Sartiaux was a graduate of the Polytechnique and Director of Operations at the French Northern Railway Company . In 1913 , he traveled to Asia Minor commissioned by the French state to carry out archaeological excavations at the ancient town of Old Phocaea . During his second mission to Phocaea in 1914 , he and his excavation team witnessed the violent looting and massacre of the town by Ottoman Turk irregulars . Sartiaux and his three assistants , hoisted French flags on their homes and provided shelter to fleeing Greeks . Around 700-800 people were saved from the attacks and were later evacuated by boats to Greece . Sartiaux 's documented testimony and photos are invaluable in describing the sequence of events before and during the massacre
looting and massacre
Massacre of Phocaea
Félix Sartiaux