''Number 31328'' () is an autobiographical novel by

Elias Venezis Elias Venezis (; March 4, 1904 – August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many books, of which the most famous ...

. It tells of his experiences as a captive of the Turkish Army on a death march into the

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n interior.

Background

During the

Greek genocide The Greek genocide (), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia, which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914–1922) – including the T ...

, Venezis' family fled from Ayvali to

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

to avoid persecution but returned to

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

after the Greek army occupied

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

and its hinterland in 1919. When the area was recaptured by the Turkish Army, Venezis was taken prisoner and enslaved in a

labour battalion Labour battalions have been a form of alternative service or unfree labour in various countries in lieu of or resembling regular military service. In some cases they were the result of some kind of discriminative segregation of the population, ...

(otherwise known as ''Amele Taburlari'' or ''Amele Taburu''). He was 18 years old. The prisoners were forcibly marched into the interior, but few arrived at the destination, since most of them were either killed on the way, or died of the hardships they were exposed to. Of the 3000 "conscripted" into his "labour brigade", only 23 survived. When Venezis was released he was returned to Lesbos. There he met Stratis Myrivilis, who had founded the weekly newspaper ''Kambana'', and was encouraged by him to write an account of "his horrific experiences as a hostage in Turkey". The novel which resulted was published in serialised form in ''Kambana'' in 1924. However it did not become well known in Greece until an expanded version was published in book form in 1931. The film ''

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

'' (1978) by

Nikos Koundouros Nikos Koundouros ( ; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director. Biography Koundouros was born in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in 1926. He studied painting and sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts. During the war he was a ...

was based on the book.See https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079643/ The film is sometimes called ''Smyrna 1922''.

Plot summary

The story starts in Aivali (Ayvalık), and takes us through the first days of the Turkish re-capture of the town. The way to ''amele taburu'' is slowly but steadily painted in pale and crimson, in the red bloodstained steps of bare wounded feet walking on hot summer sand. The life of the captives, as seen through the eyes of one who lived through these horrific experiences numbs the spirit of the reader too. The few bright sparks of humanity in a wasteland of inhumanity are treasured, as people are treated as if worthless: struck to death with hammers, lethally wounded and left to die alone, raped and then killed. All hope and all light is lost, despite the occasional effort by the prisoners to help each other—sincere at first, then worn down and half-hearted, until at last utter indifference.

References

Greek novels adapted into films Autobiographical novels Greek literature Novels first published in serial form 1924 novels Works originally published in Greek newspapers Novels set in Turkey Works about the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Generation of the '30s Works about the Greek genocide {{1920s-bio-novel-stub