3rd Forum on the Greek Genocide During the Late Ottoman Period
Join the East Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance’s/ EMBCA’s “3rd Forum on the Greek Genocide During the Late Ottoman Period” Webinar Panel Discussion on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2 P.M. EST/ 9 P.M. Athens EEST.
HDN Team
The discussion will be introduced and moderated by Lou Katsos EMBCA’s President. The distinguished panel will include Themistocles Kritikakos, PhD of the University of Melbourne; Dr. Gocec Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan; Dr. Vassilios Meichanetsidis, author of the “Genocide of the Ottoman Greeks”; Author/Writer Lou Ureneck Professor of Journalism (retired) at Boston University; Author Dr Theodosios Kyriakidis, Chair for Pontos Studies, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; and Author/Engineer Savvas “Sam” Koktzoglou co-author of the book “The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries”.
Between 1913 and 1923, the indigenous Hellenic populations of Eastern Thrace, Pontus, and Western Anatolia faced a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing, mass killings, and forced deportations. This genocide—carried out first by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and later by Mustafa Kemal’s Nationalist forces—was part of broader efforts to eliminate Christian minorities, including Armenians and Assyrians, in pursuit of a homogenous Turkish-Muslim state.
The Hellenic presence in Asia Minor and Thrace spanned over 3,000 years, with cities like Smyrna, Ephesus, and Trebizond flourishing as centers of Hellenic culture. However, after the Balkan Wars, Ottoman authorities escalated reprisals against Hellenic communities, initiating mass deportations and massacres. World War I further intensified the violence, with widespread killings, death marches, forced labor battalions, and the destruction of villages, particularly in Pontus.
The catastrophe culminated in the burning of Smyrna in 1922, leading to mass executions, rapes, and the drowning of thousands attempting to flee. The subsequent 1923 Treaty of Lausanne formalized a brutal population exchange, severing Hellas’s millennia-old ties to Asia Minor.
In total, an estimated 1.2 million Greeks were killed, and 1.5 million displaced, with survivors enduring extreme hardship and cultural loss. The genocide not only devastated communities but also erased centuries of Hellenic history and left a deep scar unfortunately on Hellenic-Turkish relations.
Despite overwhelming evidence, Turkey has never officially recognized the Greek Genocide. Nevertheless, recognition efforts have gained momentum: the Hellenic Republic, Cyprus, and numerous organizations now formally honor the memory of the victims, with May 19 and September 14 designated as remembrance days, with April 6 was designated (unofficially by Hellas) as the day of remembrance for the genocide of the Hellenes of Eastern Thrace.
The Greek Genocide remains one of the most tragic and overlooked atrocities of the early 20th century. Studying and recognizing this history is vital—not only for honoring the victims but for ensuring that such crimes are never repeated. Join us as we explore this critical topic with leading scholars and experts.
To join EMBCA’s “3rd Forum on the Greek Genocide During the Late Ottoman Period” Webinar Panel Discussion on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2 P.M. EST/ 9 P.M. Athens EEST please click here
Source: https://www.hellenicdailynewsny.com/en-us/diaspora/3rd-forum-on-the-greek-genocide-during-the-late-ottoman-period
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