ABSTRACT
The Greek and Armenian communities in Smyrna were unfortunate indeed to have Nurettin as their governor. Nurettin was notorious for his brutal treatment of the prisoners of Kut. Vindictive by nature, he was a xenophobe who took delight in the cruelties meted out against his victims. He was the embodiment of an oriental satrap who knew no mercy. During the first three days of the Turkish occupation, looting, murder, and outrage continued. "It was a massacre, with all its attendant atrocities". In their frenzy Turkish soldiers did not bypass American institutions and property. Thus, the house of Dr. and Mrs. Birge near the American International Institute for boys at Paradise, a suburb of Smyrna, was thoroughly looted, although it had an American flag flying over it. Mr. Jaquith, director of Near Eastern Relief, in his report to Admiral Bristol, American high commissioner to Turkey, testified that he saw persons throwing oil on some buildings in the presence of Turkish soldiers.
