The expulsion of Greeks from the Τurkish town Erzurum- Theodosiopolis, in 1916, is revived through a diary, titled ”Erzurum, 1916” (Armos Editions). It includes comments by George Sigalos, who originates from the town.
It is a unique documentation about ”romiosioni”, written when the cataclysmic events were evolving. Before the diary was made public, it was kept by a Greek who lived in America, a relative of Augerinos and was later given to the writer. It has introductory comments that catch the attention of the reader immediately: “The revolutionary regime of Kemal Ataturk, based on the belief that all communities conspired to break up Turkey and decided on the expulsion of the Greeks of Pontos, on the pretext of an imminent takeover of the region by Russians.”
Masses of Turks and Lazs, while fleeing to avoid being caught by selective Cossacks, engaged in looting, rapes and murders. In the Chaldean region alone, 32 villages were ransacked and 157 Greeks were killed. Later on, the Turk’s behavior turned out to be tyrannical.
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