MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE WORK AND THOUGHT
OF ARNOLD J. TOYNBEE
by Teodoro Tagliaferri (University of Naples Federico II)
No. 21 (August 25th, 2023)
WRITINGS ON THE EMPIRES IN WORLD HISTORY, XVII
Arnold J. Toynbee, The Smyrna Problem. Views of the Western European Colony, in «The Manchester Guardian», Monday, February 28, 1921, p. 8. «From our Special Correspondent, Smyrna, February 8». Special Article. See also https://www.academia.edu/63235514/Arnold_J_Toynbee_The_Smyrna_Problem
“I will try to state briefly what Smyrna is, what has happened to it since the Armistice, what are the views of the chief communities in the city and its hinterland on the present situation, and what the possible alternatives to this situation appear to be. The local factors are the least known in England; the local communities have the least opportunity for putting their case. Of course, everyone here realises that the problem which is life-and-death to them will be settled not here but in London or Paris, and probably not on the merits of the local situation. Yet in equity the local factors ought to be the principal consideration. Without seeing it for oneself it is difficult to realise the importance of the human interests or the extent and productivity of the territories concerned.”
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