Valuable document: The unique Refugee Register 1922-1926 was found in Thessaloniki (photos)

The Refugee Registry (The General Archive of Citizens) of the Municipality of Thessaloniki 1922-1926, the only Urban Refugee Settlement Archive in Greece was located two years ago by the Thessaloniki History Center.

The Thessaloniki History Center located the 12-volume Refugee Register after researching the Demotologie archive of the Directorate of Urban Status of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

All the volumes had a damaged spine except one, which was inscribed “Refugee Register A”, which was also the model for the preservation and rebinding of the rest.

The Archive is divided in alphabetical order and the letters referred to the refugee’s surname or the family recorded in the register.

Now, the precious find has been restored and is now an important piece of evidence that will contribute to the expansion of historical research concerning refugee Hellenism.

The Refugee Registry of the Municipality of Thessaloniki was presented by the deputy head and the journalist and historical researcher of the Thessaloniki History Center, Georgia Michael and Nikos Marantzidis at the International Scientific Conference “The Day After the Disaster” organized in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki.

Archive of 12 volumes, 2500 pages

“The Archive of 2,500 pages was found in a bad condition, many books did not have covers and needed special maintenance,” said Mr. Marantzidis, emphasizing that it was used by employees of the census of the Municipality of Thessaloniki until the 1980s to issue certain certificates.

Presenting the contents of the volumes of the Refugee Register, Mr. Marantzidis said that on their pages there are tables, in which the full name of the refugee head of the family, the name of the father and mother, the way of obtaining the Greek citizenship, how he enjoyed the right of citizen, i.e. by which law or legislative decree of the Greek state. The date and year of registration in the register are also indicated year of birth of each refugee, whether married or single, the profession of (worker, merchant, farmer, clerk, car driver, priest etc.).

With the computerization of the municipality’s services, its use stopped, it was not evaluated by the competent agency as an important historical document and was left to its own devices.

At the time when registration in the Refugee Registry began, in the 1920s, the only organized local government body in the region was the Municipality of Thessaloniki, said Mr. Marantzidis, clarifying that when the refugees settled in the refugee settlements, in the current regional municipalities of Thessaloniki, the task of registering and naturalizing refugees was undertaken by the services of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

The services of the Municipality were also charged with the implementation of infrastructure projects in the refugee settlements, according to the information of the History Center of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, they were responsible for the demarcation of settlements, the opening of roads, their connection with the city, the creation of water networks and public fountains, medical care with the creation of clinics and pharmacies in the settlements and they also undertook to ensure hygienic conditions.

The creation of schools and their logistical support for the education of refugee children was also a project undertaken by the municipality.

“In addition to the private aid to refugees from international organizations and agencies, a part of the care beyond the state is also undertaken by the municipality of Thessaloniki” pointed out Mr. Marantzidis, noting that the data from the archive of the Thessaloniki History Center do not refer to the first years of the settlement of the refugees, but they are drawn from the saved archive of the period 1930-1931.

The refugee settlements, as he pointed out, which were administratively included in the municipality of Thessaloniki, were eastward in Toumpa, Harilaou and Triandria, westward they reached Eleftherio Kordelio, northward in Evosmos, Sykies and Polichni. To the north, the administrative boundaries of the Municipality of Thessaloniki reached the refugee settlement of Nea Efkarpia.

Despite the fact that the refugee settlements, today’s regional municipalities of Thessaloniki, became self-governing communities with the Law on Municipalities and Communities of 1934, for a considerable period of time they were also subsidized by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, mainly in terms of supporting the education of refugee children.

500 different places of origin of refugees

The country of origin is also indicated on the table and throughout the Refugee Register there are 500 different places of origin of the refugees, Mr. Marantzidis underlined, citing some (Neapolis of Asia Minor, Istanbul, Nicomedia, Ankara, Poros of Asia Minor, Prokopi, Kars, Tsaltaza, Iconium , Kastamoni).

The tables also include a column with residencebut in the vast majority it is empty, said Mr. Marantzidis, explaining that this is due to the constant mobility of the refugee world during the first period of their settlement in Greece.

Along with the 12 volumes, a small number of family refugee books, as well as individual voter books of refugees, a total of 30, were found, Ms. Michael said.

The family refugee booklets, supplementary document of the Refugee Register, have on the first sheet a family photo, followed by the name of the head of the family, place of origin, address and date of settlement, as well as the number and names of protected family members. There are also tables of delivered toiletries, cookware, entertainment and other items.

In the 25 family booklets found by the Thessaloniki History Center, as Mr. Marantzidis pointed out, the profession, place and date of settlement of the family are mentioned. But in almost half of the family books, the woman is recorded as the head of the family as a widow or a spouse of a prisoner of war, he added.

The Refugee Register, an important discovery, a complete record of the refugee families settling in Thessaloniki, stressed Mr. Michael and Marantzidis can be the subject of research and study that will enrich the historical path of the refugee world with more data.

There has already been an interest in cooperation from the Historical Archive of Refugee Hellenism, said Mrs. Michael, and the first steps have been taken to utilize it, through which new data on the settlement of the refugees can be obtained.

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