Ochi Day (Oxi Day) is celebrated each year on October 28th. The day commemorates the resistance of Greece during the World War II Today, there are military and naval parades, as well as memorial services all over the country. This is important, because it serves to educate the next generation of Greeks and to remind the rest of us of the important contributions Greece made in World War II (WWII). On October 28, 1940, the Italian Ambassador to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, visited Greek Prime Minister (and dictator) Ioannis Metaxas and demanded that Greece allow the Axis forces of Germany and Italy to enter the country and occupy certain strategic locations. Without much thought, Metaxas answered laconically, “Alors, c’est la guerre” (Then, this is war). Legend has it that his answer was an even more short, a simple “No.” !!! For many people, the word “no” (Οχι in Greek) has since become equivalent to Greece’s defiance against fascism. Or, it rather symbolizes the Greeks’ refusal to succumb to any form of tyranny. It was a No! that brought Greece into the war on the Allied side. For a time, Greece was Britains only ally against Hitler. Had Metaxas not said No!, World War II might well have lasted considerably longer. One theory suggests that, if Greece had agreed to surrender without resistance, Hitler would have been able to invade Russia in spring, rather than making his disastrous attempt to take it in winter. Western nations, always happy to credit ancient Greece with the development of democracy, may owe modern Greece an equal but usually unrecognised debt for helping to preserve democracy against its enemies. Some historians credit the Greeks fierce resistance to the later German paratrooper landings on the island of Crete with convincing Hitler that such attacks cost too many German lives. The “from-the-air” invasion of Crete was the last attempt by the Nazis to use this technique, and the extra resources required to subdue Greece drained and distracted the Third Reich from its efforts on other fronts. The rest is history !
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 06:20:25 +0000
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