Refreshing Turkish Memories

The very foundation of a civilization which is the heritage of centuries, the property of all mankind, has been gravely attacked. The sacred things of our religion have been defiled, seventy of our churches and houses of worship destroyed and most of them set on fire. Our sacred objects of religion were desecrated, floundered and plundered. The graves of our dead, including those of the Patriarchs were broken open. Newly buried corpses were torn to pieces, the bones of the dead removed from their resting places, scattered around and set on fire. Our clergy men were everywhere persecuted. When found they were manhandled, threatened with killing, and one of them was actually put to death. The immunity of private dwellings was violated, virgins were ravished, and even the sick, old and children were maltreated. All of us, without any defence, spent moments of agony, and in vain sought and waited for protection from those responsible for order and tranquillity.  From a letter to Adnan Menderes from Patriarch Athenagoras November 15, 1955

For the Greeks of Constantinople, September is a time of remembrance. It marks the sad anniversary of the 1955 pogrom, an event that my family and I lived through and which changed our lives forever. Things would never be the same. For the few remaining Greeks still living in Turkey, most of them elderly and those of us who now live elsewhere, this month, in particular is a portent of a future in which the more things change, the more they remain the same.

In modern day Turkey, the chilling reminders of past atrocities, designed to send an unmistakable message, pass without a whimper from the local press or government officials. On the anniversary of events which saw the the wonton desecration of churches and cemeteries. we are forced to relive those events by being silent witnesses to the desecration of our cemeteries by a new wave of hate. Once again Christians are identified and marked for elimination as they were in 1955 when Greek businesses and homes were painted with a red cross in the dead of night. 

The events of 1955 are of course, another piece of history that has been expunged from Turkish history books. Even the exhibition of police photos saved by a government prosecutor caused an uproar when they were shown in 2005. Recently a much touted Turkish film, Güz Sancısı, or The Pain of Autumn made its debut. It's claim to fame is that it is the first time that the entire subject has been served up to a mass Turkish audience. It was intriguing to think of such a film finally seeing the light of day. Until I saw it. 

The film revolves around a love story between a Turkish man and Greek woman, with the events surrounding the pogrom serving as a backdrop. While it does at least try to touch upon what happened, it does so in such a manner so as not to reveal the full extent of what actually happened. There is no attempt made to show the full extent of the atrocities that occurred. It perpetuates the falsehood that the entire thing was planned and executed by right wing nationalist members of the deep state. In actuality the pogrom was centrally organized, many of the rioters recruited in Istanbul and in the provinces by the party of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. They were transported by train, trucks, and some 4,000 taxis, with specific targets and instructions. They were given axes, crowbars, acetylene torches, gas, dynamite, and large amounts of rocks in carts. The Turkish military planned and directed the entire operation. The Army and Police intentionally refrained from protecting the lives and properties of the Greek victims, their primary mission being to preserve Turkish property and protect it from being destroyed. Interestingly, Menderes was later hung from the Galata bridge for the crime of "abuse of discretionary funds."  Subsequent governments have named an international airport, a University and two high schools in his honor, ignoring his infamous crimes against the Greek minority, which after all, was business as usual in Turkey and a job well done.

The other problem I had with this film is the way that it depicts Greeks. The heroine is a prostitute who is sold to the highest bidder by her Greek grandmother who sees the Turkish boyfriend as a threat not because he is Turkish but because she might lose her meal ticket. The Greek victims of the pogrom are mostly an invisible group in this film. Nothing about churches or cemeteries being desecrated or even the extent of what happened. Anyone without an inkling about what really happened, i.e. most Turks, would wonder what the fuss was all about. The only sympathetic characters beside the two lovers are all the Turks who stand heroically in front of apartment buildings marked as containing Greeks (but where they also happen to live) and a rather troublesome journalist who meets a grisely fate at the hands of some villainous deep state goons. If this is an example of a Turkish attempt at honesty or even progress, in the hopes of expiating their genocidal sins, I am not impressed. 

The Pogrom of 1955, imposed on innocent Turkish citizens of Greek origin by their own government must be seen in the light of a religiously driven program of genocide and ethnic cleansing executed by successive Turkish governments.  It was designed to put the finishing touches on an ethnically pure Turkey however, it was only one of many pogroms before, during, and after the First World War, which included the elimination of the Greek communities of the Pontos and Asia Minor numbering in the millions. It must always be viewed in that historical context.  Unfortunately, there are always new enemies to expunge as the Greeks of Cyprus and the Kurds of Turkey have discovered.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Comments

[petros]

how sad the same atrocities are commited in iraq today against the christian minority.in
saudi arabia today,one is prohibited from wearing a cross.when the civilized world is
going to stand up and say to these barbarians
enough is enough.stavro thank you for refreshing us about the atrocities of 1955
petros

[DD]

Stavros,
The tragic events of the Constantinople pogrom are all too alive in my mind from the harrowing stories delivered by relatives, who were finally forced to abandon their ancestral home in 1964. Here in Greece, they never recovered from the shock and depression. Our "friends" the Turks have not changed an iota since 1955. If anything, they have grown more aggressive and demanding, egged on by so many of our other "friends" and "partners" in Europe and the US.
Thanks for highlighting the tragic anniversary. Here in Greece, most of everything has been forgotten. Greeks are busy with other things, mainly consumption.

[Stavros]

Petros,

Unfortunately, religious freedom is seldom practiced in Muslim countries, it is the nature of Islam which teaches that only Muslims are fully human, are favored by Allah and are therefore worthy of another Muslim's respect. Christian's and Jews, despite being people of the book are condemned to lowly status, known as "dhimmitude." If some Muslims don't always subscribe fully to their prophet's teachings, in no way changes what they are.

The double standard you speak of is particularly offensive. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have allowed the Saudis to spend vast sums of money to proselytize and to build schools/house or worship in the the US where they peddle the most extreme form of Islam known as Wahhabisim. The secular government of Menderes which perpetrated the pogrom used Islam to fuel the fire against primarily Greeks but it should also be pointed out that hundreds of Armenian and Jewish business establishments were destroyed as well. Both secularists and Islamists such as Edrogan, know how to use religion for their purposes it seems.

D,

Historical amnesia is one thing that Greeks, wherever they may reside, cannot afford right now. Unfortunately, Greeks in the Diaspora, also lack a historical context and we have been unable to expose the results of Turkish policies to a Western audience. Many Americans and Europeans see Turkey as a staunch, secular ally or an indispensable strategic partner, their behavior notwithstanding.

The current leadership in the US and Greece will continue to kowtow to the pashas and eventually will reap what they sow.