ABSTRACT

Mehmet Hilmi was an intellectual teacher who undertook the role of defending the rights of the Western Thrace Turks. He published newspapers and initiated the foundation of youth organisations. He defenced that the Western Thrace Turks must follow the revolution attacks of Turkey. According to Mehmet Hilmi the main principal is the love to nation, progress and development is a result of this love. During his action he faced obstructions from Greek Authorities also from the group “150’s” who were refuged to Greece and from the concervatives who were influenced from the Turkish refugees. Mehmet Hilmi is one of the leading names who fighted for the illumination of the Western Thrace Turks. For that reason by all means his articles must be studied in order to understand the life of the Western Thrace Turks at 1920’s. Unfortunately, he died at a very early age only 29 years old.

The events at the Western Thrace during the transition to New Alphabet is identical. These events indicate the reaction to newness, the social statue of the minority and the approach of the Greek authorities to improvements.