Between Empire and Nation-State
and had to pay for the license every year, the government did not give her
permission to use the property and confiscated it. She demanded 1 , 720
gold lira, the fee of the yearly license multiplied by seven (for the years
from 1917 to 1924 ).^15 She signed this complaint and her power of attorney
at her home before leaving for Turkey in 1924.
Attention had to be paid to the proper dividing up and turning over of
Yusuf Kapancı’s inheritance as well. After Yusuf and his son İbrahim had
both died, Yusuf ’s wife Aisha was made the trustee and guardian of the
shares entrusted to İbrahim’s two minor sons, Yusuf and Mehmet.^16 The
inheritance included shares in ownership of the Ahmet Kapancı villa at
79 Basilissis Olgas (Hamidiye Boulevard) and the Alhambra Café located
at the Wharf Station on Nikas Boulevard, as well as a textile store and
several properties in Hamidiye.
As noted earlier, some Dönme remained in political office. According
to the memoirs of Periklis Argiropoulos, who was the prefect of Thes-
saloníki for the first three years following the conquest, the logic was
simple: “After the occupation of the city, I, in accordance with Raktivan
[Constantine Raktivan, minister of justice and new civilian governor-gen-
eral of Macedonia], did not want to establish a new municipal authority,
that is, to appoint a new mayor in the place of the existing one who was a
Dönme (a Muslim and former Jew), and who was elected, and to disperse
the municipal council and appoint a new one.”^17 Not all Dönme public
servants remained. Some changes ensued. According to the minutes of the
Council of the Thessaloníki Chamber of Commerce for October 6 , 1914 ,
the Kapancı Osman Dervish announced his resignation from the council
and left the city for Larissa.^18 Mehmet Kapancı is mentioned for the last
time in these minutes in 1915.^19
Along with their property and positions, Dönme also struggled to hold on
to their schools. In 1912 , the Terakki celebrated its thirty-second anniversary
at a ball attended by Şemsi Efendi, Mehmet Kapancı, and board members
Ahmet and Namık Kapancı.^20 But during World War I, all Terakki schools
were closed and occupied by the Allies. Final classes were held in 1916. That
same year witnessed the last board meeting, attended by Ahmet Kapancı,
the merchant Faiz Kapancı and the banker Namık Kapancı.^21 In 1919 , the
Greek municipality appropriated the beautiful main building.^22 It was made
into a hospital, and the Terakki schools also lost all their other buildings,
except the girls’ branch in the suburb, which closed in 1920.^23 Its director
was a descendant of Hasan Akif, Ekrem Talat (Akev). In the autumn of