Imagined Communities in Greece and Turkey: Trauma and the Population Exchanges Under Atatϋrk

225 Pages·2016·1.08 MB·English

by  Emine Yeşim Bedlek

Emine Yes¸im Bedlek is Assistant Professor of English Language and
Literature at Bingo¨l University, Turkey.
‘EmineYes¸imBedlekhasproducedasignificantcontributiontounderstanding
the effects of the 1923 Lausanne Convention on the lives of ordinary people
throughthelensofliteraryworksoffiction.Herbookprovidesinsightsintothe
disruptionofthe1923compulsoryexchangeofpopulations,uniquebecauseit
wasinternationally ratified,andacriticalwatershed inthehistoriesofTurkey
andGreece.
Bedlek’s analysis focuses on three novels, one Greek (Sotiriou), one Turkish
(Yalc¸ın)andoneEnglish(deBernie`res).Inaddition,herinterpretationdraws
on a much wider range of bibliography in the social sciences which enriches
theanalysis.Shereferstothelong-termproblemsofadjustmentencountered
bypeoplewhoareforciblydisplacedfromtheirhomelands.Herconcernwith
the various overlapping identities of the population in the Late Ottoman
period invokes the deeply cosmopolitan quality of life which characterized
thatmultiethnicempire.
Withextensivemassmigrationatthepresenttime,theparallelswithapast
periodarepoignantandstriking.Thisbookisatimelyandvaluablecontribution
and stands as a stark reminder of a colourful world, one whose remnants are
currentlybeingdismantledwithtragichumancoststhroughouttheregion.’
Rene´eHirschon,SeniorResearchFellowofStPeter’sCollege,
andSeniorMemberofStAntony’sCollege,UniversityofOxford
‘Emine Yes¸im Bedlek’s study is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of extreme
nationalism,currentlyinresurgenceinsomepartsoftheworld,thatintheearly
twentieth century led to the dismemberment of an already weakened Ottoman
empireandtheunimaginablesufferingofmillionsofinnocentpeopleasaresultof
populationexchangesthatthevictoriouspowershadimposedonthevanquished.
The Lausanne Convention of 1923 mandated the transfer of populations on
sectarian criterion that saw the transfer of Muslim Ottomans to Turkey and
ChristianOttomansofGreekextractiontotheirputativeancestralhome.Boththe
MuslimandChristianGreekOttomanshadtomakeanimaginaryleaptoreinvent
themselves as other than what they were, in the apt expression of Benedict
Anderson,asnew“imaginedcommunities”inculturallyalienenvironments.
Bedlek uses diverse sources to strengthen her argument about the validity
of a collective identity that was imperial and inclusive. Her utterly objective
perspective,informedbyliterary,factualandarchivalsources,lendsherargument
cogencyandwillremainforalongtimeoneofthekeytextsintheunderstanding
ofthetragedyandtraumaoftheMu¨badeleandthedelusionofMegaliIdea.The
bookshouldbeofgreatinteresttostudentsofcosmopolitanism,post-colonialism,
nationalismandcomparativeliterature.’
MohamedBakari,ProfessorofLinguisticsandAfricanStudies,
FatihUniversity
IMAGINED
COMMUNITIES
IN GREECE AND
TURKEY
Trauma and the Population Exchanges
under Atatu¨rk
E Y B
MINE ES¸IM EDLEK
This book is dedicated to the
cherished memory of my mother, Gu¨zide, and to my father, Mahmut
and to my two mentors,
the late Dr Agnes Clare Brandabur and Professor Mohamed Bakari.
Publishedin2016by
I.B.Tauris&Co.Ltd
London•NewYork
www.ibtauris.com
Copyrightq2016EmineYes¸imBedlek
TherightofEmineYes¸imBedlektobeidentifiedastheauthorofthiswork
hasbeenassertedbytheauthorinaccordancewiththeCopyright,Designs
andPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypart
thereof,maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,or
transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
Referencestowebsiteswerecorrectatthetimeofwriting.
InternationalLibraryofTwentiethCenturyHistory79
ISBN:9781784531270
eISBN:9780857728005
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
AfullCIPrecordisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:available
TypesetinGaramondThreebyOKSPrepressServices,Chennai,India
PrintedandboundbyCPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1. The Millet System: An Ottoman Legacy in Lausanne 10
2. Memories of Exile: Witnessing the Catastrophe 49
3. Nationalism in Asia Minor: Resolution of a Conflict 94
4. Imperial Identities of Mikrasia´tes 137
Conclusion 167
Notes 171
Bibliography 201
Index 213

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ihavebeenveryfortunatetomeetthreepeoplewhohavecontributed
greatly to my academic life. Firstly, I would like to cherish the
memory of my association with my supervisor, the late Dr Agnes
Clare Brandabur, who died early this year, and who was an
extraordinary scholar of Comparative Literature. It was she who first
drew my attention to the Lausanne Convention. Ms Brandabur was
a remarkable person who guided me at every step of this research
with her great interest and enthusiasm for Middle Eastern history
and society.
I am sincerely grateful to my lifelong mentor, Professor Mohamed
Bakari, a distinguished professor of Post-Colonial Literature and
Linguistics.Heencouragedmetopursueanacademiccareerandguided
meallthoseyearswithgreatsupport,careandpatience.Iamindebtedto
himforteachingmethepleasureofreadingandlearning.Iamthankful
to Dr Metin Bos¸nak who opened my horizons and encouraged me to
pursue graduate studies.
I wish to express my warm thanks to Rene´e Hirschon, an expert on
the population exchanges, for inviting me to the University of Oxford
andsharinghermemoriesoftheAsiaMinorrefugees.Iamalsograteful
tothefollowingacademicsfortheirinsightfulcomments:BarryCharles
Tharaud, Mehmet I˙ps¸irli and Ayhan Aktar.
Louis de Bernie`res and Kemal Yalc¸ın contributed to this research
greatly as they explained to me the crucial role of oral history in their
writings on the population exchanges. I am indebted to them for their
sincere support and kindness. I want to thank Mu¨fide Pekin and
viii IMAGINEDCOMMUNITIESINGREECE AND TURKEY
Tanas¸C¸imbiswhokindlyacceptedtobeinterviewed.Iexpressmywarm
thanks to my dear friends, Seda and Ali Yalc¸ın.
I am most grateful to The Scientific and Technological Research
Council of Turkey (TU¨BI˙TAK) for the grant it extended to me that
made it possible for me to complete this research at St Peter’s College
in the University of Oxford.
Iamalsogratefultomycurrentinstitution,Bingo¨lUniversity,forits
financial support in subsidizing the publication of the book and the
collegial atmosphere that I have enjoyed since joining the institution.
Finally, I want to thank my husband Yakup and my daughter Ferda
who make life worth living. I feel indebted to my brothers and sister
whohavetrustedandsupportedmethroughoutmylifewithgreatcare
and affection.
INTRODUCTION
ThisbookaimstocontributetothereconciliationofGreeksandTurks,
the two neighbouring countries of the Aegean that clashed in the first
quarterofthetwentiethcenturywiththeriseofnationalism.Thebook
analyses the imperial identities of the Asia Minor Greeks, the Millet-i
RumoftheOttomanEmpire,aftertheexchangeofpopulationsthattook
place in 1923 between Greece and Turkey in the light of three literary
texts: Farewell Anatolia by Dido Sotiriou, Birds Without Wings by Louis
de Bernie`res and Emanet C¸eyiz: Mu¨badele I˙nsanları (The Entrusted
Trousseau: Peoples of the Exchange)1 by Kemal Yal(cid:1)cın. The Treaty of
LausanneapprovedacompulsoryexchangeofpopulationsintheAegean
just after the Greco–Turkish War (1919–22). More than one million
peopleweredisplacedaccordingtotheirreligiousaffiliations.Orthodox
Christians of Asia Minor were sent to Greece while the Muslims of
Greece were sent to Turkey. The present book will only analyse the
imperiallivesandidentitiesofAsiaMinorGreeksinthechosenliterary
texts.ThelivesoftheMuslimTurkswhoweredeportedfromGreeceare
notthesubjectofthisbook.Iintendtofocusontheimperialidentities
of the Asia Minor refugees and the process of their integration into
Greek society together with their Ottoman past.
Asia Minor Greeks were the local people of Anatolia who were also
defined as the Orthodox Christians of Asia Minor before the rise of
nationalism. During the Ottoman era, they were the Millet-i Rum and
were autonomous. However, nationalist ideology defined those peoples
of Asia Minor as ‘Greeks’ and deported them to their ‘ancestral’ home.
Some Orthodox Christians of Asia Minor were Turkish-speaking, and