‘THE SMYRNA DEATH MARCH OF 1922’: A LECTURE BY PROF. DAN GEORGAKAS
By: Knarik Meneshian
Wed, Jun 15 2011
“…There was perfect order and quiet in Smyrna up until the arrival
of the Turks on Saturday, September 9…
It was during this time that the robbing, looting, and murdering
began.”
-Admiral Mark L. Bristol, Report to the Secretary of the Navy, March
27, 1924 (From The Smyrna Affair by Marjorie Housepian)
On Saturday afternoon, May 21, 2011, the Pontian Greek Society
of Chicago sponsored a lecture by Prof. Dan Georgakas of New York
University, a co-editor of the Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora,
a fellow of the American Hellenic Institute, director of the Greek
American Studies Project at the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek
Studies at Queens College-City of New York, and author of numerous
publications and books. His most recent book is titled My Detroit:
Growing up Greek and American in Motor City. The lecture was held
at the Duke Realty Corporation Auditorium in Rosemont, Ill. Thomas
Mantzakides, officer, and Anastasia Skoupas, president, of the Pontian
Greek Society welcomed the audience, followed by Nicki Stergiou’s
recitation of a poem titled “The Exile.”
Prof. Georgakas (Photo by George Mavropoulos) Mantzakides then
introduced Georgakas, who prefaced his lecture by recalling a
Greek gathering and said, “Like today, a poem introduces the
event…” The professor commenced his presentation, and stated:
“Turkey is currently a great favorite among American politicians,
academicians, and journalists writing about the Near East. They argue
that Turkey is an Islamic nation that should serve as a model for the
new states emerging from the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Not only
is this view ill-informed, it is extremely dangerous to the United
States and does not even serve the best interests of Turkey. A key
to why the view of the American elite is so off-base can be seen by
considering the Turkish actions that transpired in Smyrna 79 years
ago, and how that conflict has been subsequently explained by Turkish
diplomats and taught in the Turkish educational system. To be sure, the
Turkish establishment admits that crimes were committed at Smyrna, but
it states they were mainly the deeds of irregulars, part of the fog of
war, and had no sanction from Turkish authorities. Similar false claims
are made regarding the Pontian Genocide and the Armenian Genocide.”
Georgakas disagreed with such excuses or reasons given by the
Turkish establishment, and illustrated his position by referring
to the statement that George Horton, the American counsel general
in Smyrna in 1922, had written: “The Turkish massacres are always
carried out by orders of superior authorities. This is a well-known
principle, and the way in which various historical massacres have
been conducted abundantly proves it. Such was the case in Smyrna,
and Mustafa Kemal’s statement that he could not control his troops
is false.” After discussing the intentions Turkey has for Cyprus,
the professor asked the audience a rhetorical question: “What does
Turkey have that it has such a big role in the world?”
Georgakas detailed the steps and actions that culminated in the
burning of Smyrna, and the atrocities against the Armenians and
Greeks. He elucidated that prior to the burning, Ataturk had moved
to Smyrna for a brief period; it was at that time that the city was
burned, the Armenians killed, and the Greeks deported, with only the
Turkish quarter spared. The leader of the Greek community at the
time, Metropolitan Chyrsostomos, was murdered in a most barbaric
and horrific manner. During the inferno and bedlam, he was handed
over by the authorities to the Turkish crowd, who pounced on the
religious leader, gouged out his eyes, ripped his limbs apart, and
did other heinous things to him. Although the religious leader had
ample warning of the possible harm to him and was encouraged to flee
the city for his own safety, Metropolitan Chyrsostomos refused to
leave and steadfastly proclaimed, “I am a shepherd and must remain
with my flock!” The intent of the countless and unspeakable horrors
inflicted on innocent and peace-loving Christian people was to rid
the country of them, for the land was to be strictly “Turkey for the
Turks!” No one else was to be included, especially the Christians.
Georgakas described how during the ordeal ships and boats were
not permitted, and in some cases were unwilling, to rescue any
Greeks or Armenians. The one and only exception was a Japanese cargo
ship. The captain, witnessing the misery and suffering of the Christian
population, among them the professor’s mother and uncle (at the time,
ages 12 and 10), promptly commanded his crew to dump the cargo into
the sea in order to save the people. An Italian boat was bribed to
participate in the rescue. Eventually, various ships, including naval,
among them American and British, were able to evacuate more people,
most of whom were women, children, and the elderly. Greek fishermen
also came to the aid of the refugees by evacuating 15-20 people at
a time. Over 200,000 people were saved by ships, and thus considered
the greatest naval evacuation. By orders of the Turkish government,
the authorities allowed no males to leave Smyrna; as a result, tens
of thousands of Greek and Armenian men were killed. Nearly all the
men who attempted to escape by jumping into the bay drowned-Greeks,
many Armenians, and some Assyrians. “The mass murder was done
by a government directly commanded by the ‘father of the Turkish
republic-Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.'”
Georgakas offered reasons as to why the men were not permitted to
evacuate. One reason was the “government’s fear that perhaps in the
future the men might return as a revengeful military force.” Another
reason was that by “stripping the families of their males, the
penniless evacuees could form no immediate challenge to the new Turkish
state and the stranded families would constitute a huge cultural and
economic burden on Greece.”
At the conclusion of his lecture, the professor stated, “We cannot
and should not hold the present Turkish population responsible for
the actions of their parents and grandparents, or even for more recent
actions. We can, however, hold the Turkish government responsible for
its deceitful account of these events in the educational textbooks
it creates for its grade schools and universities. We must hold the
Turkish government responsible for the reprisals against Turkish
intellectuals who want to tell the truth… And we must hold the
Turkish government responsible for its continual denial in the
international forums of the Pontian Genocide, the expulsion of the
Assyrians, the Smyrna Catastrophe, and the Armenian Genocide.”
Professor Georgakas suggested, “When addressing the American public
about the realities of Turkish governance, we must speak as fellow
Americans and avoid the trap of being perceived as ethno-centric
Greeks advancing irresolvable emotional arguments…for such an
image is easily dismissed by the American public… Two cornerstones
of the American system are equality of all citizens before the law
and separation of church and state. Within this context, we can ask
American politicians, journalists, and academics to stop appeasing
a state that mocks these values. Elizabeth Prodomou, of Boston
University and vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom, summed up the present Turkish reality by stating,
‘Turkey is a highly sophisticated authoritarian state speaking the
language of democracy but not behaving like a democracy…'”
The lecture concluded with thoughts and comments from the audience, as
well as a question and answer session. A number of issues were brought
up, among them the topic of appeasement, to which Georgakas responded,
“I don’t believe appeasement works; it never works.” Also discussed
was the number of Turkish chairs (300) endowed in the U.S. by Turkey,
as well as Turkey’s acumen in inviting people to Turkey. The professor
concluded the session by stressing the importance of educating our
Congressmen regarding not only the history of oppression, persecution,
exile, and extermination of Turkey’s Christian minorities, but also
the present situation and future of the remaining small number of
Christians in Turkey.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/06/15/the-smyrna-death-march-of-1922/