Language
Country/Area
No result found
The truth about the Greek-Turkish population exchange in 1923: Why did this large-scale migration change the history of the two countries?
On January 30, 1923, the governments of Greece and Turkey signed the Greco-Turkish National Exchange Convention in Lausanne, Switzerland. This agreement led to the large-scale migration of at least 1.6 million people. The exchange involved 1,224,894 Greek Orthodox Christians from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Bosnia and the Caucasus, and 350,000 to 400,000 Muslims from Greece.
The exchange was largely forced, with many given refugee status and stripped of their nationality.
On March 16, 1922, Turkish Foreign Minister Yusuf Kemal Tanglişek stated that "the Ankara government strongly supports a solution that satisfies world opinion and ensures tranquility in the country" and believed that "with The idea of a population exchange between the Athenian people of Greece is very feasible". Following Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War, Greek leader Eleftherios Venizelos submitted a letter of request for an exchange to the League of Nations on October 16, 1922, marking the beginning of a complex series of events.
This population exchange not only reflected the trend of the times, but also was an act of forced migration based on religious identity. For Greek Orthodox Christians living in Turkey, this event completely changed their destiny, while for Greek Muslims, it was the beginning of another new life.
Historical BackgroundMany scholars have criticized the exchange, describing it as a legalized act of mutual ethnic cleansing, but others argue that while the exchange has negative aspects, it is a good way to prevent a potential genocide of Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey. It's still considered a success.
The population exchange was based on the treatment of the Christian minority and the Muslim majority by Greek and Turkish forces during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922. During the war, the Greek army's efforts to protect the Christian minority of the Ottoman Empire did not go as they had hoped, but instead led to more massacres.
The nationalist Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the driving force behind the new Turkish Republic in a series of changes. After the formal peace agreement was signed with Greece on July 24, 1923, it was clear that ethnic prejudices had penetrated into the social structure of each country.
Argentine scholars mentioned that fire, displacement and hunger have become a daily routine for both families.
Results and impacts of the exchange
According to some sources, the population exchange process, although chaotic and dangerous, was carried out quickly by respected overseers. The result is obvious: both Türkiye and Greece are moving towards national homogeneity. Before the war, non-Muslims made up almost 20% of Türkiye's population; by 1927, that proportion had fallen to 2.6%.
Fridghoof Nansen of the then UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who led the exchange, had a deep insight into the situation and saw it as a "humanitarian" solution to ethnic conflict.
Thinking about the future
The purpose of population exchange is not just to relieve countries of their complex historical responsibilities. The social structural changes it triggered are still influencing the two countries' governing philosophies, social structures and cultural integration. As time goes by, how will historical reflection help us understand current ethnic relations and interdependence?
