Benutzer:Msuess/Smyrna
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The Great Fire of Smyrna or the Catastrophe of Smyrna[1][2][3] was a fire that destroyed much of the port city of Izmir (then generally referred to by its ancient name of Smyrna in English) in September 1922. Eye-witness reports state that the fire began on 13 September 1922[4] and lasted until it was largely extinguished on September 22. It occurred four days after the Turkish forces regained control of the city on 9 September 1922, thus effectively ending the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) in the field, more than three years after the Greek army had landed troops at Smyrna on 15 May 1919. As a result of the fire and massacres, Greek and Armenian casualties range from a low of 2,000[5] to a high of 10,000[6][7] and to a higher estimate of 100,000[8], some reports state that at least 2,000 people were killed as a direct result of the fire.[9]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Great_Fire_of_Smyrna.jpg/640px-Great_Fire_of_Smyrna.jpg)
50,000[10] to 400,000[11] Greek and Armenian refugees crammed the waterfront escaping from the fire and were forced to remain there under harsh conditions for nearly two weeks. The systematic evacuation of Greeks on the quay started on 24 September with the permission and cooperation of Turkish authorities when the first Greek ships entered the harbor under the supervision of Allied destroyers.[12] Some 150,000 to 200,000 Greeks had been evacuated.[13]
The fire completely destroyed the Greek and Armenian quarters of the city. However, the Muslim and Jewish quarters were spared.[14] There are different claims about who was responsible for the fire; some claims blame the Turks, and some blame the Greeks or Armenians.