of the Smyrna Catastrophe of 1922. Read full release.
Turkish Scholar Discusses Assyrian, Greek, and Armenian Genocide The following interview was conducted by Linda Abraham for the Assyrian Genocide Research Center. Altug Taner Akcam is one of the first Turkish scholars to openly acknowledge and discuss the reality of the Armenian Genocide. Professor Akcam's initial research topic was the history of political violence and torture in late Ottoman and early Republican Turkey. Since 1990, however, he has focused his attention on Turkish nationalism and the Armenian Genocide, with eleven books and numerous articles to his credit. Read entire interview with this scholar and his candid remarks on the violence out of which the modern Turkish republic was born.
Australian Women's Labor Conference Adopts Hellenic, Armenian and Assyrian Genocide Resolution in Landmark Action 15 May 2011 (Return to Anatolia Committee)--In a landmark resolution adopted by the National Women’s Labor Conference in Brisbane, Queensland last weekend, delegates resolved to ‘recognise the genocides of the Armenians, Hellenes and Assyrians from 1915 to 1923 is one of the greatest crimes against humanity’. In line with the conference theme - ‘Labor Women: Lead, Challenge, Inspire’ – delegates from Australian Labor Party branches all over the country also recognised the fact that the genocides of the Armenians, Hellenes and Assyrians are an integral part of the Australian story, where Australian women led, challenged and inspired others to follow. Read entire release.
A Pilgrimage to Asia Minor in October 2010--by Fr. Alexander G. Leondis During the first two weeks of October, I traveled to Asia Minor, modern day Turkey and the second Holy Land of Christianity, and visited my schoolmate and friend Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. This trip was and still is a reminder of the glorious past of our Orthodox Church and its promise of the magnificent future. . . . Our first experience was visiting the remarkable city of Cappadocia, appropriately considered a Wonder of the World. We had an earlier glimpse of it in Bob Simon’s “Sixty Minutes” which toured the area with Patriarch Bartholomew. (The video is available on the Archdiocese or Archons’ webpage.) Cappadocia in Caesarea is a fairy tale setting fashioned by the volcanic erosions, which formed chimney rocks for over ten thousand years. Within these formations are carved caves that are still decorated with fine Byzantine icons. Read entire article.
The Assyrian Genocide: a Product of Ottoman Jihad The Assyrian Genocide "was carried out in a true jihadist strategy, ethnically annihilating all the non-Muslim citizens living under the Ottoman occupation, with the objective of homogenizing Turkey with a notion of creating 'one-Nation' and 'one-Religion.' History provides us . . . with pure facts about when or where specific events have occurred. . . . Past genocides have to be known and condemned in order to prevent future genocides. It is a big mistake to think that a genocide lies in the past and should be forgotten. History is not about oblivion. It is about knowledge. It is about education. It is about the future. . . . . We Assyrians lost two thirds of our population in 1915. We were uprooted from our motherland. . . .Today we are struggling with our sheer existence. . . . How can we forget about all this?" Read entire speech by Sabri Atman and reproduced with permission from Assyrian International News Agency.
Remembering the Asia Minor Catastrophe: 2010 Christos Papoutsy Lecture at the Stathakion--by Catherine Tsounis A great man who has changed the lives of many is coming to the Stathakion,” said Michael Christodoulou, President of the Mytilene Society. “We must all come to this unforgettable lecture.” The excitement spread across Astoria and the New York Metropolitan area. Christos Papoutsy has made his mark on the international community. He is preserving his Byzantine heritage and the lost civilization of Greek Ionia in Asia Minor. On May 15th, Saturday evening, at the Stathakion Culture Center, over three hundred persons attended.The “Ships of Mercy” book reveals the true heroes of Smyrna, later forgotten by history. Read more.
Hellenic League of America Announces 3rd Annual Greek Genocide Commemoration in NYC Hellenic League of America extends an invitation to the public to pay tribute to the victims of the Greek, Armenian and Assyrian Genocides outside the United Nations in Ralph Bunche Park in New York. This year’s commemoration is organized and hosted by Panthracian Union of America ‘Orpheus’ and supported by the Hellenic League of America, HLA, and will feature well-known keynote speakers. Read more.
Sweden Recognizes Assyrian, Greek, and Armenian Genocides Stockholm (AINA) --- In a resolution adopted today, the Swedish parliament (the Riksdagen) referered to the World War I-era killings of 2.75 million Armenians, Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) and Pontic Greeks by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey is regarded legally and politically as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire but vehemently rejects calling the killing genocide according to the U.N. definition adopted in 1948, insisting that those killed were victims of war and uprising. The Left Party's foreign policy spokesperson Hans Linde told The Local newspaper on Thursday that the time had come for Sweden to take a stand on the issue. "First, to learn from history and stop it from repeating and second, to encourage the development of democracy in Turkey, which includes dealing with its own history. The third reason," added Linde, "is to redress the wrongs committed against the victims and their relatives." Read entire article.
Armenian Genocide Resolution Passes US Congress Committee A resolution calling the World War I -era killing of Armenians genocide has narrowly passed a key committee of the U.S. Congress. Turkey has responded by recalling its ambassador from Washington for consultations. Over the objections of the Obama administration, the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee (4 March 2010) passed the nonbinding resolution by a vote of 23 to 22. The legislation declares that the killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire was genocide. Read entire article.
Mining Interests in Asia Minor 1920-1921 [PDF] By Stavros Stavridis This brief article lists four US Department of State documents showing the importance of the Arghana copper mine in Asia Minor. 1 Other mining areas mentioned were Tireboli on the BlackSea, Fatza and Ordou. These documents highlight French interests seeking economicconcessions in their sphere of influence in South East Anatolia. Read full article.
*Book Review for The Greek-Turkish War of 1919-23: An Australian Press Perspective* by Stavros Stavridis** This book describes different facets of the Greek-Turkish conflict through the eyes of two Melbourne newspapers: The Age and Argus. Australian forces had played a major part in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East in the 1914-18 War. Although Australia had no direct involvement in the actual conflict between the Greeks and Turks from 1919-1923, the Colonial Office did provide the Australian government with some information on the events unfolding in Asia Minor. Throughout the period, Australia was trying to chart an ‘independent’ foreign policy within the framework of the British Empire. Australian Prime Minister W. M. Hughes wanted the Dominions to have some input into the foreign policy formulation of the British Empire. The Chanak crisis of September 1922 nearly brought Australia into direct conflict with the Kemalists following the defeat of the Greek army. Read more.
Assyrian Genocide Center Issues Statement on Sweden's Genocide Recognition (Assyrian International News Agency, 13 March 2010) Just 10 days ago that the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs have voted on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The decision was upheld by just one vote majority. Yesterday, the Swedish Parliament had debated the motion to recognize the Assyrian, Armenian and, Greek genocide for long hours. Once again, the resolution was passed by one vote. The Turkish Government did not delay to take the expected stand. Soon after the decision became known, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey Mr. Davutoglu, upon his direction recalled its Swedish Ambassador back to Turkey. Read more.
Documentary Filmmaker Apo Torosyan Produces "The Morgenthau Story" U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr. From 1913 to 1916, Henry Morgenthau served as U.S. Ambassador in Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey). During the Armenian Genocide, which started in April 1915, he appealed to the Turkish Ottoman leaders to stop the killings, without success. He quit his post in 1916, and returned to the United States. From the reports he received and forwarded to the U.S. Government, there are over 30,000 documents still existing in the Library of Congress. He was also the Chair of the Greek Resettlement Commission under the League of Nations in 1923. He ended up with great success with this post, resettling 1,250,000 displaced immigrants in Greece. Read more about film or how to purchase--click here.
Sweden Recognizes Assyrian, Greek, and Armenian Genocides In a resolution adopted today (11 March 2010), the Swedish parliament (the Riksdagen) referered to the World War I-era killings of 2.75 million Armenians, Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) and Pontic Greeks by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey is regarded legally and politically as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire but vehemently rejects calling the killing genocide according to the U.N. definition adopted in 1948, insisting that those killed were victims of war and uprising. Read more.
New York Life Donates $1,000,000 for the Study of Hellenism in Asia Minor New York Life Insurance Company presented Archbishop Demetrios with a one million dollars donation, last Friday Jan. 9, for the establishment of the New York Life Center for the Study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor at Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology, the Archdiocesan institution of higher learning and scholarship in Brookline, Mass. This donation is part of New York Life’s outreach program to the heirs of Greek policyholders in the Ottoman Empire. Read entire press release.
Obama Prostitutes Freedom and Truth in Turkey By Ioannis Fidanakis, Hellenic League of America, April 2009 It was in the course of one his first forays through the Levant and Iraq that Mr. Obama found himself in Angora. . . and Constantinople. . . to address a crowd of Turkish leaders with his venal lectures and actions on April 6, 2009. . . .President Barack Obama, before the entire world, demonstrated the ideological side his administration would ally itself with. Mr. Obama chose Kemalism, his actions and words that day, reeked of anti-Hellenic symbolism. Symbolically choosing the date of the Pan-Hellenic and international day of remembrance for the Genocide of Thracian Hellenism, Mr. Obama first embarked on an official visit to the tomb of Mustafa Kemal, the butcher of Anatolia, a man who ruthlessly organized and executed a government policy of extermination towards millions of indigenous Hellenes, Armenians, and Assyrians. An act, which had it been the tomb of “Adolf Hitler”, would have caused huge backlash in the West. Read entire article.
History Through Song: The Impact of Rembetika on Greek Music by Stephen Brothwell, Athens News Following the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Greece was forced to accept the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne. The consequences of the new peace terms were considerable. Through its lyrics and musical style, rembetika - which has its own tradition of metre and linguistic style typical to the Near East and Smyrna - served to reflect the changing status of the dispossessed. In imposing itself upon Greece, it impacted everyone. Just two decades on, it was able to symbolize the spirit of Greek resistance during the Second World War. Read entire article [original title "History Through Song"].
Paradise Lost Writer Giles Milton Presents Horror of Smyrna Catastrophe Giles Milton, the British author of the book Paradise Lost, a chronicle of the final days of Smyrna before the Smyrna Catastrophe in 1922, spoke to an audience of Greek Americans at an event at the Greek Press Office in New York on Thursday, October 2, 2008. Mr. Milton discussed his research and read passages from the book as spectator listened to the horrors that many Greeks endured during the days before, during and after the fire had destroyed the once proud arid cosmopolitan city of Smyrna. Read entire article.
Battle Royal Over History Book When the education ministry issued a new sixth-grade textbook on modern Greek history (1453 to the present) in September, few expected that an unprecedented intellectual and ideological war would break loose.Asia Minor Greeks charge that the burning of Smyrna and the killing and expulsion of the Greek population is silenced for the sake of political correctness. And Pontic Greeks complain that the massacre of their forebears by the Turks is omitted. Read more.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis Inaugurates Museum Exhibit Focusing on Asia Minor Greeks-Athens Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Monday inaugurated the renewed exhibition of the Filio Haidemenou Museum of Asia Minor Hellenism, which is contained within the Andreas G. Papandreou World Cultural Foundation of Diaspora Hellenism in the historic Nea Philadelphia district of west Athens. Exhibited in the museum are 500 of the 1,500 objects and photographs belonging to a fraction of the multitudes of ethnic Greeks expelled from Asia Minor after 1922, collected by 108-year-old Filio Haidemenou, who was unable to attend Monday's ceremony due to ill health. Read more.
Permission Denied for 'Blessing of the Waters' Rite in Izmir Athens News Turkish authorities on Saturday, Epiphany Day, did not allow the "Blessing of the Waters" religious ceremony to take place at Izmir port, an annual rite that was carried out by the Orthodox Church last year in line with the implementation of an announcement by Turkey's foreign ministry allowing and protecting the exercise of religious ceremonies by minorities living in the country. Last year, the Greek consul in Izmir, Georgios Katapodis, organised an Epiphany Day celebration, the first time since the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey in 1922 and 1923. Read more.
Betrayal and Barbarity: Asia Minor 1922 By George Makredes Imagine a life where it’s a crime to celebrate or reveal your ethnic heritage, where the law requires you to abandon your ways and culture and meld invisibly into one indistinguishable mass with the majority, or suffer the consequences. And woe to anyone caught reading, speaking, dressing as, or playing music of another culture. Welcome to Asia Minor during the early part of the twentieth century. It was during this grim period when over 1.5 million Armenians were systematically exterminated. Whether you were an Armenian man, woman or infant, you were fair game to be cut down on sight, per order of the state. Unarmed and powerless, Greeks witnessed this horror, terrorized with the fear that they were next. Read entire speech.
The Literary Consul: The Appointment of George Horton to Athens by Andrew Leech At the turn of the century, when consulships were given as presidential favours, politicians sometimes had literary axes to grind and the elite complained of the United States' lack of Literature, George Horton (former consul who had helped oversee the preparations for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896) sought re-entry into the service. The methods used to re-instate him seem colourful and novel when compared with today’s dry bureaucratic procedures. The following article is partly based on a biography in progress by Horton’s daughter, Nancy. Read more.
The Imperial Conference of 1921: The Australian Position by Stavros T. Stavridis The Imperial Conference was the only forum which allowed the Dominion Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand with the opportunity to question the British government on matters of Imperial foreign and defence policy. Great Britain was solely responsible in formulating the foreign and defence policy for its entire empire. It should be noted that Britain's relations with its Dominions in post 1919 period had changed due to the important contribution of the latter to the empire in the 1914-18 war. The Dominions wanted to be involved in the formulation of Imperial foreign and defence policy and consulted on matters which affected their vital interests. Lloyd George's opening address on June 20, 1921 outlined some of the important issues to be covered at the Imperial Conference. These included: the reparations issue; maintaining Japanese friendship by renewing the Anglo-Japanese Treaty; making peace with Turkey; and the enforcement of the peace treaties. The Dominions new status allowed them to be "as equal partners in dignity and responsibility in the British Commonwealth of Nations." Read more.
Remembering Chrysostomos: A Modern Day Martyr by Stavros T. Stavridis Archbishop Chrysostomos was an admired and revered figure among the Greeks of Smyrna. He strongly believed in the ideals of Hellenism until his tragic death in September 1922. After the seizure of Smyrna (governed by a Greek administration appointed by the Allied Powers following Turkey's defeat in World War I as an ally of Germany) by Turkish troops, Nurredin Pasha turned this cleric over to an angry mob. The archbishop was barbarically beaten, mutilated and killed. The American Consul at Smyrna, George Horton, wrote of this Orthodox Christian hierarch after his tragic death: "I have known Monsigneur Chrysostomos for years. He was an active and enthusiastic exponent of Greek ambitions and ideals which it seems to me was quite natural in him as a Greek." Horton paid the ultimate tribute to Chrysostomos by stating that the Greeks should "set him down in their history as a hero and martyr." Read more.
Casey-Bruce Correspondence: Balkan and Near East Affairs by Stavros T. Stavridis Prime Minister Stanley M.Bruce appointed Richard Gardiner Casey as Australian political liaison officer to London in late 1923. This decision proved to be very important for Australia, at a time when it was trying to chart its own ‘independent’ foreign policy within a British imperial framework. Casey had direct access to secret British documents and also held conversations with officials of the British Foreign and Colonial offices. Over the next 5 years Casey was to provide Bruce in the form of secret cables and private letters information on British foreign policy covering a multitude of issues. This correspondence contained summaries of secret Foreign Office documents and Casey’s own observations on international affairs. He also forwarded copies of official secret British documents to the Australian Prime Minister. Read more.
U.S. Diplomatic Personnel Submit Partial List of Persons Safe and Evacuated after Smyrna Catastrophe by Stavros T. Stavridis Researcher Stavridis uncovered these short cablegrams while investigating archival materials. Although very brief--only containg a couple of dozen names in all--the list does include a few Hellenic names. Persons of Greek descent and researching Smyrniot or Mikrasiatiki roots may wish to review the list. Click here to see list.
Smyrna and Southern California by Stavros T. Stavridis According to the Los Angeles Times, a Near East Relief Committee was established in mid-September 1922 in California to aid the refugees from Asia Minor. Click here to read brief article.
Polyzoides in 1922: You Are All to Blame Adamantios Th. Polyzoides, the editor of a Greek-American newspaper, who was an ardent Royalist, defended the Greek position in Asia Minor. There is an interesting article of his titled, “Tragedy of Smyrna. As Greeks see it…He blames France chiefly,” that was published in the New York Times on September 17, 1922 expressing the Greek-American view on the Greek disaster in Asia Minor. He did not mince his words about the culpability and negligence on the part of the great European powers and the United States in failing to assist Greece in her struggle against the Kemalists. Click here to read the entire article
Priest Beaten in Izmir [Smyrna] to Cries of "We Will Kill You All!" This latest attack on February 9, 2006 targets a Slovenian friar and comes the same day the Vatican confirms Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey, scheduled for November. With the battle cry “we will kill you all” a group of youths launched themselves in attack on a Franciscan friar in Izmir (the ancient Smyrna). The attack took place within the confines of St. Helen’s parish.Read entire article.
Post-Blaze Smyrna: the Remnants of a Burnt Cosmopolitanism by Alex Penmann, Athens News August 30, Turkey's Victory Day, celebrates the defeat of the Greek army in Asia Minor, while September 9 marks the anniversary of the 1922 burning of the once Belle Epoque city. Some Greek traces have remained till today, although unearthing them proves hard. Click here for full article.
Petros Tatanis: Concern for the "Patrida" by Stavros T. Stavridis Petros P. Tatanis, the publisher of the Greek American newspaper National Herald (Ethnikos Kyrix), sent an interesting telegram to US President Warren Harding on October 7, 1922 regarding the plight of the Christian population in Eastern Thrace. This telegram is best understood within the context of the Mudania conference taking place in early October 1922 between Allied Generals and Kemalists establishing armistice terms between the Greek and Turkish armies. The Mudania convention eventually paved the way for the Lausanne peace conference held in late November 1922 – February 1923 and resuming again in April – July 1923 Click here for entire article.
Andreades' "Mission" to America: Political Questions 1919--Part One by Stavros T. Stavridis A correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor interviewed Professor A.Andreades in early May 1919 in New York. The interview was published in four instalments on May 2, 3, 6 and 7, respectively. The first two articles dealing with Greek diplomacy and the others discussing financial and economic matters. The information provided by Andreades is placed within the context of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Click here to read full article.
The Geography of Smyrna in 1921 by Pantelis M. Kontogianni English translation by Mary Papoutsy Kontogianni succeeds in describing richly and in great detail the topography, demography, and economy of Smyrna in this one chapter of his voluminous text on the Greek cities of Asia Minor. Few texts manage to offer such an overview of these cities and villages prior to the Catastrophe. The vibrant productivity of the lands and all of her peoples, whom the author depicts, underscores the terrible tragedy which would befall the Mikrasiates in a few months. Each chapter breaks down the statistics of local ethnic groups, describes the land itself, the natural resources of the area, the infrastructure and buildings of the city or town, as well as its history and the bases for its local economy. About Smyrna, Kontogianni begins, for example: Few cities, says the German, Roth, have such beautiful and magnificent asuburbs and countryside as Smyrna. Her beauty and grandeur appear clearly when one views her form the southeast, atop Mt. Pagus, on whose heights an acropolis was situated in ancient times. Very often in the summer, when the setting sun shines its slanted rays upon the wondrous environment of Smyrna, and lets shadows and colors play alternately, one can drink in the panoramic view of the charming countryside of Smyrna. From the acropolis, where medieval walls were built in solitude and quiet upon ancient remains, echoes of the human population resound as they lag behind the deep, loud noise of the great city. Steam ships whistle as they coincidentally prepare for departure amid calls of the muezzin to evening prayer. Click here to read the full chapter about Smyrna.
Smyrna Commemorative Series--An Eyewitness Account Translation by Mary Papoutsy This is the second in a series of articles and items by Hellenic Communication Service commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Smyrna holocaust in Asia Minor. In the 70s, Demetrios I. Archigenes compiled a series of eyewitness accounts of the tragedy, oral accounts which had been collected in prior decades. The result is a collection of stunningly vivid recollections of the terrible experiences of Greeks in Asia Minor during the "catastrophia" or holocaust. Published privately in Athens in 1973, Martyries apo te Mikrasiatike katastrophe, or Eyewitness Accounts of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, is not widely available in the U.S. HCS offers this English translation of the eyewitness account of Mr. George Tsoubariotis, born in the parish of St. Nicholas, Asia Minor, in 1911. Click here to read the entire account.
Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City Author: Marjorie Housepian Dobkin Book Review by Christos and Mary Papoutsy At the beginning of a new millennium, at a time when populations worldwide hope for peace, prosperity, and understanding, Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City, serves as a reminder that the mistakes and tragedies of history continue to affect us. This particular event, the Smyrna holocaust -- or "catastrophe" as Greeks generally refer to it, has been ignored by western historians. Consequently, many Greek-Americans, especially those whose family roots do not stem from Asia Minor, are not familiar with the details of this massive human tragedy. Yet the politics and pathos arising from that time have greatly affected the collective Greek psyche, and indeed, the course of history for the entire Greek nation. This stunning and well-written book by Dobkin helps to fill the information gap for Greek-Americans and Greek generations of the Diaspora. To be sure, Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City is not the only text written about the Smyrna holocaust, but it is one of the most authoritative and critically acclaimed books ever penned on this subject. Click here to read more.
American Reactions to Asia Minor Deportations by Stavros T. Stavridis This article by noted Australian researcher Stavridis outlines how the eyewitness accounts of two American Near East Relief workers, Dr. Mark Ward and Mr. F.Yowell, concerning the deportations and massacres of Christians in Asia Minor had mobilized organizations and individuals in the United States into action. These eyewitness testimonies were published in major US newspapers. It should be noted that American organizations and individuals supported the British Government’s initiative to establish an inter-allied commission of inquiry into the atrocities committed in Asia Minor. Click here to read the entire article.
Turkish Reactions to Asia Minor Deportations by Stavros T. Stavrides The Turkish reactions in Angora (Ankara) to Ward/Yowell eyewitness testimony was one of hostility and tried to dismiss such claims as lies and prevarications that were designed to caste Turkey in a damaging light in Europe and the United States. However Turkish opinion in Constantinople was divided due to the allied occupation of that city. Click here for the complete text.
Smyrna 1922: Spain and Mustafa Kemal by Stavros T. Stavridis Two Department of State documents dated September 20 and October 3, 1922 sent by Cyrus E.Woods, the US Ambassador in Madrid, reported on the Spanish government’s concern that Mustapha Kemal’s victory over the Greeks at Smyrna could inspire a Moslem uprising in Spanish Morocco. Following a brief review of Moroccan history duirng the period 1904-1922, this article discusses the Chanak crisis of September 1922 that nearly brought Britain and Kemalist Turkey to the brink of war. Click here to read the entire article.
Music of Smyrna Click here to listen to an authentic Smyrniot folk song. Click here for the musical score of a Smyrniot folk song.
Proclamation on Genocides Issued by New York Governor George Pataki Gov. Pataki issued a formal proclamation on Sunday, October 6, 2002 in commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and presented it to the Holocaust Memorial Observance Committee of Asia Minor. Click here to read the full text of the proclamation.
The Uprooting of Hellenism in Asia Minor--Part Two by Evangelos Gdontelis English Translation by Ioanna Michalakelis Smyrna was the most prosperous city in Asia Minor; in no other city were there so many Greek people who not only handled the financial life of the city, but were also distinguished in all other activities (science, art, literature, and so on). It is estimated that the Greek permanent residents of Smyrna were approximately 200,000 people. However, in this populous Ionian city, many months before the collapse of the Asia Minor battle front, because of assaults and persecutions by the Turks, thousands of Greek people flocked together abandoning their residences. And this evil developed huge dimensions in the first months of 1922, especially after the collapse of the front in mid-August of that year. Click here for entire article.
Read More About the Greeks of Asia Minor HCS readers who enjoyed this article may wish to view others about Smyrna and Asia Minor in our section specially created for these topics at the URL http://www.helleniccomserve.com/smyrnaopener.html. We also maintain a permanent, extensive archives of articles which readers are invited to browse at the URL's http://www.helleniccomserve.com/archivesmyrnaasiaminor.html and http://www.helleniccomserve.com/stavridisone.html the latter containing a large selection of pieces written by Mr. Stavros T. Stavridis, a researcher with the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research at La Trobe University in Australia.