Genocide Museum to commemorate Smyrna Disaster’s 90th anniversary

PanARMENIAN.Net - In September 2012, Armenian Genocide Museum will organize an international conference and an exhibition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Smyrna Disaster. The events will highlight Smyrna Fire in the unique photographs and movies, the Museum reported.

Smyrna was one of the main business and cultural centers of Asia Minor. The Armenians had settled there since ancient times and were living in Getezerk, Karap, Haynots Armenian districts.

The books and periodicals released in the publishing houses of Smyrna had a significant role in the cultural, public and political life of the Armenians. Mesropian School founded in 1799, Hripsimyan Girl’s School, and a number of private schools were operating in Smyrna. There were four Armenian churches (the famous one was St. Stephanos church), a hospital and a theatre. The Armenian merchants of Smyrna had merchant's houses in Europe, Russia, India and Egypt.

Due to its multi-cultural and developed mode of life Smyrna was called "Little Paris of the East". Approximately 30 000 Armenians lived in Smyrna before 1922.

In September 1922 the Kemalists forces set fire to Smyrna and massacred the Armenians and the Greeks of the city. The premeditated fire was meant to terrify the Christian population into leaving the city forever. The streets were covered with the corpses of the Armenians and Greeks. Many of them drowned trying to reach English, Italian and American ships.

Thus, Smyrna Catastrophe became the last episode of the Armenian Genocide and the starting point of the Kemalists' "Turkey for Turks" state-building policy. Nowadays, Smyrna, with the majority of Turkish population, is known by the Turkish name of Izmir.