Woman with all her possessions

The years following the end of World War I were a time of great geographical and social change throughout the world, including Eastern Europe and Western Asia. In the war’s aftermath, the Ottoman Empire was dissolved and divided among the Allied Powers. In 1922, amidst this political, religious, and ethnic upheaval, the Turkish port city of Smyrna (now Izmir) was set ablaze, resulting in tens of thousands of people--mostly Greek and Armenian women and children--fleeing the destroyed city and gathering on the docks to board ships bound for Greece. These refugees ended up in living in outdoor camps on the tiny, barren Greek island of Macronissi (now called Makronisos), where there were no existing sources of shelter, food, water, or medical care.  In 1922, the American Women’s Hospitals established services on Macronissi to care for the refugees from Smyrna.

The refugees were badly in need of medical care, food, and shelter.  The women of AWH raised money and volunteered to travel abroad to provide medical services to devastated populations.