The Alaşehir fire of 1922 was started by the Greek army during their retreat and lasted from September 3, 1922, until September 5. As a result of the fire and massacres, approximately 3,000 civilians died, and only 100 of the 4,550 houses in the city survived. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
Background
After the First World War , Greece , with the support of the Allied Powers, began its occupation of Anatolia by landing in Izmir on May 15, 1919. [ 5 ] On June 24, 1920, Alaşehir was occupied by the Greek army. Alaşehir was one of the first cities to resist the Greeks in the Turkish War of Independence and to establish militia organizations for this purpose. [ 6 ] It was also the place where the Alaşehir Congress was held between August 16 and August 25, 1919. [ 7 ] Just before the Greek occupation, the population of the city was 38,000. [ 3 ]
Previous Events
In early 1919, it was reported that 47 Greek civilians were killed by Turkish gangs in Alaşehir and the surrounding area. [ 8 ]
On August 30, 1922, the Greek army, defeated in the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief’s Square , committed many murders in the occupied territories and the looting of Turkish civilians’ property reached its peak. [ 9 ] In Alaşehir, along with the looting incidents, 20 prominent Turks of the city were arrested by the Greek army. [ 10 ]
On August 31, 1922, the number of Turks arrested rose to 1500. [ 10 ]
Italian reports prepared before the fire in 1922 contain war crimes committed by the Greek army in Alaşehir. According to the report; [ 11 ] [ 12 ]
The Muslim population living in and around Alaşehir frequently suffers immeasurable hardship and faces systematic coercion and violence. For example, all their livestock and property have been confiscated by an unjust court decision. Greek officers roam through all the Turkish villages, plundering and harming the people.
Fire
The fire was started on September 3, 1922, with kerosene at ten different points simultaneously. It quickly spread with bombs, oily rags, and other flammable objects thrown by the fire brigade. [ 10 ] [ 13 ] Looting began in shops and houses during the fire, and civilians trying to escape were shot by Greek soldiers. Turkish women were raped. [ 14 ] A group of 300 Turkish women who managed to escape the fire but were later found were formed and subsequently executed by a machine gun squad. Only 80 survived by escaping to the mountains.
An Allied report on the events stated that 72 women were burned alive, 52 of whom died, and that 14 girls were seen singing and playing among the ashes of the fire. 300 Turkish children who had taken refuge at Manamak Train Station were shot by Greek soldiers. [ 3 ] After the Greek soldiers who started the fire and some of the local Greeks were taken prisoner, they were lynched by the people of Alaşehir. [ 13 ]
Damage
In the fire, 2,400 people died by burning and 600 were killed by Greek soldiers, either by gunfire or bayonet. Alaşehir, which had a population of 38,000 before the Greek occupation, had only about 5,000-6,000 inhabitants when it was liberated by the Turkish army on September 5, 1922. All but about 100 of the 4,550 houses were destroyed. Of the 10 mosques in the city, only two and three shops belonging to Greeks remained standing. All 20 mosques and all official buildings were burned down. [ 3 ] [ 10 ] [ 13 ]
Two representatives from the International Red Cross and Child Protection Agency who inspected the area after the fire stated the following about the damage: [ 3 ] [ 13 ]
We have both witnessed many catastrophes since 1916. Until now, we have never encountered a task as painful as our visits to these ruins. Nowhere else have we seen such a poignant sight as the fear and terror etched on the faces of the people. This sight involuntarily reminded us of the ruins of Pompeii and Messina. However, while the destruction of those two cities was due to natural causes, the devastation of Alaşehir and its surroundings, far from the battlefield, according to those who witnessed it and their acquaintances, was carried out systematically by Christians in the mid-twentieth century.
Sources
Mango, Atatürk , p. 343.
US Vice-Consul James Loder Park to Secretary of State [ en ] , Smyrna , 11 April 1923. US archives US767.68116/34
“September 5th: The Liberation of Alaşehir and the Alaşehir Fire – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer METİN” . Tarihistan.org – News, Sports, Culture, Foreign Policy, Politics . Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2020 .
“Archived copy” . Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2020 .
ÇAGRI, ERHAN (1999). “GREEK OCCUPATION OF IZMIR AND ADJOINING TERRITORIES REPORT OF THE INTER-ALLIED COMMISSION OF INQUIRY (MAY-SEPTEMBER 1919)” (PDF) . SAM PAPERS No. 2/99 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2014.
“Archived copy” . Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2020 .
http://www.alasehir.gov.tr/alasehir-kongresi [Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine ] DELEGATES ATTENDING THE ALAŞEHİR CONGRESS
“The Inter-Allied Investigation of the Greek Invasion of Smyrna, 1919” . The SHAFR Guide Online . Access date: September 5, 2020 .
Turkish War of Independence, p. 361
“The Great Alaşehir Fire of September 4, 1922” . Alaşehir Incident . Accessed September 5, 2020.
Howell, HG (15 September 1922), Report on the Nationalist Offensive in Anatolia , Istanbul: The Inter-Allied commission proceeding to Bourssa, FO 371-7898, no. E10383 .
“Archived copy” . Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020 .
“THE ALAŞEHİR FIRE DURING THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE” . alasehirmanset.com . Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020 .
“Greek Atrocities in Alaşehir” . alasehirmanset.com . Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020 .
