‘The Smyrna Death March of 1922’: A Lecture by Prof. Dan Georgakas
“…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.”
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Uh, what is the latest report of Greece’s global financial status? The professor asks the audience what Turkey has to offer to give it a major role in the world? Quite a lot actually! First of all, like the Armenians, Greeks tend to mimic those who are extremely jealous and envious of a country which defeated them and had them as their subjects for centuries! Greeks and especially Armenians constantly show just how low they will stoop to get their lies and propaganda through to numerous ignorant ears! So, given even this small amount of information, it becomes a moot point to even bothering to discuss anything regarding Greeks and Armenians (Birds of a feather…)!!!
Robert: I’d be ashamed of my nation, which exists and creates on Earth for 4000+ years, defeated, then colonized, and then mass slaughtered other, sedentary, more civilized, and nobler nations. But you appear to take pride of what your predecessors did to the indigenous Christian nations of Asia Minor which your ilk had intruded from Mongolian steppes? And with such an unchanged low-life mentality you, the offshoots of barbarian nomads, colonizer and genocidal Ottomans, wish to enter the European Union? Indeed, UH…
the following is written by BURAK BEKDİL and is taken from this site: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=a-tale-of-two-cities-istanbul-v.-jerusalem-i–2011-06-02.)
Last week,Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed a local crowd in Diyarbakır, saying that: “We are the grandchildren of Saladin Ayyubi’s army [soldiers] thatconquered Jerusalem.” So, says the prime minister, the ancient capital of Judaism had been conquered by Muslims. But, then, why would something taken by force from someone else belong to its occupier? Why is Jerusalem Palestinian if it had been conquered from its ancient possessors? And why should we be proud to be the grandchildren of someone whose army conquered other people’s territories?A few days earlier, Mr Erdoğan, this time in Trabzon, reminded his party’s supporters that on May 29 “We proudly celebrated the 558th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.” And, he said, without the conquest of Trabzon,
the conquest of Anatolia would have been incomplete.It is not a coincidence that Fatih (conqueror) is a very common male name in Turkish. The Turks are proud to be the evlad-i fatihan (the descendants of conquerors). They are too happy to be living in the territories that once belonged to other nations. But all that is understandable since they are not the only nation which does so, with or without the others naming their children “conqueror.” All the same, there is a problem with the Turkish/Islamist case. More questions. If Jerusalem should be the capital of “free Palestine,” why should Istanbul not become the capital of “freer Greece?” Why is Nicosia a divided capital? What were the Turks doing at the gates of Vienna in 1683? Was Süleyman the Magnificent’s army there to distribute humanitarian aid to the Viennese, like the İHH claims its Gaza mission is?Forty-four years ago, the Arabs dreamed of “having lunch in Tel Aviv.” The dream cost them a major humiliation and Jerusalem, and the Middle East, peace. Today, the Turkish leaders dream of praying in the “Palestinian capital” Jerusalem while denying the Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul his ecumenical designation. Luckily, the Turks, unlike Arabs, are the grandchildren of conquerors.
Thank you Berch for your justified post above!!! Abris!!!!
My grandmother was 3 months pregnant and survived the Smyrna massacres miraculously. My grandmother Aghavni came from a very affluent family of 150 and after the massacres only 5 of them survived. My grandfather Minas was a high ranking Turkish officer and newly married to Aghavni. On Sept. 9, 1922 when the massacres and the burning of Smyrna started, he was taken away by the Turks and for 1 1/2 years he was forced into hard labor. He was able to escape by presenting himself as a Greek man. He wrote a book about it and his days of “kerutyun”. The name is “Izmiri Angoume Yev Ayl Echer”. My grandfather’s uncle was a high priest of Archbishop Turian who unlike the Greek wonderful high priest Chyrsostomos Turian to save his skin only escaped to the United States and left behind all the Armenian people who were all massacred approx. 130,000 of them and amongst them was my great uncle Archpriest Der Haroutyoun, my grandfather Minas’ uncle. Yes I know all of these things and Kemal Ataturk’s orders to annihilate first the Armenian population and then the Greeks. I know all of this firsthand from my grandfather.
Robert:
What happened ? couldn’t stay away ?
Didn’t you promise not to come back ?
here: [from the HAMSHEN Armenians to Resettle thread – May18, 2011 “
“…..To all of the ARF posters on this site,…….”…… “ As for me and this site, I may return one day, after there has been a change in the editor’s position”]
Didn’t really think we’d forget your solemn promise, did you ?
Maybe you best admit you like ArmenianWeekly, and you like all the, quote, ‘ARF posters’ on this site: otherwise, why do you keep coming back for more ?
Turkophilism is a mental illness.
Seerwart
Would it be possible for you to give us a link for this book if it is available in english and online?
I am curious to read people’s first account observation.
By the way, Iread a book regarding Symirna writen by an english writer. t doesn’t mention massacre but it clearly describes the fire a cross the city.
I had communicated with Seervart about this book a while back, which I bought and read. [The Odyssey of an Armenian Revolutionary Couple – Vahak Sarkis (Author)]
http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Armenian-Revolutionary-Couple/dp/1450094430/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308234414&sr=1-1
Unfortunately, as related by Seervart to me, a more extensive Armenian language version of the book which she has as a prized possession is out of print (if memory serves me right).
My grandfather was saved by a Japanese ship which dumped its cargo in Smyrna harbor in 1922 to fit more people. I was born in Brooklyn and remember stories about Pearl Harbor.
People of one generation save others; while people of another generation attack others.
I hate what Turks did to Armenians and Greeks, but admire those Japanese who saved my grandfather; but i also hate what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor.
And have the Germans atoned for their crimes and sins against humanity sufficiently?
Nazis murdered my relatives in Greece. But are the sins of the fathers to be passed along to the children and grandchildren? At least today’s Germans acknowledge their sins. Today’s Turks do not
I think the person who quoted what the Turk Prime Minister has said helps me understand better.
Ruling political parties and ruling elites show us the mindset of a nation- whether Kemalists, Nazis, Japanese Fascists or Turkish Fundamentalist Muslim politicians.
Have we avenged the murders of our ancestors? How do we avenge our ancestors’ deaths.
One way is to never forget. To teach our children and grandchildren the truths of what happened.
Because, God help us, it has happened again and can happen again.
I live in the United States of America and hope that we, at least, can rise above past tragedies.
Armenian and Greek brothers and sisters; there may be few of us, but there are enough of us to keep witnessing forward, for the sakes of our children, grandchildren and all of our future.
A minority of Germans today are apologetic for their crimes in WWII but definitely not even a slight majority… in fact most Germans would parrot the same talking points of Turks saying there were atrocities on both sides nad other drivel and would deny any responsiblity for the horrors they perpetrated on Slavic Peoples and Jews among others (just like Turks their fellow travelers). Germans also refuse to pay reparations for their war crimes.