May 19: Greece remembers the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus

May 19 Greece remembers the victims genocide of the Pontic Greeks – 1 of the astir tragic pages successful the past of Hellenism.

IN 2026 performed 107 years old from the day that Pontic organizations see the opening of the last stage of demolition Pontic Hellenism. May 19 successful Greece it is officially celebrated arsenic Remembrance Day of the Greek Genocide of Pontus. This day was recognized by the Greek state successful 1994.

Officially speaking astir much than 300,000 dead. At the aforesaid clip Central Council of the Pontians (Κεντρικό Συμβούλιο Ποντίων) V “Black Book” (Μαύρη Βίβλος) gives a fig 353,000 victims.

Genocide of the Pontic Greeks – these are massacres, deportations and systematic extermination of the Greek colonisation successful the country Pontacommitted during the play from 1914 to 1923. The survivors of this tragedy fled to Ano Pontosto the territory of the erstwhile Russian Empire and aboriginal the USSR, and aft Asia Minor catastrophe of 1922 – to Greece.

International literature, diplomatic correspondence and state archives of various countries incorporate abundant grounds of crimes against the Pontic Greeks. These events occurred successful parallel with the genocide Armenians And Assyrianstherefore galore researchers view them arsenic portion of a broader argumentation of extermination of Christian peoples Asia Minor.

Historical background

After the autumn Constantinople V 1204 under the attacks of the crusaders connected the lands of Byzantium, successful summation to the possessions of the crusaders and the Italian republics, three main Byzantine formations arose: Nicene Empire, Despotate of Epirus And Empire of Trebizond. Exactly Trebizond became 1 of the past strongholds of the Byzantine world.

After the seizure of Constantinople by the Turks successful 1453 Empire of Trebizond lasted different 8 years. Because the metropolis surrendered without a fight, the harm was little than it mightiness person been, but the colonisation dropped sharply. Some of the nobility were resettled successful Constantinopleper 4th Phanarand astir 1500 young Pontians were taken into the Janissaries.

The Greek colonisation of Pontus, which astatine the opening of the 15th period could fig up to 250,000 peoplegradually decreased. TO 1520despite partial stabilization, it was astir 180,000 people.

Despite the pressure, the colonisation of Pontus retained its identity, connection and, for the astir part, its Orthodox faith. Among those who formally converted to Islam, it was communal crypto-Christianity. IN 1856taking vantage of Ottoman reforms, astir 5000 Pontians openly returned to Orthodoxy.

IN 1916when the Russian service occupied TrebizondRussian officers, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, discovered concealed chapels successful the houses of wealthy Turks. The owners of these houses tearfully called themselves Orthodox, kissed icons and really revealed the hidden spiritual beingness that their families had preserved for generations.

Information astir the liberation struggle of the Pontic radical aft the autumn of the Empire of Trebizond remains fragmentary. Unlike mainland Greece, where uprisings against Ottoman regularisation broke retired repeatedly, Pontus was geographically isolated, and so its past developed differently.

Greek Revolution 1821–1829which led to the restoration of Greek statehood, was marked by the information of radical of Pontic origin. Representatives of the household particularly stood retired among them Ypsilanti. However, these events astir did not straight impact the territory of Pontus.

Moreover, it was geographic isolation that helped the Pontic Greeks sphere the archaic features of the Greek language. German historiographer Jacob Fallmerayerknown for his arguable theory astir the Slavic root of modern inhabitants of continental Greece, considered the Pontic radical to beryllium the nonstop successors of the past Greek family.

The migration flows of the Orthodox Greek colonisation from the Ottoman territory of Pontus were mostly associated with the proximity to Georgia And Russian Empire. Since the 16th century, the Ottoman authorities provided the portion with Gumushhanelocated 115 km south of Trebizond, a definite autonomy owed to the metallurgical activities of the Pontic population, chiefly metallic mining and coinage.

From the mediate of the 18th century, there was a migration of Pontic metallurgists to neighboring Georgia. Between 1801 to 1856 to 100,000 Pontians crossed the Russian borderline and settled successful Georgia. On the eve of the First World War, the Pontic diaspora successful the Russian Empire made up a important portion of the Greek colonisation of Pontus.

IN 1878after the concern of Kars by Russian troops, astir 75,000 Pontians moved to a caller 1 Kars region. By the opening of the First World War, tens of thousands of Armenians, Greeks, Russians and Muslims lived there.

First stage of genocide

Historian of Pontic root Vlasis Agdzidis wrote that First World War created the governmental conditions indispensable for Turkish nationalism to transportation retired the program to exterminate the Christian colonisation of the Ottoman Empire.

The persecution began with Eastern Thracewhere the Greek colonisation was subjected to forced deportations. Then came the persecution of the Greeks Ioniaand culminated successful the tragedy of the colonisation Ponta.

The indigenous Christian peoples of the empire became victims of taste cleansing: Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks of Pontus, Greeks of Ionia, Cappadocia And Thrace. According to Agdzidis, the Christian colonisation of the Ottoman Empire astatine that clip numbered astir 4 cardinal people.

Second stage: May 19, 1919

May 19, 1919 V Samsun arrived Mustafa Kemalthe aboriginal Ataturk. In the Greek Pontic tradition, this time is considered the opening of the last signifier of resolving the Pontic issue. That’s why May 19 became the day of remembrance of the victims Pontic genocide.

There is still a heavy discrepancy betwixt portion of Greek historiography and the authoritative Turkish version of past regarding the appraisal of the relation of Kemal and his movement. For the Pontians, this time is not associated with the founding of a caller Turkey, but with the representation of violence, deportations and the disappearance of an full world.

Third stage: colonisation exchange

Breakthrough of Turkish troops successful the west of Asia Minor successful the summertime 1922 led to the evacuation of the Greek army, massacre successful Smyrna And Asia Minor disaster. These events sparked an anti-monarchist service uprising successful Greece successful September 1922.

Eleftherios Venizeloswho led the Greek delegation to Lausanne Peace Conferencetried to use “Army of Evros” arsenic a diplomatic argument, but successful the extremity Greece agreed to permission Eastern Thrace arsenic portion of the caller Turkish state.

Historian Georgios Mavrokordatos called the statement from January 30, 1923 astir colonisation speech “an unexpected and tragic event”. During the negotiations, Venizelos condemned the thought of ​​a forced speech and stated that Greece was acceptable to wantonness it if the unhindered instrumentality of the Greek colonisation to their homes was allowed.

“The forced quality of the colonisation speech betwixt Greece and Turkey was met with peculiar antipathy by the Greek authorities and delegation. The Greek delegation has repeatedly stated that it is acceptable to garbage a forced speech if the unhindered instrumentality of the Greek colonisation is allowed. With this appeal, the delegation believed that this protected the cardinal close of each idiosyncratic to unrecorded successful his state of root and to unrecorded there freely. Greece, successful exchange, would beryllium blessed to clasp connected its territory a colonisation against which it does not want to take exceptional measures. Unfortunately, the different broadside was unwilling to hold to these proposals, and a Forced Exchange Convention indispensable beryllium drawn up and agreed upon.”

By this point, astir of the surviving Greek colonisation had already been forced to permission Turkish territory. Türkiye refused to take these radical back, while the Muslim colonisation successful Greece remained successful place. The Greek authorities, contempt the terrible exile accommodation crisis, continued to treat the Muslim colonisation humanely and did not touch their property.

The Turkish delegation led by İsmet İnönü did not hold to the instrumentality of Greek refugees to their homes. As a effect Fridtjof Nansenand then Lord Curzon considered an speech of populations inevitable.

According to various estimates, retired of astir 2.2 cardinal Greeks portion arrived successful Greece astir 1.5 cardinal people. Historian Christina Kouluri provides information connected 1,220,000 Christians And 525,000 Muslimsaffected by the exchange. Other sources springiness figures 1,650,000 Greeks And 670,000 Muslims.

The ceremonial speech process really affected lone those who still remained successful Turkey and Greece. Most of the Greeks of Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace had already been forcibly expelled. For Turkey, the cardinal effect was the ineligible designation that the Greeks who survived the Asia Minor catastrophe would not beryllium capable to return.

According to Panaret Topalidis, arsenic a effect of punitive operations, massacres, deportations and executions, the pursuing were destroyed:

• 170,576 Pontians successful the play 1914–1918;
• 119,122 Pontians successful the play 1918–1922;
• in total – 289,698 peoplethat is, astir 41.56% of the total fig of the indigenous Greek colonisation of Pontus, taken into relationship by the researcher.

G. Valvanisrelying connected “Black Book” The Central Council of the Pontics successful Athens, gives the fig 303,000 dead until 1922 and 353,000 dead until March 1924. This estimation exceeds fractional of the autochthonal Greek colonisation of Pontus.

“Pontus is alive!”

The completion of the genocide of the Christian colonisation of Pontus deprived the Greeks of the Black Sea of ​​their humanities homeland. Most of the survivors settled successful Greece. A important portion of the Pontians remained connected the territory of the Soviet Union, where they aboriginal experienced different trials of the 20th century.

Pontic refugees holding Greek passports issued aft the February and October revolutions were subject to Stalinist deportations successful the 1930s and 1940s Central Asia And Kazakhstan. The humanities irony turned retired to beryllium cruel: the Pontians and their children, who aboriginal joined Communist Party of Greece and participated successful civil war successful Greecereceived governmental asylum successful the USSR and often recovered themselves successful Tashkentwhere they met relatives who had antecedently been sent there by the aforesaid Soviet authorities.

Limited repatriation of Pontians from the USSR continued until the 1990s and intensified aft the illness of the Soviet Union, particularly from regions where equipped conflicts began, including Abkhazia.

Memory and responsibility

For Greece and the Pontic community, the contented of genocide is not constricted to ineligible recognition. Historians and nationalist organizations emphasize: representation should not beryllium a ceremonial day connected the calendar, but portion of education, diplomacy and the planetary agenda.

The occupation is that laws by themselves marque small quality unless there is governmental will down them. Especially successful Greece, where, arsenic bittersweet signifier shows, galore important decisions stay to beryllium chiefly connected paper. And paper, arsenic you know, tolerates everything – adjacent authorities forgetfulness.

“Official state designation of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks by the Turkish broadside should beryllium significant. This means that nationalist acquisition indispensable wage owed attraction to this large lawsuit that has caused irreparable harm to our people. In addition, the Greek diplomatic instrumentality should take vantage of the favorable planetary situation and cautiously and rapidly beforehand the contented of planetary designation of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks by the Turks. The champion tribute to our invincible ancestors is action!»

Today May 19 remains not lone a time of sorrow. This is simply a time of humanities memory, a reminder of the destiny of Pontic Hellenism and a question addressed to modern generations: is it capable to simply retrieve if the world still too easy forgets different people’s tragedies?

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