May 19th is a day of remembrance for one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Hellenism; it is the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus.
On May 19, 1919, Kemal Atatürk landed in Samsun in Pontus, located in the northern coast of modern-day Turkey in the Black Sea region, marking the start of the second and even bloodier phase of the genocide against the Pontic Greeks, which had already begun in 1913 and was completed in 1923.
A total of 353,000 men, women, and children—Pontic Greeks—were exterminated through massacres, arson, and death marches across thousands of kilometers organized by the Turkish army.
The term genocide was established in global terminology in 1943 and describes violent crimes committed against a group with the aim of their physical annihilation.
This is exactly what Turkey sought to do against the Pontic Greeks, Armenians, and other ethnic groups with a long-standing presence in territories that, from the mid-15th century, belonged to the Ottoman Empire and later became part of the Turkish state.
The Genocide of the Pontic Greeks is a heinous crime against not only its immediate victims but all of humanity.
“ELEFTHERON VIMA,” which started circulating in February 1922, wrote on March 17, 1923, attempting to raise awareness among both the international and domestic public about what was continuing to occur in Pontus.
Caravans of Extermination
“The generals of Great Powers, the admirals, the high commissioners, the religious leaders, the representatives of the European and American press, all became eyewitnesses to the horrifying hardships of the Pontic Greeks, who were transported by the Turks like a ‘herd’ from the coast to Constantinople.
“And this drama continues without end, to the great shame of humanity. The correspondent of the ‘Daily Telegraph’ writes that ‘in one bed, there are three sick people.’
“On a barge, the unfortunate refugees endured all the torments of bad weather for several days, lying there huddled together without a blanket, half-naked and starving for days.
“We pointed out a few days ago, and we repeat it today, that the ‘Committee of the Unredeemed’ should issue the most intense humanitarian protest to the entire world and the entire press about the slaughterhouse of Pontus.”
One day later, on March 18, 1923, it wrote:
“Anyone who wants to have an idea of the Greek-Christian slaughterhouse of the martyred Pontus need only consider the following numbers from official statistics. The Greek population of the Amasya province in the cities and villages in 1914 was 196,785. After the armistice and until 1920, due to the persecutions, exiles, and massacres, it fell to 140,555.
Life of Pontic Greeks before the genocide.
“In total, the number of those killed and those who died in exile is estimated at 92,313.
“Currently, there are 48,142 in diaspora and in Constantinople. These numbers alone speak so eloquently about the slaughterhouse of Pontus that further comments are unnecessary.”
Testimony
The prominent chronicler and playwright, Dimitris Psathas, born in Trabzon of Pontus in 1907, having personally experienced the events, later dedicated himself to documenting the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks.
In November 1965, he began publishing the Chronicle of Pontus in installments in the magazine “TAHYDROMOS.”
In this chronicle, Psathas includes the account of Ioannis Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos was a member of a musical band composed of 13 Greeks and 3 Turks, formed by the infamous Topal Osman, a loyal follower of Kemal Atatürk and leader of forces responsible for the bloodshed in Pontus. The band had the macabre duty of playing music during the massacres.
Psathas wrote, ‘This band both entertained and witnessed all the ‘campaigns’ of Topal Osman, only to be slaughtered in the end by their bloodthirsty master. The only one to escape death was Ioannis Papadopoulos.”
Papadopoulos recounts:
“[April 1921] As soon as we crossed to the opposite bank of the Euphrates River, a telegram from Kemal ordered the butcher and persecutor of Christians to march against the Greek guerrilla units in the Samsun region, which were causing havoc there.
“After a two-day march through the ravaged Armenian villages, on April 5th we reached Su Sehir, where among many Greeks, they also slaughtered Father Anastasios for his nationalistic activities.
“The next day, following the course of the Lycus River, we crossed the bridge and by evening reached Koila Hisar. During the overnight stay, all the Greek inhabitants residing there were executed.
“In Niksar (Neocaesarea), the Chetes (irregular armed groups) rounded up all the Greeks outside the city and executed them with mass shootings.
“On April 10th, after a seven-hour march, we reached the beautiful town of Erbaa, inhabited by both Greeks and Turks. The Turks were telephoned by Topal Osman and instructed to gather the Greeks in inns and cafes under strict surveillance.”
Massacre by Music
“The next morning, while the band played music in the courtyard of Anastas Aga’s mansion, from whose rooftop the bloodthirsty commander and his officers watched, we heard screams and wails from inside the house as the family of Anastas Aga was brutally slaughtered.
“The shock we felt at that moment was so intense that our fingers went numb, and a dissonance began until we stopped playing and left, utterly shattered.
“During the evening hours of the same day, a detachment of tsetas led the soon-to-be-dead Greeks, who were already gathered, to a secluded place where they executed them and placed them in a mass grave.
“Upon reaching the peak of a mountain where the Greek village of Kirk-Harman was located, he ordered his executioners to destroy it along with its inhabitants as a reprisal for his failure against the Greek guerrillas.
“The bloodthirsty executioners immediately gathered the women, children, and elderly who remained in various large houses and set them ablaze.
“As the fire grew, the anguished cries and wails of the innocent, begging for mercy and compassion, echoed in vain.
“Not only did the executioners ignore the pleas of the burning, but they also shot the mothers who, in desperation, ran to the windows to throw their babies outside, hoping to save them.”
The Massacre at Kavak and Kavza
“On July 30, 1921, Topal Osman arrived in the Turkish town of Kavak, 54 kilometers from Samsun. The town became infamous among all Pontic Greeks in the region because hundreds of Greeks from Samsun and surrounding areas were slaughtered there.
“The local Turks welcomed us enthusiastically and boasted about the massacre of the Greek exiles, showing off the gold and silver watches, rings, chains, and bags full of valuables they had looted from the giaours.
“Before continuing his march to Kavza, Topal Osman ordered the local authorities to gather all Greeks in a designated area.
“It is impossible to adequately describe the atrocities committed in that town during the three-day stay of the agha.
“Enraged mobs of Chetes and starving Turks broke down doors, screams and wails echoed everywhere, men, women, and children were dragged into the streets and executed, young girls were raped, church bells rang, houses were set ablaze.
“The crimes committed were so extensive that even the bloodiest nights in history would pale in comparison.”
On August 6, as Topal Osman marched towards Ankara, following a telegraphic order from Kemal, he encountered a labor battalion of 600 Greeks.
‘When he saw them, he went mad with joy and, despite the protests of the gendarmes, within a matter of hours, he encircled them and slaughtered every single one of them with machine guns.”
