The Asia Minor Catastrophe

100 years ago, the Greek-Turkish war - which had begun in 1919 after the end of World War I - ended with a crushing defeat of the Greek forces. Greek populations, which had spread across the coast of Asia Minor over centuries, were either massacred or fled to Greece as refugees. Greece was shattered from the Asia Minor Catastrophe - which still remains one of the most tragic events of modern Greek history.

The Greek presence in Asia Minor

The Greek presence on the western coast of Asia Minor began with the First Greek Colonisation in the Geometric era, in the 11th century B.C. Cities like Ephesus, Pergamum, Miletus and Halicarnassus were particularly important cultural centres in Antiquity, surviving Persian rule and flourishing during the Hellenistic era. Asia Minor was also extremely important for the Byzantine Empire. The Greeks in Asia Minor endured Ottoman rule. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Greek Christians of the region played an important role in the economic development of the coastal cities, especially Smyrna and its surroundings.

Greeks in Smyrna in the end of 19th century and before 1922

Smyrna was a city of a unique cosmopolitan character, full of European travellers and traders, especially during the last decades of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Turks, Greeks, Jews and Armenians lived together in peace. The Greek community of the city was the largest in population and its members were highly esteemed professionals, working as bankers, traders, lawyers and doctors. Smyrna’s schools where the Greek language and history were taught were particularly important

Smyrna’s cultural significance was always highly praised. For example, the city had its own distinct musical tradition, such as the ‘tsifteteli’, ‘karsilama’ and ‘rebetiko’ music genres which were brought to Greece by the refugees of 1922. The bourgeois class of Smyrna was in turn nurtured in European and classical music.

The Catastrophe of 1922

Greek authorities thought that World War I was an opportunity to claim the territories of Asia Minor populated by Greeks.

Greece participated in the war on the side of the ‘Entente’ forces while the Ottoman Empire sided with the ‘Central Powers’. After the defeat of the Central Powers, the Treaty of Sèvres was signed in 1920, according to which Greece would acquire the territories of Eastern Thrace and take over the governance of the Smyrna region for 5 years with the prospect of its integration after a referendum.

The Greco-Turkish war had already started from 1919 and lasted until 1922. The Greek army had advanced in the inland of Asia Minor without the approval or the support of the European allies (England, France and Italy). At the same time, Kemal Ataturk's Turkish nationalism was gaining more and more strength and external support, both financial and military.

100 years ago, in the summer of 1922, the front collapsed and the Greek army retreated in disorder.

At the end of August 1922, the Turkish army entered Smyrna. Greek populations were massacred and Greek cities and villages were destroyed. Greeks who did not meet a tragic death left as refugees for Greece.

The refugees’ settlement in Greece

More than 1.2 million people came to Greece from Asia Minor as refugees.

At first they were hastily settled in public buildings, such as schools, hospitals, public services’ buildings, theatres, but also in train carriages and even in the countryside in makeshift facilities and stalls.

Local Greeks were often hostile towards the refugees, even though they shared the same religion and similar education and culture.

In particular, Greek women coming from Asia Minor often encountered a strong prejudice against them. As their husbands were either dead or held captive by the Turks, women from Asia Minor often had to confront locals’ prejudice, who labelled them as prostitutes who wanted to 'seduce' local men.

The impact on Greek society

The refugees from Asia Minor to Greece contributed a lot to the Greek economy, society and culture. Settling in Greece, they brought with them everyday habits, customs,culture, as well as culinary and musical tradition. All these cultural elements survived and remain powerful to this day.

The Asia Minor Catastrophe constitutes a milestone in modern Greek history. The testimonies of the people who lived these tragic events, as the above presented testimonies of the Asia Minor refugees, not only provide us with a vivid narrative of the tragic events, but also propose an alternative 'history from below'.

This blog is part of the editorials of Europeana Subtitled, a project which enabled audiovisual media heritage to be enjoyed and increased its use through closed captioning and subtitling.