Balikesir under Greek Occupation According to the Reports of Civil and Military Officials (1920-1922)

Abstract

The Greeks, who entered Western Anatolia with the permission and support of the Entente Powers, occupied Balikesir on June 30, 1920, and stayed there for more than two years. With the occupation, the Greeks advancing towards the interior of Anatolia began to adopt increasingly violent manners towards the indigenous civilians. Apart from the great atrocities in question, the Greeks also dominated the communication, financial and administrative activities of the regions they occupied, and by establishing an administration of their own, they desired to settle in the city and therefore in the country. This study, based on archive documents containing reports addressed to the Istanbul Government by the civilian and military chiefs in the region during the occupation, reveals detailed information about the developments in the region at that time..