A GREEK AND ONE COMMUNIST IN POGROM OF 1955 LIVE TESTIMONIALS FROM THE DARK HISTORY OF TURKEY

A GREEK AND ONE COMMUNIST IN POGROM OF 1955
LIVE TESTIMONIALS FROM THE DARK HISTORY OF TURKEY
Nikos Stelgia
Magazine “K” 5/9/2010

IMPORTANT STATEMENT: -THE TRANSLANTION IS BASED ON GOOGLE TRANSLATE. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH POSSIBLE INACCURACIES. THANK YOU-

“Cyprus is Turkish and will stay Turkish. Citizens speak Turkish”. In the early 50΄s, residents of the former Ottoman capital and become accustomed to living in the aftermath of these two features slogans. With the rise of the Democratic Party to power, Cyprus came gradually to the forefront of Turkish politics. At that time, several nationalist organizations have intensified their protests and asked the government to take initiatives on Cyprus. Also they called society to be vigilant with regard to the activities of minorities in Turkey. During the decade of 50, several nationalist actors appeared particularly irritated by the rich and vibrant social life that have had the Greek community in Istanbul. In their view, the Greek community of Istanbul was a dangerous legacy of the imperial past, which was not intended to be harmonized with the national character of the new Turkish Republic. The great work of Mustafa Kemal and his comrades, the republic was founded in 1923, had decided to turn back to the bourgeoisie of the country and the Cyprus issue was an appropriate occasion ...

An unfinished walk

During the first half of the decade of 50, like all the Greeks of Istanbul so mrs.Helen learned to live ignoring the disaster predict that cues. In public places she was careful to use the Turkish language, and as the whole Greeks so she did not comment in political issues, such as Cyprus. Mrs Helen tried to continue living in the normal rhythm of daily life, despite the rise of fanaticism and extreme slogans in the streets of Istanbul.

The morning of September 6, 1955 found Mrs Helen in heaven of Princes Islands, in Halki (Heybeliada). At the time, Halki and the other islands were full of tourists who looking for a cool oasis in the heart of Marmaris. The majority of tourists, were the Greek inhabitants of Constantinople.

Heat on September 6, 1955 was unbearable. Mrs. Helen opted for a light lunch and then delivered in a sweet sleep in summer afternoon of Halki. He dreamed a lovely walk with the sweet heart in the green paths of Halki. As the red sun fell behind Antigone (Burgazada), the man΄s soul is anxious to touch his feelings.
After cloudless sleep when the sun stood in the sunset, mrs. Helen hastily awakened and prepared for the walk she had dreamed the whole afternoon. Came in a hurry on the road and pulled the door leading to the dock of the island.

On her way, Mrs. Helen saw the wild eyes of the islanders. Initially, he did not understand the reason why the fellow people were looking with unfriendly eyes and why they were holding batons and sharp objects. Walking she began to hear the discussion of bystanders. “The Greeks put a bomb in the house of Chief Mustafa Kemal in Thessaloniki and are ready to slay our brothers in Cyprus. It's time for revenge”. That was the rumor…

The heightened nationalism spoke for automatically ... The Turkish parastatal organizations had launched a formula that was tested in Central Europe in the years of totalitarian regimes. First they staged the bombing of the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki and then invited the crowd to rise up to defend the Turkishness of the state and Cyprus. On the afternoon of September 6, 1955 in Halki, mrs. Helen witnessed the implementation of this project. He lived in fear of when the angry crowd began to attack property belonging to non-Muslim citizens of Turkey. Through her eyes the crowd invaded the church of St. Nicholas in the central market of the island. Just a few years earlier Muslim fishermen were run in this temple for seeking the help of Saint Nicholas for rich haul ...

Faced with unspeakable violence, Mrs Helen withdrew her plans for a romantic evening walk and returned to her maiden. The family took refuge in the house of a Turkish homemaker. She was lucky. In those hours thousands of non Muslim residents of the town became target of angry crowds. Houses, shops, churches and schools were delivered to fire. The graves were opened. The crowds unearthed the coffins and scattered the bones ... The new democracy has made it clear to the bourgeoisie inherited from the Ottoman Empire that cohabitation is no longer feasible nor desirable. The romantic stroll Mrs Helen with the finest of her heart had to be postponed ...

"Burn the Communists!"

In the mid 50 ', the Aziz Nesin was editor of a satirical newspaper in Istanbul. At that time his literary talent and caustic humor had begun to attract the world of literature in Turkey and abroad. Furthermore, the Marxist perspective caused the dissatisfaction of many of his countrymen. For a portion of the society Nesin was "the traitor of the national ideal”.

The afternoon of September 6 found the "traitor" in one of the Greek restaurants of Istanbul. In his work "Those who deserve the gallows” (pp« Salkım Salkım Asılacak Adamlar »), Nesin narrates the outbreak of pogrom against minorities. The afternoon of September 6, 1955 the angry crowds took to the streets and began to attack to non-Muslim residents and their properties in the former imperial capital. In the Greek restaurant Nesin saw Greek restaurant owner going outside of the restaurant holding a large portrait of Mustafa Kemal, while the clerk were hanging a large Turkish flag at the entrance of the restaurant. It looked like the last Byzantines who had toured the city walls with the image of the Virgin Mary with the hope of salvation from the Ottoman invasion. As in 1453 so in 1955, an image was not enough to secure peace in Istanbul.
On September 7, 1955, when Turkish armed forces moved to bring under control the cities of Turkey, the authorities arrested the "traitor of the national ideal," the "communist" Aziz Nesin, on the pretext of organizing pogroms against Non-Muslim citizens of Turkey. As in the case of Nazi Germany, so in case of Turkey, the organizers of the pogrom had found a suitable scapegoat for the suffering that they caused to their country: the "Communists" ...

The Nesin and other Marxists of Turkey went into the prisons of Turkey when the crowd attacked them with a single slogan: "Burn the Communists' ... At the same time those who burned and demolished an entire reign and the future of an entire country was actually in Ankara and a computerized visitor entertained ...