GREECE VS TURKEY, THE ORIGINAL WOUND

Events that shaped the countries of the Mediterranean

An episode from the series ECHOES OF HISTORY

Synopsis

In 1923, the Greek-Turkish war (1919-1922) ended with the Treaty of Lausanne, of which France, Great Britain, and other major powers were signatories. It provided for the first mass displacement of populations based on their religious background.

500,000 Muslims were expelled from Greece to Turkey, while more than one and a half million Christians from Anatolia were forced to populate miserable makeshift camps for years. This was the largest transfer of people in history at that time, the first with a compulsory character.

This Treaty of Lausanne buried the multi-ethnicity characteristic of the Ottoman world and invented the separation of ethnic groups and population exchanges as a means of conflict resolution.