Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 (2012) Online

A wonderful historical documentary: Very special, moving and simultaneously objective, including rare photographs.

This is so different from the nationalistic films I have seen in the past. It "highlights" all the communities in Cosmopolitan Smyrna.

I really liked the personal testimonies of the Greek and Turkish woman and the old Armenian gentleman. They seemed so genuine...

The film is beautifully directed and the music is such a treat! I attended the film at the Benaki in March. (quite lucky to find a seat, since everything was overbooked) I've heard that it will be screened in the movie theaters in Athens the 13th of September.

Would love to watch it again.

A warning against complacency in a multi-ethnic civilisation. As with all good, truthful documentaries - not appearing in the area of the incident at a local cinema any time soon. A parallel with the much larger and more systematic Armenian slaughter before and during WW1, also by the Turks. Dr Niall Ferguson, in the 20th century history series 'The War of the World' cites this little-known (unless you happen to be Greek) ethnic cleansing , as an example of murderous social policy which fed on primitive, racist and religious prejudice. A similar holocaust happened in Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps, in September 1982 It behoves us all to acquire a library of such historical narratives in order to appreciate the origins of most of the world's present national, religious and tribal conflicts, and see beyond ignorant political expediency. The empire builders of the world often use such base differences, and ordinary people's naivety, to artificially foment conflict in order to divide and rule. The lessons of history are that new generations never learn from the lessons of history.