Antonis Klapsis, Associate Professor of Modern History and International Politics, spoke on the Voice of Greece program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis about the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the event that left a deep mark on Modern Greek history. He discussed the factors that led to it and its consequences for Greece and its people.
He underlined that the Greek army entered Smyrna as a mandatary of the Great Powers of the time, namely Britain, France and the United States, but not Italy, which coveted territory in Asia Minor. The Greek population, then the majority in the city, welcomed the troops with enthusiasm, while the Turkish population did not, leading to violent incidents in the early days. Over time, Greek forces expanded their presence with the approval of the Great Powers into regions where Greeks were a minority, while at the same time Mustafa Kemal was organizing a nationalist Turkish force.
According to Klapsis, key turning points included the defeat of Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1920 elections, despite his having signed the favorable Treaty of Sèvres only months earlier, and above all the return of King Constantine to the throne. The Great Powers considered Constantine unacceptable because of his pro-German stance during the First World War, and after his restoration they cut off financial aid to Greece. The failed attempt to capture Ankara marked a decisive moment.
He also described the situation in Smyrna during the Great Fire, which destroyed the Greek and Armenian quarters. On the quayside, hundreds of thousands of Greeks crowded together, desperate to escape. Klapsis noted that, with few exceptions, the warships of the Great Powers stood by without helping the refugees. He praised the Japanese ship Mokai, which rescued hundreds of Greeks, as well as the American missionary Asa Jennings, who organized the evacuation of tens of thousands to Greece, and the American consul George Horton, who recorded the events in his reports to the State Department and later in his book.
Production assistant: Lida Sidiropoulou