1922 Near East Relief Map of Turkey and the Middle East

A scarce c. 1922 map of the Near East, produced by Near East Relief, an organization tasked with assisting refugees, particularly Armenians and Greeks, fleeing from Turkey. It was produced in the wake of one of the worst atrocities, the Burning of Smyrna, which destroyed the Greek and Armenian quarters. The efforts of the New East Relief saved over a million lives and are considered of the most successful humanitarian efforts of the 20th century.

A Closer Look

Coverage includes the Balkans, Greece, Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Levant, and other nearby regions in the Near East. The territorial configuration reflects the fallout from the World War I (1914 - 1918), with British and French Mandates in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq, and the newly-established states of Armenia and Yugoslavia (Jugo-slavia). Red circles denote areas where Near East Relief carried out its refugee relief, medical, and educational efforts. The organization's schools, orphanages, refugee work centers, and former stations are indicated with symbols explained in a legend at bottom-left. Major rail lines are marked, and descriptive notes mention the evacuation of orphans, sometimes as far away as Marseilles. Faint handwriting at bottom may relate to organizational matters, suggesting that this map belonged to a local administrator in Near East Relief.

The Burning of Smyrna

The city of Smyrna (now İzmir), with a history dating far into antiquity, sits in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast. Like many Ottoman cities, it contained quarters where non-Muslims lived and worked, including Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, with the Greek influence being especially strong. Immediately following the First World War, the Allies determined the city would be occupied by the Greek military to prevent atrocities against the Greek population. Despite the best efforts of the Greek administrator of the city, Aristeidis Stergiadis, ethnic tensions regularly turned violent.

Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turks were able to regain territory in Anatolia under Greek occupation in the course of the Greco-Turkish War (1919 - 1922). The war's penultimate battle took place around Smyrna in late August and early September 1922, where the Turks were able to defeat a numerically superior Greek force. As the Turks entered the city, ethnic tensions reached new heights and the city's Greek Orthodox bishop was killed by a Turkish mob. Four days after the Turks occupied the city, fires broke out in the Greek and Armenian quarters which entirely burned them to the ground. Instances of outright murder, rape, mass deportations, and other atrocities were also described by survivors and eyewitnesses.

The survivors were huddled along the waterfront for weeks until they could be evacuated. In the following weeks, tens of thousands of refugees fled to Greece, joining others who escaped Anatolia to Russia, Armenia, or French and British Mandates in Syria and Palestine. Historians outside of Turkey consider the burning of Smyrna a war crime and a key event in a wider genocide against the Greek and Armenian population of Anatolia. The refugee crisis caused by the fire presaged even larger forcible population transfers in 1923.

Near East Relief

The origins of Near East Relief lie with Ambassador Henry Morgenthau Sr.'s 1915 report on atrocities being committed within the Ottoman Empire during World War I. In response, a group of New York philanthropists, missionaries, and businessmen founded the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. The committee embarked on an impressive fundraising and media campaign, including moving and visually striking chromolithographic posters. The campaign raised millions, which were wired to Morgenthau (in Constantinople / Istanbul, under Allied occupation following the war) and then distributed to local agents of the committee. Though non-sectarian, the committee's materials often invoke references to Christianity that would be familiar to an American audience, such as highlighting the connections of the region with Biblical history. The committee also frequently mentioned the Golden Rule, and encouraged the practice of 'Golden Rule Sundays,' where American families would eat simple meals similar to those served at orphanages and donate the money saved to relief efforts.

After the end of the First World War, the committee received a Congressional charter (only the second non-governmental organization to do so, after the American Red Cross). Renamed Near East Relief, the organization continued to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and employ an extensive staff in aiding refugees and orphans. It is credited with saving the lives of over a million refugees, including large numbers of orphans, who were provided with schooling and vocational training. In 1930, Near East Relief was renamed the Near East Foundation, the name under which it continues to operate today. It has been seen as a trailblazer in 'citizen philanthropy' and established organizational practices that are still used by non-profits operating internationally.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by the organization Near East Relief. It is undated but from context can be tentatively dated to late 1922 or early 1923. The only other known example is held by the Library of Congress. The Burke Library at the Union Theological Seminary in New York holds many records relating to the organization and may also hold an example of this map, though, if so, it is not individually cataloged. Records of the Near East Foundation and its predecessors are also held at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. and contain several maps similar to the present one, but which are smaller and uncolored.