May 19: Greece remembers the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus

May 19 Greece remembers the victims genocide of the Pontic Greeks – one of the most tragic pages in the history of Hellenism.

IN 2026 performed 107 years old from the date that Pontic organizations consider the beginning of the final stage of destruction Pontic Hellenism. May 19 in Greece it is officially celebrated as Remembrance Day of the Greek Genocide of Pontus. This date was recognized by the Greek state in 1994.

Officially speaking about more than 300,000 dead. At the same time Central Council of the Pontians (Κεντρικό Συμβούλιο Ποντίων) V “Black Book” (Μαύρη Βίβλος) gives a number 353,000 victims.

Genocide of the Pontic Greeks – these are massacres, deportations and systematic extermination of the Greek population in the area Pontacommitted during the period from 1914 to 1923. The survivors of this tragedy fled to Ano Pontosto the territory of the former Russian Empire and later the USSR, and after Asia Minor disaster of 1922 – to Greece.

International literature, diplomatic correspondence and state archives of various countries contain abundant evidence of crimes against the Pontic Greeks. These events occurred in parallel with the genocide Armenians And Assyrianstherefore many researchers view them as part of a broader policy of extermination of Christian peoples Asia Minor.

Historical background

After the fall Constantinople V 1204 under the attacks of the crusaders on the lands of Byzantium, in addition to the possessions of the crusaders and the Italian republics, three main Byzantine formations arose: Nicene Empire, Despotate of Epirus And Empire of Trebizond. Exactly Trebizond became one of the last strongholds of the Byzantine world.

After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 Empire of Trebizond lasted another eight years. Because the city surrendered without a fight, the damage was less than it might have been, but the population dropped sharply. Some of the nobility were resettled in Constantinopleper quarter Phanarand about 1500 young Pontians were taken into the Janissaries.

The Greek population of Pontus, which at the beginning of the 15th century could number up to 250,000 peoplegradually decreased. TO 1520despite partial stabilization, it was about 180,000 people.

Despite the pressure, the population of Pontus retained its identity, language and, for the most part, its Orthodox faith. Among those who formally converted to Islam, it was common crypto-Christianity. IN 1856taking advantage of Ottoman reforms, about 5000 Pontians openly returned to Orthodoxy.

IN 1916when the Russian army occupied TrebizondRussian officers, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, discovered secret chapels in the houses of wealthy Turks. The owners of these houses tearfully called themselves Orthodox, kissed icons and actually revealed the hidden religious life that their families had preserved for generations.

Information about the liberation struggle of the Pontic people after the fall of the Empire of Trebizond remains fragmentary. Unlike mainland Greece, where uprisings against Ottoman rule broke out repeatedly, Pontus was geographically isolated, and therefore its history developed differently.

Greek Revolution 1821–1829which led to the restoration of Greek statehood, was marked by the participation of people of Pontic origin. Representatives of the family especially stood out among them Ypsilanti. However, these events almost did not directly affect the territory of Pontus.

Moreover, it was geographic isolation that helped the Pontic Greeks preserve the archaic features of the Greek language. German historian Jacob Fallmerayerknown for his controversial theory about the Slavic origin of modern inhabitants of continental Greece, considered the Pontic people to be the direct successors of the ancient Greek family.

The migration flows of the Orthodox Greek population from the Ottoman territory of Pontus were largely associated with the proximity to Georgia And Russian Empire. Since the 16th century, the Ottoman authorities provided the region with Gumushhanelocated 115 km south of Trebizond, a certain autonomy due to the metallurgical activities of the Pontic population, primarily silver mining and coinage.

From the middle of the 18th century, there was a migration of Pontic metallurgists to neighboring Georgia. Between 1801 to 1856 to 100,000 Pontians crossed the Russian border and settled in Georgia. On the eve of the First World War, the Pontic diaspora in the Russian Empire made up a significant part of the Greek population of Pontus.

IN 1878after the occupation of Kars by Russian troops, about 75,000 Pontians moved to a new one Kars region. By the beginning of the First World War, tens of thousands of Armenians, Greeks, Russians and Muslims lived there.

First stage of genocide

Historian of Pontic origin Vlasis Agdzidis wrote that First World War created the political conditions necessary for Turkish nationalism to carry out the plan to exterminate the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire.

The persecution began with Eastern Thracewhere the Greek population was subjected to forced deportations. Then came the persecution of the Greeks Ioniaand culminated in the tragedy of the population Ponta.

The indigenous Christian peoples of the empire became victims of ethnic cleansing: Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks of Pontus, Greeks of Ionia, Cappadocia And Thrace. According to Agdzidis, the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire at that time numbered about 4 million people.

Second stage: May 19, 1919

May 19, 1919 V Samsun arrived Mustafa Kemalthe future Ataturk. In the Greek Pontic tradition, this day is considered the beginning of the final phase of resolving the Pontic issue. That’s why May 19 became the date of remembrance of the victims Pontic genocide.

There is still a deep discrepancy between part of Greek historiography and the official Turkish version of history regarding the assessment of the role of Kemal and his movement. For the Pontians, this day is not associated with the founding of a new Turkey, but with the memory of violence, deportations and the disappearance of an entire world.

Third stage: population exchange

Breakthrough of Turkish troops in the west of Asia Minor in the summer 1922 led to the evacuation of the Greek army, massacre in Smyrna And Asia Minor disaster. These events sparked an anti-monarchist army uprising in Greece in September 1922.

Eleftherios Venizeloswho led the Greek delegation to Lausanne Peace Conferencetried to use “Army of Evros” as a diplomatic argument, but in the end Greece agreed to leave Eastern Thrace as part of the new Turkish state.

Historian Georgios Mavrokordatos called the agreement from January 30, 1923 about population exchange “an unexpected and tragic event”. During the negotiations, Venizelos condemned the idea of ​​a forced exchange and stated that Greece was ready to abandon it if the unhindered return of the Greek population to their homes was allowed.

“The forced nature of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey was met with particular antipathy by the Greek government and delegation. The Greek delegation has repeatedly stated that it is ready to refuse a forced exchange if the unhindered return of the Greek population is allowed. With this appeal, the delegation believed that this protected the fundamental right of every person to live in his country of origin and to live there freely. Greece, in exchange, would be happy to retain on its territory a population against which it does not want to take exceptional measures. Unfortunately, the other side was unwilling to agree to these proposals, and a Forced Exchange Convention must be drawn up and agreed upon.”

By this point, most of the surviving Greek population had already been forced to leave Turkish territory. Türkiye refused to take these people back, while the Muslim population in Greece remained in place. The Greek authorities, despite the severe refugee accommodation crisis, continued to treat the Muslim population humanely and did not touch their property.

The Turkish delegation led by İsmet İnönü did not agree to the return of Greek refugees to their homes. As a result Fridtjof Nansenand then Lord Curzon considered an exchange of populations inevitable.

According to various estimates, out of approximately 2.2 million Greeks region arrived in Greece about 1.5 million people. Historian Christina Kouluri provides data on 1,220,000 Christians And 525,000 Muslimsaffected by the exchange. Other sources give figures 1,650,000 Greeks And 670,000 Muslims.

The formal exchange procedure actually affected only those who still remained in Turkey and Greece. Most of the Greeks of Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace had already been forcibly expelled. For Turkey, the key result was the legal recognition that the Greeks who survived the Asia Minor catastrophe would not be able to return.

According to Panaret Topalidis, as a result of punitive operations, massacres, deportations and executions, the following were destroyed:

• 170,576 Pontians in the period 1914–1918;
• 119,122 Pontians in the period 1918–1922;
• in total – 289,698 peoplethat is, about 41.56% of the total number of the indigenous Greek population of Pontus, taken into account by the researcher.

G. Valvanisrelying on “Black Book” The Central Council of the Pontics in Athens, gives the number 303,000 dead until 1922 and 353,000 dead until March 1924. This estimate exceeds half of the native Greek population of Pontus.

“Pontus is alive!”

The completion of the genocide of the Christian population of Pontus deprived the Greeks of the Black Sea of ​​their historical homeland. Most of the survivors settled in Greece. A significant part of the Pontians remained on the territory of the Soviet Union, where they later experienced other trials of the 20th century.

Pontic refugees holding Greek passports issued after the February and October revolutions were subject to Stalinist deportations in the 1930s and 1940s Central Asia And Kazakhstan. The historical irony turned out to be cruel: the Pontians and their children, who later joined Communist Party of Greece and participated in civil war in Greecereceived political asylum in the USSR and often found themselves in Tashkentwhere they met relatives who had previously been sent there by the same Soviet authorities.

Limited repatriation of Pontians from the USSR continued until the 1990s and intensified after the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially from regions where armed conflicts began, including Abkhazia.

Memory and responsibility

For Greece and the Pontic community, the issue of genocide is not limited to legal recognition. Historians and public organizations emphasize: memory should not be a formal date on the calendar, but part of education, diplomacy and the international agenda.

The problem is that laws by themselves make little difference unless there is political will behind them. Especially in Greece, where, as sad practice shows, many important decisions remain to exist mainly on paper. And paper, as you know, tolerates everything – even government forgetfulness.

“Official state recognition of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks by the Turkish side should be significant. This means that public education must pay due attention to this great event that has caused irreparable harm to our people. In addition, the Greek diplomatic machine should take advantage of the favorable international situation and carefully and quickly promote the issue of international recognition of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks by the Turks. The best tribute to our invincible ancestors is action!»

Today May 19 remains not only a day of sorrow. This is a day of historical memory, a reminder of the fate of Pontic Hellenism and a question addressed to modern generations: is it enough to simply remember if the world still too easily forgets other people’s tragedies?

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