23 Temmuz 2019 Salı

TNT POW Reports: Turks in Greek Hands (1920-1923)/Part XXIV

//Ed. Note:  This POW report is one of the few where the
POW remained in Anatolia throughout his captivity. Later
in the Greek occupation POWs were transported to 
camps in Greece.// 

bursa balıkesir haritası ile ilgili görsel sonucu
This POW was captured by the Greeks near Bursa,
shipped to Balıkesir, Izmir, Urla, Aydın and back to
Izmir.  He was finally sent to Istanbul, from where
he returned to his home town of Edremit after the
end of the war.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


27 Months of Life in Captivity

Your humble servant was on duty in the Gendarmerie of the National 
Independece Army in 336 (1920).  I was seized by the Greeks near the 
Bursa Gendarmerie outpost while trying to escape at the time when the
Greeks were occupying our country.  I cannot count the number of 
rifle butt blows I suffered.  They took whatever money I had and beat 
me continually, as they brought me to where my captive comrades were.   

They tied my arms so tightly that I thought they had fallen off.  My 
fingers swelled.  I mentioned this to a Greek corporal with us but he 
couldn’t have cared less.  We went in this manner as far as Arıkca.  
There was a brave fellow among us named Musa whom they cut down 
in front of our eyes, adding that “you’re next!”  We all bid him a sad 
farewell.   

We then came to Balıkesir and stayed there for 3 days and 3 nights, 
during which time they gave us no bread or water.  We were put into 
train wagons, 50 or 60 of us in each one, and departed for Izmir.  Five 
or ten fellows fainted from the heat.  When we reached Izmir they 
wouldn’t open the wagon doors, despite our cries.  Finally, two hours 
later they opened the doors and paraded us through the local Greek 
neighborhood where men, women and children spat on us and pelted 
us with rocks and tomatoes from their windows.  Even our fingernails 
were dripping with the filth they threw at us.  Whatever they could 
get their hands on they threw it, as they screamed “give them to us! 
We’ll kill them!” 

greek king constantine 1920 ile ilgili görsel sonucu
King Constantine returned to the Greek throne on 19 December
1920 - see mention of this in bold below.  This is a picture of 
him in Izmir in 1921.

From Izmir we were taken to Urla island, where they gave us 100 
dirhem (a quarter of an okka, which is 2.8 lbs) of bread and some soup 
once every 3 or 4 days.  Although our stomachs were hungry, they still 
made us pull up grass in the fields.  Out of spite, every morning and 
evening they made us take baths in the sea, hitting our naked bodies 
with rocks and spiked bats.  They didn’t spare the wire whip blows to 
the back of our necks either.  We were subjected to this torture for a 
month.  From midnight to morning we were forbidden from relieving 
ourselves.  If someone got up during the night they would cut him down.  
At least 10 fellow went blind from breaking rocks and the Greeks cut 
down two of them.

From Urla, 150 of us were boarded onto a motor boat to go back to 
Izmir.  On the way we were beaten with bats and rifle butts and then 
stuffed into the hold and the hatches were closed.  We were given no 
water at all and about 20 fellows fainted from the heat and two died. 
We reached Izmir and they stuffed us into a place called Lankar at 
Punta that evening.  They had us roll up our pant legs and loaded 100 
kıyyelik (1 kıyye = 1,300 grams) sacks of salt on our backs, while the 
Greeks cursed us and hit our legs with wire whips.  The red blood from 
our legs was flowing onto the rocks.  We were made to work like this 
for 3 days.  

Then they took 15 of us to Aydın, where they made us carry bales of 
grass.  As torture, they would have the 15 of us pull train wagons, 
while they whipped us with wires.  Four months later we came back to 
Izmir.  When we went to meals they would hit us with the sticks that 
were under the pots, knocking down 5 or 10 of us at once. If we didn’t 
get food you were subjected to all sorts of torture and beatings in the 
barracks.  At that time, 18 Armenians came and wanted to throw bombs 
at us but they were detected and could not succeed.  When Greek 
King Constantine took the throne, the Greeks shot up the  
prisoner camp and fired at the prisoners as if it were a 
fireworks celebration. 

We were made to work in this manner for 21 months.  My relatives 
were trying t get me released so one day they told me to go to the police 
station.  There I was beaten and tortured and taken in handcuffs to a room 
about 10 minutes away, where I stayed for 28 days.  They gave me 10 
dirhem of bread every two days.  They gave me no meals, not even 
crumbs.  A human organ was hung in the room and painted with blood.  
When I saw this I gave up all hope of living.  They brought in co-
religionist of mine and hung him up with the organ under his arm, 
torturing him with whip blows. All I could do was cry. 

I was boarded onto a ferry with my arms bound.  I emerged in Istanbul.  
Since my heart was injured I stayed in Istanbul and, thanks be to God, 
when our wonderful army took our country back from the enemy I left 
Istanbul right away and reached my home town in good condition.

Nazif Oğlu Mehmed Osman of the Adalı Oğul family of Mescid quarter, 
Havran village, Edremit district.

Birth year: 331 (1897)

//END of PART XXIV//


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