The Hellenic Lyceum had the pleasure of launching a new book by Costa Vertzayias entitled “1922- Dispossessed and Uprooted”, on the occasion of the 100th tragic anniversary of the 1922 Asia Minor Catastrophe.
The event was held at the Greek Community Club under the auspices of the Greek Festival of Sydney and commenced with an address by Mr Harry Danalis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW who welcomed guests.
Associate Professor Nicholas Doumanis reviewed the book saying “ it was a wonderful source of information that he wished he could have been able to reference when researching for his books.
Doumanis then introduced the author, Costa Vertzayias, who spoke about the causes of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Costa enthralled the audience with details about little known topics such as the secret agreements to partition the Ottoman Empire, the effects of the Russian Revolution, the duplicitous role of Greece’s allies, the betrayal on the Smyrna waterfront and western complicity in the denial of the Christian Genocides - at which time a further video was shown.The author stressed the importance of applying pressure on the Australian Government to recognise the Genocides.
A Q&A session followed with the event concluding with a brief speech by Lyceum President, Liana Vertzayias. who thanks guests and fellow organisers for supporting such an important book launch.
Hellen Dimas compered and moderated what was acknowledged to be a most informative and illuminating afternoon. Rembetika songs and refreshments complemented the conviviality that followed the emotionally challenging presentation.
