Great Fire of Smyrna - Historiography

Historiography

A number of studies have been published on the Smyrna fire. The most thorough is Professor of literature Marjorie Housepian Dobkin's Smyrna 1922, which concludes that the Turkish Army systematically burned the city and killed Greek and Armenian inhabitants. Her work is based on extensive eyewitness testimony from survivors, Allied troops sent to Smyrna during the evacuation, foreign diplomats, relief workers, and Turkish eyewitnesses. A recent study by historian Niall Ferguson comes to the same conclusion. Historian Richard Clogg categorically states that the fire was started by the Turks following their capture of the city. In his book Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922, Giles Milton addresses the issue of the Smyrna Fire through original material (interviews, unpublished letters, and diaries) from the Levantine families of Smyrna, who were mainly of British origin. All the documents collected by the author during this research are deposited in Exeter University Library. The conclusion of the author is that it was Turkish soldiers and officers who set the fire, most probably acting under direct orders.

The main critics of Horton and Housepian are Heath Lowry and Justin McCarthy, who argue that Horton was highly prejudiced and Housepian makes an extremely selective use of sources. Lowry and McCarthy are members of the Institute of Turkish Studies and have in turn been strongly criticized by other scholars for their denial of the Armenian Genocide and been described as being on "the Turkish side of the debate."

Turkish author and journalist Falih Rifki Atay, who was in Smyrna at the time, and the Turkish professor Biray Kolluoğlu Kırlı have agreed that the Turkish Army was responsible for the destruction of Smyrna in 1922. More recently, a number of non-contemporary scholars, historians, and politicians have added to the history of the events by revisiting contemporary communications and histories.

There are other accounts that contradict some of the facts presented in the above accounts. These include a telegram sent by Mustafa Kemal, articles in contemporary newspapers, and a short non-contemporary essay by Turkish historian Reşat Kasaba of the University of Washington briefly describes events without making clear accusations.

The accounts of Jewish teachers in Smyrna, letters of Johannes Kolmodin (a Swedish orientalist who was in Smyrna at the time), and Paul Grescovich's report says that Greeks or Armenians are responsible for the fire. R.A. Weight stated that "his clients showed that the fire, in its origin, was a small accidental fire, though it eventually destroyed a large section of the town".