Gertrude Anthony, Report on Greek and Armenian deportations, Marsovan, November 1921
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Location

Samsoun, Turkey

Year

1921

Item Detail

Report on the massacre and deportation of Greeks and Armenians at Marsovan and Samsoun, by Gertrude Anthony, November 1, 1921

Context

A. Gertrude Anthony (1871–?), niece of the suffragist Susan B. Anthony, served with Near East Relief in Erivan (1919–1921) before transferring to the NER station at Marsovan (Merzifon), where she managed the Boys’ Orphanage at Anatolia College beginning in June 1921. She witnessed the systematic destruction of the Greek and Armenian communities of Marsovan during the summer of 1921, carried out by Topal Osman’s Laz irregular forces with the complicity of local officials including the government commissar Saduk Bey. Anthony reported mass killings, arson, looting, deportations, and the disposal of bodies — some not yet dead — in pits visible from the NER compound. She was forbidden from keeping written records and could only approximate dates.

Anthony submitted this report to Admiral Mark L. Bristol, U.S. High Commissioner in Constantinople, on November 1, 1921. When Bristol failed to transmit it to Washington, Anthony personally delivered the report to the State Department in December 1921, accompanied by a supplementary report on conditions at Sivas and Harput (Kharput). The report was filed under NARA Decimal File 867.4016/448, Microfilm Publication M353, Roll 45.

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  • Holding Institution

    US National Archives and Records Administration

  • Attribution

    Turkey/Social Matters/Race Problems/867.4016; National Archives Microfilm Publication M353, Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs of Turkey, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  • Rights

    No known copyright restrictions. Based on available information, NERHS is not aware of copyright restrictions on this material. Items are presented for non-commercial research and educational use. Users are responsible for determining rights status and compliance with applicable law.

  • Notes

    NARA Decimal File 867.4016/448. Microfilm Publication M353, Roll 45. Transmitted to the State Department by the Division of Near Eastern Affairs on December 12, 1921. NARA page stamps 0938–0957. Includes cover memo from “H.M.D.” to Robbins and a supplementary report. Anthony notes she did not keep written records of dates for fear of search and discovery. Classification canceled by authority letter of January 8, 1958.

  • Document Contents

    Deportation of Greeks from Samsoun and Black Sea coast villages; massacre at Marsovan by Osman Agha’s Laz irregulars (week of July 23–30, 1921); looting, arson, and killings in Greek and Armenian quarters; NER compound shelters refugees; seizure and deportation of NER local staff; destruction of Greek villages from Alatcham and Bafra to Tcharchembe; Saduk Bey’s role as government commissar; supplementary report describes Greek deportees passing through Harput and NER relief efforts at Sivas

Gertrude Anthony, Report on Greek and Armenian deportations, Marsovan, November 1921