Ad Atene. Smyrna, the Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City 1900-1922

Σμύρνη. Η καταστροφή μιας κοσμοπολίτικης πόλης 1900-1922
(Smyrna. The destruction of a cosmopolitan city 1900-1922)

Athens, Benaki Museum, 25/01/2012 – 11/03/2012

Having carried out four years of research, the director and curator, Maria Iliou, and the historical consultant, Alexander Kitroeff present their work on Smyrna via previously unseen visual materials from archives from the US and Europe. The historical documentary and exhibition have special importance not only because they present these previously unknown images of Smyrna but also because Iliou and Kitroeff bring a new perspective; a perspective that keeps its distance from both an excessive nationalistic narration of the tale, and from more recent attempts to conceal the tragic events of the disaster, thereby distorting the truth. Even though the cosmopolitan city of Smyrna was destroyed, through this work it continues to live on in some way. It continues to be an idea that has to do with cosmopolitanism, with joie de vivre and with disaster. 90 years after the disaster, this documentary and the photographic exhibition pay tribute to the world which was lost in 1922 while at the same time paying tribute to the discipline of history. The documentary and photographic exhibition of the same name document the events using rare photographic and cinematographic materials selected from archives in the US and Europe. For the first time unknown images of Smyrna from private collections such as those of Pierre De Gigord and the archives of the Library of Congress, the universities of Princeton and Harvard, Near East Relief, the Imperial War Museum, Pathe, the Albert Kahn Fondation and other foundations in Greece and abroad are being presented.