The origins of international solidarity

From the philhellenism of the 1820s to contemporary support for Ukraine Many people and organisations are currently showing solidarity with Ukraine. As such, they are unconsciously following in the footsteps of one of the initial moments of international solidarity from 200 years ago, when many people throughout Europe came out in solidarity with Greece, a small nation that was fighting for its right to self-determination. At the Max Planck Institute for Human Development Caroline Moine has been researching the history of this period. The Massacre of Chios, in which Ottoman soldiers killed thousands of Greek civilians on the island of Chios, sparked a broad movement of solidarity throughout Europe for the Greeks who were fighting for their independence. French painter Eugène Delacroix depicted the events in his painting Massacre at Scios. The French King Charles X immediately acquired it for the Louvre collections, where it can still be visited today. The Massacre of Chios, in which Ottoman soldiers killed thousands of Greek civilians on the island of Chios, sparked a broad movement of solidarity throughout Europe for the Greeks who were fighting for their independence.