The activities of Red Crescent Society in Sivas (1914-1932)

The Red Crescent Society, which was previously limited to collecting aid from Sivas, was organized here during the First World War. The activities of the society duringthe war years were shaped by the developments at the Caucasian front. A Red Crescent hospital was established in Sivas on 1 December, 1914 to support the front. Sivas; when Erzurum, Trabzon and Erzincan were occupied in 1916, as the closest city to the front became the health base of the front. The Red Crescent hospital and the hospital sanitary committee, which were established by the society at the beginning of the war, were first transferred to Erzincan because of the occupation of the city, and because of the occupation of Erzincan, this time they were transferred to Sivas and operated there until mid-March, 1918. The vaccination center which was established in Erzurum in 1915 was transferred to Sivas upon the occupation of the city, where it worked within the scope of the society and various vaccines were produced. Apart from the Vaccination center transferred from Erzinan due to the fight against infectious diseases, a new institution called "Smallpox Vaccination Center and Rabies Treatment Center" was established in Sivas in April, 1917, in partnership with the society and the general sanitary directorate. Over time, besides the smallpox vaccine, other vaccines were produced too in the institution's unit called the Smallpox Vaccination Center and this place served as one of the most important vaccine production centers in Türkiye until 1929. However the Rabies Treatment Center continued its operations in the 1930s. In these institutions operating within the society in Sivas, imprtant health services were provided to the civilians and the army. During the activities in Sivas, the society generally collected aid from here; dealth with the treatment of prisoners; fought against epidemics among the army, civilians, and animals; and provided aid to widows and orphans as well as various institutions and organizations, refugees from the eastern provinces of Türkiye, Lausanne exchanges and immigrants who came except from the Exchange. In this study, the activities of the society in Sivas between 1914 and 1932 are going to be examined using various primary and secondary resources especially the Red Crescent documents.