One hundred years after the end of the Asia Minor Campaign and the uprooting of the Greek population of Asia Minor, testimonies and accounts from eyewitnesses continue to surface. Diaries, letters, autobiographical testimonies illuminate the critical events of the period following the collapse of the front, adding valuable information to what we already know about how the experience of battle, war, and the Catastrophe was perceived by those involved.

The diary of the probationary ensign Athanasios Papavasiliou is one such source. Written during the final phase of the Campaign as a "long letter" to his beloved Maria, it vividly captures the emotions that war evokes in a young person who is experiencing History in its infancy under extreme conditions. A valuable source both for the events of the Catastrophe and for the construction of self and its identity transformations, Papavasiliou's diary is also an exceptional text with literary qualities that captivates the reader, keeping their interest constantly alive.

Athanasios Papavasiliou was born in 1900 in Paros. He attended the Naval Academy and as a probationary officer participated in the final phase of the Asia Minor Campaign, recording his experiences of the destruction of Smyrna and the uprooting of the Greek population in Asia Minor in a diary. During World War II, he received aeronautical training and participated in operations in southern France. After the war, he pursued a career in civil aviation, initially with TAE and later with Olympic Airlines. He passed away at an advanced age in October 1989.