A CITY THAT WITNESSED THE SORROWS OF “MIGRATION”: GIRESUN DURING WORLD WAR I

• Main Author: Volkan AKSOY
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karadeniz Technical University 2018-06-01
• Series: Karen: Karadeniz Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi
• Subjects: World War I; Giresun; Migration; Immigrant
• Online Access: http://www.ktu.edu.tr/dosyalar/karendergi_ac6f7.pdf

The greatest war ever witnessed by the humanity occurred in the first quarter of the 20th century. The destructive effects or the magnitude of the war did not only come from the number of countries involved, the number of casualties or the extent of the battlefronts. The Great War was “great” because it affected the civil population in all aspects (social, cultural, political, economic, etc.) distinguishing it from any other wars ever took place. One of the most important social problems caused by the war was the migration caused by the occupation of the foreign armies. In this respect, the Anatolian people felt their lives threatened by the Russian occupation of the Eastern Black Sea region and had to migrate westwards. This mass migration brought about serious health, social, economic and political issues in and around Giresun, which is subject to our examination and analysis in this study.