87 years ago today

joea · 10-04-05, 06:43 AM

Awesome thread, I wish I had pics of my Granddad (Mom's side). They are with my aunt in Athens, he was in the Greek army and fought in that ill-fated campaign in Smyrna (now Izmir) in 1922 during the Greco-Turkish war (continuation of WW1 and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire).

He survived thank God (wouldn't be here now), was apparently decorated, but the Greeks lost and the upshot was actually for the best as both countries exchanged populations, polite term for treaty approved mutual ethnic cleansing, and to top it off Dad's side of the family lost all their land and homes in Constantinople and possibly in Cappadocia. (Family came from there, not sure if at the time they still owned anything as the family had moved to Constantinople).

Today of course talks ahve now begun to allow Turkey to enter the EU so both populations will perhaps freely travel in the old Ottoman space.

Don't ask me what to think. :hmm: Food for other threads we have already gone through.

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10-04-05, 06:43 AM	#6
joea Silent Hunter Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: At periscope depth in Lake Geneva Posts: 3,512 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Awesome thread, I wish I had pics of my Granddad (Mom's side). They are with my aunt in Athens, he was in the Greek army and fought in that ill-fated campaign in Smyrna (now Izmir) in 1922 during the Greco-Turkish war (continuation of WW1 and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire). He survived thank God (wouldn't be here now), was apparently decorated, but the Greeks lost and the upshot was actually for the best as both countries exchanged populations, polite term for treaty approved mutual ethnic cleansing, and to top it off Dad's side of the family lost all their land and homes in Constantinople and possibly in Cappadocia. (Family came from there, not sure if at the time they still owned anything as the family had moved to Constantinople). Today of course talks ahve now begun to allow Turkey to enter the EU so both populations will perhaps freely travel in the old Ottoman space. Don't ask me what to think. :hmm: Food for other threads we have already gone through.