The efforts of the refugees of the Asia Minor Catastrophe to preserve their identity and collective memory, the adventures of their integration into the local community, and their contribution to the formation of this society are presented through the important exhibition hosted from April 21 to May 12 in Kam, Chania.

From today, Friday, April 21, 2023, the temporary hybrid exhibition of the Historical Museum of Crete “Refugees in Crete after the Asia Minor Catastrophe” is open to the public in the ground floor exhibition area of the Mediterranean Architecture Center.

The exhibition is co-organized by the region of Crete, the Society of Cretan Historical Studies/Historical Museum of Crete, and the Vikelaia Municipal Library of Heraklion, with the support of the municipality of Chania.

Starting from the wider historical context of the time and the centuries-old presence of Hellenism in Asia Minor, the exhibition focuses on the complex processes of the arrival, settlement, and gradual integration of refugees into Cretan society, from those dramatic months of ’22 to the modern years. Through archival documents, comprehensive texts, and rich illustrations, the efforts of the refugees of the Asia Minor Catastrophe for the preservation of their identity and collective memory, the adventures of their integration into the local community, and their contribution to the formation of this society are highlighted.

The exhibition combines text and image in physical space with information in digital form that is drawn on mobile devices through QR Codes, following the model of the hybrid exhibition on the contribution of Crete to the revolution of 1821, which was organized last year with great success in the major cities of Crete by E.CP.M. and the region of Crete.

The exhibition is the product of the research program “Refugees and Refugee Populations in Crete from the Interwar Period until Today,” conducted by E.CP.M. through the Historical Museum of Crete in cooperation with the region of Crete on the occasion of the hundred years since the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the arrival of the first refugees on the island. For its creation, the ten-member scientific group of young historians of E.CP.M. worked together with the researchers of the Vikelaia Municipal Library of Heraklion. Archival and material items from the collections and library of the Historical Museum of Crete and Vikelaia Municipal Library were used for the realization of the exhibition, while substantial evidence was also provided by associations of Asia Minor, services, foundations, and individuals.

Exhibition Duration: 21 April–12 May 2023
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 09:00–14:00 and 18:00–22:00