The 1955 anti-Greek pogrom in Constantinople

Between the night of September 6 and 7, 1955, an organized pogrom was unleashed against the Greek community of Constantinople and Smyrna. The riots, often referred to as the Greek Kristallnacht, were triggered by a provocative explosion at the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki on September 6, occurring while the Tripartite Conference in London was failing.

The violence resulted in widespread devastation. In Constantinople, more than 70 churches were vandalized, and thousands of Greek properties, including 4,000 to 4,500 businesses and 3,500 households, were looted or destroyed. Official records and historical accounts indicate that 8,000 Greeks lost their employment, while the death toll is estimated between 15 and 37 individuals. Hundreds were physically assaulted, and the Greek consulate in Smyrna was burned by the mob.

Historians identify the pogrom as a tool used by the administration of Adnan Menderes to mobilize Turkish nationalism amidst the tensions over the EOKA struggle in Cyprus, which had begun in April 1955. The event marked a turning point, severely impacting the Greek community that had previously numbered up to 200,000 residents, and effectively accelerating the long-term decline and shrinking of the Hellenic presence in the city.