Cohabitating with the other side of the Population Exchange: The symbiosis between Christian refugees and exchangeable Muslims in Greece during the period 1914-1924
Abstract
The Population Exchange, the events that led to the signing of the Lausanne
Convention and the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees
who fled to Greece after 1922 mark in many respects a defining
milestone for modern Greek history. The magnitude of the Asia Minor
Catastrophe and the trauma caused by the events of 1922-1923 to the
Greek national identity normally resulted in the collective perception
of the Population Exchange exclusively in the light of the tragedy of the
Asia Minor Hellenism and the efforts of the refugee resettlement in the
new homeland.
However, the 1923 Population Exchange has also another side, which
is almost unknown in Greek historiography: the Muslims of the Greek
‘New Lands’ who immigrated to Turkey according to the terms of the
Convention concerning the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations.
Despite the condemnation to oblivion of the Population Exchange’s one
side, Christian refugees and exchangeable Muslims met in the same
place and lived together, intermittently, during the period 1914-1924 in
the same settlement, in the same district, even in the same house.
The aim of the paper is to survey the context and the characteristics
of the symbiosis of these two population groups in the period from the
first refugee settlements in the Greek state after the Balkan Wars until
the final migration of Greece’s Muslims under the terms of the exchange
in December 1924. Moreover, an effort will be made to determine whether
the war conflicts, the conditions of nationalism’s exaltation, religious
fanaticism, political disputes and the retaliation intentions by the victims
of persecutions within the framework of minority policies formulated
the terms of symbiosis between Christian refugees and Muslims. To
what extent, that is, the above mentioned context of the years 1914-1924
created tensions and conflicts between Christian refugees and Muslims
or, whether, in spite of the period’s circumstances, there was room for
peaceful coexistence between the two sides of the Population Exchange.
Convention and the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees
who fled to Greece after 1922 mark in many respects a defining
milestone for modern Greek history. The magnitude of the Asia Minor
Catastrophe and the trauma caused by the events of 1922-1923 to the
Greek national identity normally resulted in the collective perception
of the Population Exchange exclusively in the light of the tragedy of the
Asia Minor Hellenism and the efforts of the refugee resettlement in the
new homeland.
However, the 1923 Population Exchange has also another side, which
is almost unknown in Greek historiography: the Muslims of the Greek
‘New Lands’ who immigrated to Turkey according to the terms of the
Convention concerning the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations.
Despite the condemnation to oblivion of the Population Exchange’s one
side, Christian refugees and exchangeable Muslims met in the same
place and lived together, intermittently, during the period 1914-1924 in
the same settlement, in the same district, even in the same house.
The aim of the paper is to survey the context and the characteristics
of the symbiosis of these two population groups in the period from the
first refugee settlements in the Greek state after the Balkan Wars until
the final migration of Greece’s Muslims under the terms of the exchange
in December 1924. Moreover, an effort will be made to determine whether
the war conflicts, the conditions of nationalism’s exaltation, religious
fanaticism, political disputes and the retaliation intentions by the victims
of persecutions within the framework of minority policies formulated
the terms of symbiosis between Christian refugees and Muslims. To
what extent, that is, the above mentioned context of the years 1914-1924
created tensions and conflicts between Christian refugees and Muslims
or, whether, in spite of the period’s circumstances, there was room for
peaceful coexistence between the two sides of the Population Exchange.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Γκλαβίνας Γ. (2015). Cohabitating with the other side of the Population Exchange: The symbiosis between Christian refugees and exchangeable Muslims in Greece during the period 1914-1924. Bulletin of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies, 19, 218–240. https://doi.org/10.12681/deltiokms.327
- Issue
- Vol. 19 (2015)
- Section
- Workshop
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