Macedonia's liberation from Ottoman rule in 1913 was also a milestone in its cultural history: the strengthening of the Greek community, in combination with the relative stabilization of the region, created the prerequisites for a significant development of literature and the arts between the wars and afterwards, which was almost exclusively based in Thessaloniki.
However, the city's incorporation into the Greek state meant the loss of the Balkan and European interconnections that had stamped its tradition, while at the same time Thessaloniki became subordinate to the overly centralized politics of Athens. The birthplace of many distinguished creative minds, Thessaloniki could not always keep them close at hand. Despite such losses, the cultural activity there often produced impressive results in literature, the theater, painting and the cinema.
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