Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

The harrowing story of an ordinary American and a principled Naval officer who, horrified by the burning of Smyrna, led an extraordinary rescue effort which saved a quarter of a million refugees from the Armenian Genocide.

In September 1922, the richest city of the Mediterranean was burned, and countless numbers of Christian refugees killed. The city was Smyrna, and the event was the final episode of the 20th Century’s first genocide — the slaughter of three million Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians of the Ottoman Empire.

The slaughter at Smyrna occurred as warships of the great powers stood by — the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy. The deaths of hundreds of thousands seemed inevitable until an American minister staged a bold rescue with the help of a courageous U.S.naval officer. Now, the forgotten story of one of the great humanitarian acts of history gets told.

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Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

The harrowing story of an ordinary American and a principled Naval officer who, horrified by the burning of Smyrna, led an extraordinary rescue effort which saved a quarter of a million refugees from the Armenian Genocide.

In September 1922, the richest city of the Mediterranean was burned, and countless numbers of Christian refugees killed. The city was Smyrna, and the event was the final episode of the 20th Century’s first genocide — the slaughter of three million Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians of the Ottoman Empire.

The slaughter at Smyrna occurred as warships of the great powers stood by — the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy. The deaths of hundreds of thousands seemed inevitable until an American minister staged a bold rescue with the help of a courageous U.S.naval officer. Now, the forgotten story of one of the great humanitarian acts of history gets told.

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Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

by Lou Ureneck
Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

Smyrna, September 1922: The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

by Lou Ureneck

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Overview

The harrowing story of an ordinary American and a principled Naval officer who, horrified by the burning of Smyrna, led an extraordinary rescue effort which saved a quarter of a million refugees from the Armenian Genocide.

In September 1922, the richest city of the Mediterranean was burned, and countless numbers of Christian refugees killed. The city was Smyrna, and the event was the final episode of the 20th Century’s first genocide — the slaughter of three million Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians of the Ottoman Empire.

The slaughter at Smyrna occurred as warships of the great powers stood by — the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy. The deaths of hundreds of thousands seemed inevitable until an American minister staged a bold rescue with the help of a courageous U.S.naval officer. Now, the forgotten story of one of the great humanitarian acts of history gets told.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062259899
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 04/26/2016
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 528
Product dimensions: 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.19(d)

About the Author

Lou Ureneck, a former Nieman fellow and editor-in-residence at Harvard University, is a professor of journalism at Boston University. Ureneck is the author of Backcast, which won the National Outdoor Book Award for literary merit, and Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine.

Table of Contents

Cast of Characters xiii

Note on the Text xv

Maps xvii

Prologue 1

Part 1

Chapter 1 End of an Empire 9

Chapter 2 An Innocent Arrives 18

Chapter 3 The Great Offensive 29

Chapter 4 George Horton, Poet-Consul 36

Chapter 5 Garabed Hatcherian 45

Chapter 6 Admiral Bristol, American Potentate 48

Chapter 7 Washington Responds 60

Chapter 8 Jennings's Suggestion 70

Chapter 9 Theodora 92

Chapter 10 An American Destroyer Arrives 95

Chapter 11 The View from Nif 122

Chapter 12 Back in Constantinople 128

Chapter 13 Captain Hepburn's Dilemma 136

Chapter 14 Garabed Hatcherian 168

Chapter 15 Nourcddin Pasha 171

Part 2

Chapter 16 Fire Breaks Out 191

Chapter 17 "All Boats Over" 216

Chapter 18 Morning After 229

Chapter 19 Garabed Hatcherian 237

Chapter 20 Oil, War, and the Protection of Minorities 241

Chapter 21 Bristol's Resistance 248

Part 3

Chapter 22 Halsey Powell 259

Chapter 23 Theodora 286

Chapter 24 Days of Despair 290

Chapter 25 "We Are Celebrating Smyrna" 299

Chapter 26 Jennings and the Hand of God 307

Chapter 27 Garabed Hatcherian 319

Chapter 28 Washington Feels Pressure 325

Chapter 29 Jennings Negotiates with a Prime Minister 338

Chapter 30 The Evacuation Begins 348

Chapter 31 The Rhodes Letter Resurfaces 369

Chapter 32 Revolution 375

Chapter 33 British Assistance 378

Chapter 34 After Smyrna 383

Afterword 391

Acknowledgments 395

Notes 399

Selected Bibliography 449

Index 465

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