On Wednesday 9 September at 22:00 Athens time, historian and Hellenic Army Academy professor Nikos Kanellopoulos joins Stavroula Karali on Voice of Greece’s “Remarkable Personalities” Together with Nikos Tombros, he co-authored the book «Η Τραγική Ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αιχμαλώτων στη Μικρά Ασία 1919-1924», published by Minoas Publications.
In the first part of Voice of Greece’s two-hour special, entitled “The forgotten prisoners of war of the Asia Minor Catastrophe,” Kanellopoulos discusses one of the darkest and least-known chapters of the Asia Minor Catastrophe: the story of the Greek soldiers captured during the Asia Minor Campaign.
Through the prisoners’ harrowing personal testimonies, the program traces their journey from the collapse of the Asia Minor Front and the days-long marches into the interior of Asia Minor to the prisoner-of-war camps and forced labor battalions.
The first part examines the legal and historical framework of their captivity, along with the conditions of detention, starvation, disease, forced labor and violence, as recorded in the testimonies of Greek soldiers, officers and doctors.
Particular attention is paid to the “Red Death,” the first phase of captivity, marked by the most extreme forms of violence, including mass and summary executions that began from the very moment of surrender.
The testimonies also document the practice known as “kurban,” in which local residents paid guards to hand over a prisoner so that they could execute him in retaliation.
Kanellopoulos also discusses the “White Death,” the second phase of captivity, when Greek soldiers were taken to the camps. Stripped of their clothing, malnourished and exhausted, exposed to disease and extreme weather conditions, they were subjected to forced labor, and many lost their lives.
The discussion also focuses on the harsh and vindictive treatment of Asia Minor Greek volunteers in the Greek Army, who often paid an even heavier price when their identities were discovered.
Presenter – journalist: Stavroula Karali
Sound editing: Efi Georgopoulou
Broadcast of Part One: Wednesday 9 September 2026, 22:00 Athens time
