Thessaloniki on the eve of World War I and its aftermath

Abstract

Life, social and economic conditions of Thessaloniki underwent a radical
change under the influence of the repercussions during the two Balkan wars
and World War I. Thessaloniki’s hinterland was substantially curtailed, its
Levantine and Turkish inhabitants, left whilst the Jewish community was
reduced. On the other hand Greeks arrived from the South, from Turkey and
Bulgaria, weakening thus the cosmopolitan character of the city. The total
population of the city thus increased; the new inhabitants contributed a lot
to the rising prosperity despite frequent unfavourable political developments.