The anti-Jewish pogrom in Eastern Thrace in 1934: new evidence for the responsibility of the Turkish government

In the summer of 1934 Eastern Thrace was shaken by a wave of antisemitic violence that ended as suddenly as it had begun. The reasons underlying this attack on the Jewish minority are still not well understood, mainly due to the lack of definitive Turkish sources. New evidence indicates that lbrahim Tali, the representative of the Turkish government in Thrace and the district of Canakkale further south, played a crucial role. The incidents should be understood in light of Turkish Italian tensions in the spring of 1934, and the strategic need for re-arming the demilitarized zones in Thrace and at the Straits.