Echoes from the past: nationalism, treaties, minorities as background for the disastrous Istanbul events of 6-7 September 1955

Abstract

Contrary to the famous Asia Minor Catastrophe, the disastrous events of 6-7 September 1955 in Istanbul are restricted to limited circles. This research aims to shed light on a rather unknown violent act that caused the diminishment of the Greek minority community in Istanbul. For the majority of the minorities, the 6-7 September episodes were proof that they would never be accepted as equal citizens of the Turkish state and would always be vulnerable for discrimination. Using secondary sources in presenting the historical context of treaties, the nationalistic and the sociopolitical actors as background of the period between 1923-1955, the research foresees to capture attention and offer solid ground for providing a convincing answer as to why the events occurred. In parallel, after having examined the concepts of massacre, genocide, pogrom and ethic riot, the research classifies the events. Furthermore, by presenting a little- known atrocity, but not less important in the aspect of history and human rights, the present dissertation expects to contribute to a possible research collaboration on human rights studies in the South East European area.