Türkiye remembers humanitarian aid sent to Greece during World War II occupation

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye on Thursday marked a special day in the life of Turkish-Greek relations in which a ship delivered humanitarian aid to Greece when the country was under Nazi occupation.

On Twitter, the Turkish Embassy in Athens said that on this day in 1941, a Turkish ship set sail from Istanbul to the capital port of Piraeus to deliver food supplies and other aid to its Greek neighbors.

"On 13 October 1941, the Kurtulus (Liberation) sailed from Istanbul to deliver humanitarian aid and food supplies to the Port of Piraeus, to the Greek people suffering from a catastrophic Famine (Megalos Limos) under the occupation of Nazi Germany," said the embassy.

Kerem Kinik, head of the Turkish Red Crescent or Kizilay, previously told Anadolu Agency that Türkiye sending aid to Greece during wartime occupation is viewed as one of the aid group's exemplary international missions.

"Kizilay sent aid six times to the Greek island of Piraeus with the ship called Kurtulus when Greece was suffering from starvation during a period called the Great Famine during World War II,” he said.

On Feb. 20, 1942, on the aid ship’s seventh expedition, it crashed into a rock off the Sea of Marmara and sank, he added.