06/09/2025
In 1955, the large Greek population of the Turkish city of Istanbul was victim to a heinous pogrom that resulted in the suffering and death of many and the destruction of countless homes and businesses.
The Greeks in Istanbul were a longstanding, thriving community comprised mostly of families of merchants. In 1955, their population was about one hundred thousand, and they were a prominent class in the city.
At the time, Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes (1950-1960) sought to appeal to the conservative religious faction of the Turkish population, causing irritation in the country’s secular Kemalist establishment. The thousands of mosques built during his time as PM are proof of this.
At the time Istanbul, and Turkey as a whole, was not as prosperous as the Greeks.The blast at Ataturk’s home caused only minor damage to the building’s windows, but Turkish newspapers took advantage of the situation.
Following government instructions, they magnified and distorted the event. Headlines such as “Greek terrorists destroyed Ataturk’s paternal home” of the Istanbul Express and the publication of a series of fake photos of the incident sparked “spontaneous” demonstrations in Taksim Square in the afternoon of the same day.
Men and women were r***d, and according to the testimony of the famous Turkish writer Aziz Nesin, many priests were forced to be circumcised, with one of the victims being an Armenian priest. Sixteen Greeks lost their lives and thirty-two were severely injured.
Violence against the Greeks took place not only in Istanbul but also in Izmir, or Smyrna. On the morning of September 7th, Turkish nationalists set fire to the Greek pavilion at the Izmir International Fair.
The Americans and the British were unwilling to pressure Turkey, a valuable ally during the Cold War. NATO allies advised Greece to forget about the incident.
