In addition, he attempts to answer some of the big questions on these issues – questions that reasonably occupy the public debate, and which have from time to time been addressed to the two authors, by different audiences, in different parts of the country.
The intention of the authors was to capture their position in the context of a dynamic, long and evolving public debate in Greece, which is natural and expected to culminate, as it marks the 100th anniversary of the great event, the year 2022.
But the centenary makes things even more difficult. It does not look like the two hundredth anniversary of 1821, from which we are just leaving. 1821 is a story of victory and triumph for our nation. But 1922 is the greatest catastrophe that Hellenism suffered in its long history. It defines the loss of lost homelands; after 1922, for the first time in thousands of years, there are no more Greek communities, the Greek language is not spoken on the opposite coast of the Aegean, one of the places that created this civilization. In 1922 many of our people disappeared. And those who escaped and came to the free state faced the social horror of the refugees (about one and a half million refugees in a state of four million, bankrupt and unable to care for them). Many of them died even after coming to their free homeland from starvation or from simple diseases, because there was no food and medicine. They also faced the distrust and denial of many of the natives – but these were eventually overcome, because they all belonged to the same nation, to the same culture. In other words, the issue is difficult in many ways. The centenary of “1922” does not look like the anniversary of “1821” and for an additional reason, which is its reception from the “opposite” side. 1922 is for us the most traumatic moment in the 3,500 years of Greek time. But 1922 for the Turks is what for us in 1821: it is the victory (as they put it) with which they gain independence from the “enemy”. It is really interesting that the two peoples, Greek and Turkish, have waged wars of independence against each other.
In the pages of this volume, through 50 questions and answers, the reader will find a significantly detached analysis: the discussion of a great national and international conflict, imprinted in terms of moderate realism and with a theoretical background that prioritizes the wording of sober conclusions, even if we do not like them.
The book examines complex issues: • the outbreak of the National Divide and its effects on the national issue (but also the radically painful alterations of the political culture of our country that he caused) • the goals and dilemmas of the protagonists • myths, misunderstandings and oversimplifications •
the assessment of the attitude of the “foreigners”, ie the great powers, who sought (of course) the satisfaction of their own and not our own national interests; the deficits and mistakes of ours; chose to achieve them from 1914 to 1922 • the effects of the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
The conclusions, especially the ones we do not like, are the minimum value due to the memory of those who were lost then, of our own lost people.
Finally, as self-evident as this may seem, this book is also an indirect appeal to avoid divisions such as that which is largely responsible for the Catastrophe. However, highlighting this divisive dimension and its consequences is an organic element and a necessary process to understand and evaluate the Catastrophe. The National Divide after 1915 caused enormous suffering in the country. It brought to the fore the miserable accusation of betrayal against the political opponent which, in the end, deepened the rifts and led to even greater division. Such a charge was not easily launched before 1915. After the beginning of the National Divide, it literally stigmatized the political history of the state until very recently and was a factor that sustained the political underdevelopment of the nation. This book does not denounce; on the contrary, it seeks to highlight the positions of both sides of the Divide with respect for the people who were involved in it at the time; burdens in public debate to date). One hundred years later, we as a society of the developed world can look at our past clearly. After all, this – to bravely see the Catastrophe – is the best way to honor our people who went through its clutches at that time.
Find the book here: https://cutt.ly/TPgrQek
O Angelos Syrigos (born 1966) graduated from the Law School of the University of Athens in 1988. In 1994 he was awarded a PhD from the Law School of the University of Bristol. He is an Associate Professor of International Law and Foreign Policy at the Department of International, European and Regional Studies of Panteion University. He worked at the Research Center for International Law at the University of Cambridge (1993-1994), was a research fellow at the Council of Europe for Montenegro and Azerbaijan (1999-2002) and has been a partner at the University Institute of International Relations since 1999. He deals scientifically with Greek-Turkish relations, the Cyprus issue, the Law of the Sea, the Minorities and the Immigrants. He was awarded in 1992 by the Academy of Athens for his work related to the delimitation of the continental shelf. Since 1999 he has been involved in Greek foreign policy from positions of responsibility. In 2019 he was elected MP in the Athens Parliament under the New Democracy. In 2021 he took over as Deputy Minister of Education in charge of higher education.
O Evanthis Hadjivassiliou (born 1966) graduated from the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1987 and in 1992 was awarded a PhD in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. Today he serves as Professor of History of the Post-War World at the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Athens, as well as Secretary General of the Parliamentary Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy. His work includes Studies and books on the History of International Relations during the period 1870-1991, Greek foreign policy, Greek political history of the 20th century and the Cypriot issue. He directs the series “Modern and Contemporary History” of Patakis Publications and edits the historical page of the Sunday Daily.
Author Syrigos Angelos / Hadjivassiliou Evanthis
Patakis Publications
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