Dendias marks 66th anniversary of Istanbul pogrom

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias marked the 66th anniversary since the Istanbul pogrom, the organized mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul’s Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955, saying it had “disastrous consequences” for the Greek community of Istanbul.

The attacks were “the beginning of its subsequent dramatic shrinkage, in violation of the Treaty of Lausanne,” the minister said in a tweet. 

“The pogrom also removed an economically and culturally dynamic element from the City. The part of Turkish society that looks to Europe become poorer,” he added.

The attacks — also referred to as Septemvriana — were a government-instigated series of riots that resulted in dozens of dead, hundreds injured and raped. More than 4,000 stores and 2,000 residences were looted or destroyed overnight, along with dozens of churches, schools, and minority newspapers,, with more than 30 dead,

The pogrom greatly accelerated emigration of ethnic Greeks from Turkey, and the Istanbul region in particular.