Smyrna, September 1922 : One American's Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century's First Genocide

The Great Fire is the thrilling story of a Methodist Minister and a principled American naval officer who rescued tens of thousands refugees during the Turkish genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians —a tale of bravery, morality, and politics, published to coincide with the genocide’s centennial.The modern era’s first genocide swept Turkey in the early 20th century. The final episode was the burning of Smyrna, a rich, sophisticated and multicultural city on Turkey’s Aegean coast. The fire created an enormous humanitarian crisis. The world’s great powers refused to intervene on behalf of the city’s residents who, after surviving the fire, were being raped and killed by the Turkish army.Asa K. Jennings, a minister from upstate New York, stepped forward with an audacious plan. It required the cooperation of the U.S. Navy, which he got through a brave officer, Lt. Commander Halsey Powell, a Kentucky native and hero of WWI.By turns harrowing and inspiring, The Great Fire uses eyewitness accounts, documents, and survivor narratives to bring this episode—extraordinary for its brutality as well as its heroism—to life. A bribe, a lie and an empty threat0́4these were the tools Reverend Asa K. Jennings used to rescue hundreds of thousands of helpless refugees following the 1922 burning of Smyrna, the richest and most cosmopolitan city of the Ottoman Empire. A minister from upstate New York, Jennings had arrived in Smyrna just as the final territorial dispute of World War I was being settled in a brutal war between the army of Greece and a force of Turkish rebels0́4fighting as proxies for WWI's European victors who had been unable to impose a treaty on the defeated Ottoman Empire. Hundreds of thousands of terrified Greek and Armenian refugees fled to Smyrna as Mustapha Kemal (known today as Ataturk) and his Moslem army advanced on the mostly Christian city. The Turkish soldiers set fire to the city and raped and killed countless Christian refugees while French, British, Italian, and American warships, under strict orders to remain neutral, stood immobile in the harbor. The Great Fire tells the harrowing and inspiring story of Jennings and a strong-willed naval officer, Lt. Commander Halsey Powell, who together orchestrated one of the century's greatest humanitarian missions. Emboldened by his religious faith, Jennings worked tirelessly to feed and transport the thousands of desperate people while Powell, a war hero and Kentucky gentleman, skirted orders so that he could bring America's Navy to the rescue. By the time the horrible events in Turkey had ended, Jennings and Powell had helped rescue almost a million refugees. Drawing extensively from survivors' stories, fresh primary sources, and years of research, Ureneck has painted an unforgettable portrait of the fire at Smyrna0́4the symbolic end of five hundred years of Ottoman rule and the final act in a ten-year religious slaughter. This gripping narrative reveals forces that would define the rest of the century: virulent nationalism, trading oil for national principles, and conflict and misunderstanding between the Christian West and Moslem East. This is an astonishing look at a pivotal, but little known, moment in our history viewed through the lens of the hopeful story of two men who faced a savage crisis with an unshakeable decency The harrowing story of a Methodist Minister and a principled American naval officer who helped rescue more than 250,000 refugees during the genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians—a tale of bravery, morality, and politics, published to coincide with the genocide’s centennial. The year was 1922: World War I had just come to a close, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and Asa Jennings, a YMCA worker from upstate New York, had just arrived in the quiet coastal city of Smyrna to teach sports to boys. Several hundred miles to the east in Turkey’s interior, tensions between Greeks and Turks had boiled over into deadly violence. Mustapha Kemal, now known as Ataturk, and his Muslim army soon advanced into Smyrna, a Christian city, where a half a million terrified Greek and Armenian refugees had fled in a desperate attempt to escape his troops. Turkish soldiers proceeded to burn the city and rape and kill countless Christian refugees. Unwilling to leave with the other American civilians and determined to get Armenians and Greeks out of the doomed city, Jennings worked tirelessly to feed and transport the thousands of people gathered at the city’s Quay. With the help of the brilliant naval officer and Kentucky gentleman Halsey Powell, and a handful of others, Jennings commandeered a fleet of unoccupied Greek ships and was able to evacuate a quarter million innocent people—an amazing humanitarian act that has been lost to history, until now. Before the horrible events in Turkey were complete, Jennings had helped rescue a million people. By turns harrowing and inspiring, The Great Fire uses eyewitness accounts, documents, and survivor narratives to bring this episode—extraordinary for its brutality as well as its heroism—to life. Relates The True Story Of Asa Jennings, A Ymca Minister From Upstate New York Who Arrived In Smyrna (now Izmir) In 1922 To Teach Sports To Boys, But Instead Found Himself Working Tirelessly To Help Rescue More Than 250,000 Refugees During The Genocide Of Armenian And Greek Christians. End Of An Empire -- An Innocent Arrives -- The Great Offensive -- George Horton, Poet-consul -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Admiral Bristol, American Potentate -- Washington Responds -- Jennings's Suggestion -- Theodora -- An American Destroyer Arrives -- The View From Nif -- Back In Constantinople -- Captain Hepburn's Dilemma -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Noureddin Pasha -- Fire Breaks Out -- All Boats Over -- Morning After -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Oil, War, And The Protection Of Minorities -- Bristol's Resistance -- Halsey Powell -- Theodora -- Days Of Despair -- We Are Celebrating Smyrna -- Jennings And The Hand Of God -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Washington Feels Pressure -- Jennings Negotiates With A Prime Minister -- The Evacuation Begins -- The Rhodes Letter Resurfaces -- Revolution -- British Assistance -- After Smyrna. Lou Ureneck. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [399]-466) And Index. The Great Fire is the thrilling story of a Methodist Minister and a principled American naval officer who rescued tens of thousands refugees during the Turkish genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians a tale of bravery, morality, and politics, published to coincide with the genocides centennial. The modern eras first genocide swept Turkey in the early 20th century. The final episode was the burning of Smyrna, a rich, sophisticated and multicultural city on Turkeys Aegean coast. The fire created an enormous humanitarian crisis. The worlds great powers refused to intervene on behalf of the citys residents who, after surviving the fire, were being raped and killed by the Turkish army. Asa K. Jennings, a minister from upstate New York, stepped forward with an audacious plan. It required the cooperation of the U.S. Navy, which he got through a brave officer, Lt. Commander Halsey Powell, a Kentucky native and hero of WWI. By turns harrowing and inspiring, The Great Fire uses eyewitness accounts, documents, and survivor narratives to bring this episodeextraordinary for its brutality as well as its heroismto life. End Of An Empire -- An Innocent Arrives -- The Great Offensive -- George Horton, Poet-consul -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Admiral Bristol, American Potentate -- Washington Responds -- Jennings's Suggestion -- Theodora -- An American Destroyer Arrives -- The View From Nif -- Back In Constantinople -- Captain Hepburn's Dilemma -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Noureddin Pasha -- Fire Breaks Out -- All Boats Over -- Morning After -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Oil, War, And The Protection Of Minorities -- Bristol's Resistance -- Halsey Powell -- Theodora -- Days Of Despair -- We Are Celebrating Smyrna -- Jennings And The Hand Of God -- Garabed Hatcherian -- Washington Feels Pressure -- Jennings Negotiates With A Prime Minister -- The Evacuation Begins -- The Rhodes Letter Resurfaces -- Revolution -- British Assistance -- After Smyrna. Lou Ureneck. A Hardcover Edition Of This Book Was Published Under The Title The Great Fire In 2015 By Ecco, An Imprint Of Harpercollins Publishers.--title Page Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [399]-466) And Index. Dedication Epigraph Cast of Characters Note on the Text Maps Prologue PART ONE End of an Empire An Innocent Arrives The Great Offensive George Horton, Poet-Consul Garabed Hatcherian Admiral Bristol, American Potentate Washington Responds Jennings's Suggestion Theodora An American Destroyer Arrives The View from Nif Back in Constantinople Captain Hepburn's Dilemma Garabed Hatcherian Noureddin Pasha PART TWO Fire Breaks Out "All Boats Over" Morning After Garabed Hatcherian Oil, War, and the Protection of Minorities Bristol's Resistance PART THREE Halsey Powell Theodora Days of Despair "We Are Celebrating Smyrna" Jennings and the Hand of God Garabed Hatcherian Washington Feels the Pressure Jennings Negotiates with a Prime Minister The Evacuation Begins The Rhodes Letter Resurfaces Revolution British Assistance After Smyrna Afterword Acknowledgements Notes Selected Biliography Index Photo section About the Author Also by Lou Ureneck Credits Copyright About the Publisher In September 1922, the richest city of the Mediterranean was burned, and countless numbers of Christian refugees killed. The city was Smyrna, and the event was the final episode of the 20th Century’s first genocide — the slaughter of three million Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians of the Ottoman Empire. The slaughter at Smyrna occurred as warships of the great powers stood by — the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy. The deaths of hundreds of thousands seemed inevitable until an American minister staged a bold rescue with the help of a courageous U.S. Naval officer. Now, the forgotten story of one of the great humanitarian acts of history gets told. Relates the true story of Asa Jennings, a YMCA worker from upstate New York who arrived in Smyrna to teach sports to boys, but instead worked tirelessly to help rescue more than 250,000 refugees during the genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians