Açıksöz Newspaper and News About the Greek Occupation in Bursa

Newspapers are among the most important media organs in transferring daily events to the public. The occupation of Anatolia after the Mondros Armistice Agreement, especially the occupation of Izmir on May 15, 1919, caused a great passion in the eyes of the public. Against these invasions, National Forces (Kuva-yı Milliye) was established through Defense of Rights and Refusal Societies (Müdafaa-yı Hukuk ve Redd-i İlhak Cemiyetleri). During this period, many media outlets in Anatolia acted to support the resistance of Anatolia against invasions. One of the most important newspapers contributing to the War of Independence is the Açıksöz newspaper, which started its publication life in Kastamonu. In this study, the developments in Bursa and its vicinity during the Greek occupation period are mentioned. These developments were evaluated within the framework of the information obtained from the Açıksöz newspaper, and at the same time, archive documents and copyright works were used. Thus, the efforts of the newspaper to fulfill an important task in a difficult period and what happened during the Greek occupation period other than official records were tried to be examined. The situations that civilians were exposed to during the occupation period, the occupiers’ policy of destruction and insult along with atrocities constitute the content of this study.