Civilian Prisoners from Edirne Taken by Greece to Mi̇los Island

During the National Struggle, the Greeks took the civilians they collected from the Anatolian and Thracian lands they occupied to Greece together with the soldiers captured on the battlefields. Soldiers captured on the battlefields were considered "prisoners of war" and civilians taken from villages and towns were considered "civilian prisoners". Although " Prisoner Books" were kept for them, it is very difficult to determine their exact number. As a matter of fact, this issue became an important problem at the Lausanne Conference. Organizations such as the Red Cross and Hilal-i Ahmer were also unable to solve the problem. The Greeks kept most of the Turkish prisoners of war in prison camps on the Aegean islands. While the prisoners of war taken from Anatolia during the War of Independence were kept in different prison camps, the Thracians taken from various cities of Thrace were gathered in Milos Island during the last period of the war. The number of Thracian Turks deported to the island of Milos is 1,636 according to the registry in the Red Crescent Archive. Thracian hostages were held here for seven months in 1922-1923 and were forced to live under difficult conditions. 231 of them were taken from the central district and provinces of Edirne. Fourteen of the civilian hostages from Edirne passed away on the ship and 10 passed away on the island due to the bad conditions during the voyage.This study is based on the ledger records in the Red Crescent Archive and the lists of names provided by those who were able to return from the island (Archives of the Turkish Historical Society). The exiles of Milos Island were able to return to their homeland in 1923 in accordance with the agreement on the exchange of civilian prisoners signed in Lausanne.

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