Lausanne Population Exchange Migration and the Habitation of Turkish Refugees

Abstract

The exchange of Turkish and Greek population, which became definite upon an agreement signed between Turkey and Greece at the Lausanne Conference, caused crucial consequences. This period, signifying a compulsory removal of people from their homeland, was a main issue for the Turkish Republic. At the end of ten-year process of transforming minorities in Turkey and Greece into immigrants, parties, through exchange, achieved religious identity integrity. However, considering the qualifications and the value of immigrants, it is a reality that Turkey suffered significant losses. Whereas Greeks migrating to Greece from Turkey were a tradesman urban population, Turks migrating from Greece to Turkey were a farmer peasant population. This paper evaluates the exchange period under related literature, the tackling method in the Lausanne Conference and the implementation period. Moreover, the “Habitation of Exchanged Turks” section, constituting the core of subject, examines the preparations of the Turkish Government for the resettlement of refugees and factors affecting the policies. Furthermore, the resettlement of Turkish immigrants was examined under the distribution principle, and the effect of geographical factors, especially climate and surface shapes, on settlement practices is explained. For this purpose, a map showing the distribution of refugees throughout the country was prepared, and the success rate of settlement applications was evaluated.