Kalymnos in the 20th Century

On the 29th April 1912 - 12th May, according to the Grigoriani chronology - Italian battle ships disembarked their army on the island of Kalymnos. They successfully managed to capture the 'kaimakamis' of the island, the guard and the Turkish officers. The Kalymnians and the people of the Dodecanese welcomed the Italians.

The Italian commander of the fleet announced that the Kalymnians should elect their representatives and the people responded to his command. The elected representatives were called 'Committee' and they carried out a meeting on the 3rd May 1912 in order to change the title of 'Demogerondia of Kalymnos' into 'Demarchia of Kalymnos'. Mihalis Olymbitis was elected as President of the State while the second member of 'Demogerondia', Arist. Kouremetis, was appointed as 'Mayor of Kalymnos'. The Municipal Council was completed by Theof. Kolletis, Mihalis Kalogiannis and Ant. Xipolitas. The 'Committee' made several decisions about the island, one of which was the establishment of the Greek flag.

In that year though, Ameglio arrested the representatives of the islands and led them to Rhodes. In Lausanne, on the 18th October 1912, Italy and Turkey signed a treaty, according to which both governments agreed to withdraw their armies from the twelve islands.

The Kalymnians feared that with that treaty their island would return to the Turkish dominion.

The treaty of Lausanne surrended the Dodecanese to Italy and the results became obvious on the 6th August 1924. Fascism, the new system of government, was enforced.

In March 1925, the police of Kalymnos asked for a stamp tax to issue permits for coffee houses, restaurants and taverns.

In January 1926, with a governmental order, the 'Regulation of Schools' was published. This regulation abolished the 'Eforia of Schools', appointed an educational supervisor and enforced the teaching of the Italian language to every school. At the same time, the Administration of the Dodecanese decided to form a committee which would conduct a survey on the fishing of sponges issue and would propose the formation of an organisation for that matter. The representatives of Kalymnos then went to Rhodes and managed to make their views respected, despite the opposing circumstances.

While they were successful in that matter, their requests about the 'Governmental Regulation of Schools' were not accepted. The Kalymnians resisted and as a result the Italian administration invalidated the 'Demarchia' and appointed an Italian 'Podesta' after exiling the mayor Mihalis Kalavros.

This period lasted for 16 years.

On the 24th May 1915, Italy proclaimed the war against its former allies. According to the secret agreement in London on the 26th April 1915, Italy 'should have complete sovereignty of the Dodecanese islands', therefore, the definitive possession of the islands began.

On the 20th August 1915, Italy proclaimed the war against Turkey, too, characterising the sovereignty of the Dodecanese as warlike.

The war ended on the 11th November 1918. Greece officially proclaimed the Dodecanese as its part
on the 30th December 1918, when Eleftherios Venizelos submitted the relevant memorandum to the 'Convention' of peace. On the 29th July 1919, Venizelos and Tittoni signed an agreement, according to which Italy granted the Dodecanese islands to Greece. Rhodes, though, wasn't included in this agreement since it received wide local independence.

Italy objected to the agreement. Nevertheless, the treaty in Sevres, which was signed on the 10th August 1920, granted the Dodecanese to Greece after winning the war, and was greatly welcomed by the Kalymnians.

That joyful event didn't last, though. Greece was defeated in Mikrasia and as a result, Italy denounced the treaty of Sevres on the 8th September 1922. Fascism became the new regime and on the 24th July 1923, the treaty of Lausanne was signed granting the Dodecanese to Italy.

The 'Demarchia of Kalymnos', the 'Eforia of Schools' and the 'Committee of the People' decided to send the first Mayor, Mihalis Kalavros, to Athens in order to be advised by the Greek government on the tactics that Kalymnos should follow. The Greek minister of foreign affairs, Loukas Roufos, stated that 'Greece doesn't aknowledge the issue of the Dodecanese, and considers it as just an incident which will not disturb the relations between Italy and Greece' and that 'the Dodecanese matters are the Italian government's state affairs, for which Greece has no right to interfere'.

The Kalymnians then decided to send representatives to Rhodes in order to try to 'arrange the matter as favourably as possible' and to 'accept the maintenance of the Turkish privileged administration only if they have no other choice'.

This position of the Kalymnians enraged the Italian administration which decided to use force. Therefore, the Italians appointed a commissioner and a few days later, Mihalis Kalavros, D. Tavlarios, Gian. Kl. Zervos and Theof. Kolettis were arrested, imprisoned and exiled. They also enforced the teaching of the Italian language to every school, against the Kalymnian's will. After the abolishment of the 'Demarchia', the administration of the public affairs on the island was carried out by the enforcement of 'Podesta' ; a system which lasted for 29 months - until March 1929.

Between 1930 - 1932 many changes took place on the island. In December 1932, the Kalymnian mayor's ( Mavros ) term of office came to an end. Patellis became the new mayor but he didn't turn out to be any different from Mavros.

On the 20th May 1933 the 'Principal Treasury of the Church' was established, where all collections of the churches were gathered.