Greek soldier talking about Ataturk

[Ryujin]

I'd like to hear the opinions of some Greek members here. Not trying to troll or anything, the video is in Greek anyway so only Greek speakers will understand (and Turks). So we're one-to-one here, no foreign involvement. Honest views are suggested.

This Greek soldier who was living in Izmir before 1922 joined the Greek Army and fought Turks. He was later captured and hosted at Ataturk's place. He says he had a conversation with Ataturk. Very important points, please watch.

[Dianatomia]

This is my opinion. I think somewhere Kemal felt some sort of remorse for what happened during the Graeco-Turkish war. But in convincing himself that he was right, it is easier to live with his actions. He felt both anger as well as remorse. I am partly basing this on what he said in an interview a decade later. But I don't know the validity of this source.


You may also find this one interesting. Especially given you are a Balkan Turk.

The current mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, provided an answer to this question during a visit to Istanbul in 2014. I was lucky to witness this courageous man who publicly stated that ‘Turks are his brothers’.

According to Boutaris’ account, Kemal Atatürk was interviewed by a German newspaper in early 1930s. As it turned out, the German reporter had served in the German Army in Dardanelles, and had served under the command of Atatürk in 1915. Upon finding out about this, Atatürk became very emotional and started to give unusually candid and emotional answers. When Atatürk was asked what upset him most during his military career, he promptly answered that it was ‘fighting the Greeks’. When the German reporter asked why, Atatürk answered:

“By choosing a military career, I knew that fighting foreign armies would be part of my duty. Given that my military career coincided with one of the most turbulent periods of Turkish history, I literally had to spend nearly two decades of my life in battlefronts. So I fought Italians, the French, Arabs, Russians, the British, Greeks and many more. I certainly felt pity for all fallen soldiers.”

“However, do not forget that I am a son of Thessaloniki, a child of Rumelia, where Turk and Greek lived side by side for five centuries, and became close like brothers. Therefore, participating in battles where Turks and Greeks spilled each others’ blood left permanent scars in my heart. Unfortunately, call it fate, necessity, or history, I found myself in a situation to fight Greeks more often than any other nation. Our mutual failure prevent this fratricide left me heartbroken for the rest of my life.”