Commemoration of the centenary of the Turkish War of Independence (1922-2022)", September 9-16

Event organized by the Centre de recherche Moyen-Orient Méditerranée - CERMOM (Inalco) and the éditions Turquoise

From Friday, September 9 to Friday, September 16, 2022 - PLC - Auditorium
Inalco, Pôle des langues et civilisations (PLC) - 65, rue des Grands Moulins - 75013 Paris
Modality: Presential

Centenary commemoration of the Turkish War of Independence (1922-2022)

The first anti-imperialist war of the 20th century

Inauguration: play - September 9, 2022 - 19:00-20:30 - Auditorium

The centenary will open with a performance by the Indépendances troupe of The Epic of the War of Independence, by the committed poet Nâzım Hikmet.
Editions Turquoise have devised this mise-en-scène to raise awareness of this great 20th-century poet, and praise the importance of resistance and independence. Five actors will bring to life these verses, this war of liberation and these resistance fighters, for the time of a play mixing history, poetry and theater.

Exhibition - September 9 to 16, 2022 - Auditorium Gallery

The exhibition "Caricature during the War of Independence", will present, in the Auditorium Gallery, some 30 panels around the War of Independence and daily life in Istanbul (1918-1920) from the collection of François Georgeon, director of research emeritus at the CNRS.
Free admission.

Symposium "At the sources of the Turkish War of Independence" - September 14 to 16, 2022 - Auditorium

Over 3 days, researchers from different backgrounds will discuss the War of Independence.

The Turkish War of Independence is a war little known to the general public, and often referred to as the Greco-Turkish War. Yet it was the first anti-imperialist war of the 20th century. Led by Mustafa Kemal, the Turks won the War of Independence in 1922, after only a few years of occupation. A year later, from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, their leader founded a nation and a secular republic, of which he became president.

The Ottoman Empire was allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary during the Great War, a conflict that the Triple Alliance states lost - with the exception of the Dardanelles campaign, which was a victory for this camp thanks to Colonel Mustafa Kemal. It was a heavy defeat for the Ottomans, who lost several territories.

What remained of Anatolia was occupied by the Allies (England, France, Italy and Greece), starting in 1918. The Greeks landed at Izmir on May 15, 1919 and advanced rapidly into central Turkey. The British openly supported this invasion: Istanbul was occupied by the Allied armies, France occupied the south-east of the country, and Italy the Mediterranean region... Following the Treaty of Sèvres signed in August 1920, the Turks were left with only a small territory in central Anatolia.

Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), hero of the 1915 Dardanelles campaign, organized several congresses and created a National Assembly in 1920, then an army. After losing several battles, he succeeded in containing the Greek advance. Victory came at the end of a final confrontation on August 30, 1922, and the Turks recaptured Izmir on September 9 of that year.

The end of hostilities led to the creation of the Republic of Turkey in October 1923. The state completely modernized the country, introducing secularism, women's rights and a new alphabet. Several Muslim countries were influenced by this event, but the younger Turkish generations (since the 2000s) have not kept the memory of this period alive.

On the occasion of this centenary, Editions Turquoise will publish five groundbreaking works of literature and history, aimed at the younger generation, researchers, and all those to whom Independence speaks. Among them, the bilingual work The Epic of the War of Independence (Kuvayî Milliye Destanî) by Nâzîm Hikmet and prefaced by Timour Muhidine will be presented.

• Yaban ("The Stranger") by Yakup Kadri Karaosmanofilu (reprint)
• Ernest Hemingway's Occupation of Istanbul, 1922
• The Turkish War of Independence
• Greek atrocities in Turkey