The Treaty of Lausanne was careful to spell out how the war dead were to be respected. The cemeteries of those so-called “minority” communities exempted from the Lausanne population exchange also enjoyed special protections. But the far greater number of cemeteries left behind by communities displaced by Lausanne were not so fortunate. Many were “quarried” for building materials and sold for agricultural purposes by the Bank of Greece. In a village named Panagitsa an Ottoman Muslim cemetery was purchased by a man named Ioannis, himself a refugee.

What Yannis did next, the chain of events that followed on from that choice are a remarkable, uplifting story, one of several acts of grassroots reconiciliation that Leonidas and Ülker have been researching as part of their ethnographic research project. In this conversation, recorded on 30 March 2026, they explain how they are addressing this history of necroviolence, and how it has changed, at a fundamental level, their own relationship to history.

If our Turkish neighbours ever return and ask about their ancestors’ remains, hand over the bones under the walnut tree. One day, our neighbours will come back.

Ioannis Gaisiris

Episode 82 – Under The Walnut Tree

Podcasts are published by TLP for the purpose of encouraging informed debate on the legacies of the events surrounding the Lausanne Conference. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TLP, its partners, convenors or members.