At the end of August 1923, a large number of Greeks and Armenians fleeing Turkish oppression in Asia Minor took refuge in Corfu. In the town's Old Fortress, about 5,000 orphaned children came under the care of three international humanitarian organizations in order to help find foster families for them inother parts of the world.
Suddenly, on 31 August, a fleet of Italian warships with 8,000 soldiers on board arrived in the harbour off Corfu and began bombarding the town, causing several deaths and injuries. A large number of troops disembarked and took control of the town. Corfu, like all of Greece after the tragic end of the war in Asia Minor, was practically defenceless. The town had only 150 soldiers, 30 policemen and one single cannon.
The townspeople, taken by surprise, believed at first that it was a friendly visit. In fact, it was a military operation led by Mussolini, who, under false pretences, was trying to seize Corfu and the Ionian Islands.
Outraged by this attack, the Archbishop-Metropolitan of Corfu, Monsignor Athenagoras (who was later elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople), took a rowing boat to go and question the attackers himself.
The combined efforts of the Corfiot, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicolaos Politis, and of Fridtjof Nansen, a member of the League of Nations, put an end to this illegal invasion.
The Albert Cohen Corfu Association asked two eminent personalities, Professor Ioannis Papafloratos and the Norwegian writer Berit Tolleshaug, to give us a detailed account of this event, which once again put Corfu at the centre of the world’s diplomatic attention.
Fridtjof Nansen, who —by his actions— contributed decisively to resolving the issue, was the instigator of the "Nansen passport" for the stateless and refugees. After the World War II, this passport was adopted and improved by the United Nations and by the Corfu-born Albert Cohen.
These two personalities, Fridtjof Nansen and Albert Cohen, restored hope and dignity to the refugees of the two world wars.
Dr Spiros Giourgas M.D.
President of the Albert Cohen Corfu Association