Turks of the Dodecanese in 1974 many Muslim Turks left the islands and settled in Turkey. Many of them were deprived of their Greek citizenship and property. Some of those who stayed abandoned the Turkish language and their religion. The Turks in Kos are partly organized around the Muslim Association of Kos Kos Müslüman which gives the figure 2,000 for the population they bring together and represent for the Greek island. Those in Rhodes are organized around the Moslem Association of Rhodes Rodos Müslümanı, which gives the figure 3,500 for the population they bring together and represent for the island. The more general term
Dodecanese During World War II, Italy joined the Axis Powers, which used the Dodecanese as a naval staging area for their invasion of Crete in 1941. After the surrender of Italy in September 1943, the islands briefly became a battleground between the Germans and Allied forces, including the Italians. The Germans prevailed in the Dodecanese Campaign, and although they were driven out of mainland Greece in 1944, the Dodecanese remained occupied until the end of the war in 1945, during which time nearly the entire Jewish population of 6,000 was deported and killed. Only 1,200 of these Ladino-speaking Jews survived by