28 October, Oxi Day

Friday is a local holiday, not Cypriot at all, but Greek:

In 1939 the Italians under Mussolini issue an ultimatum to the Greeks. It is the beginning of the Second World War and the Axis powers seem unstoppable as one country after another falls. Mussolini, feeling a bit outplayed by Hitler and wanting to show that he too is a great leader, decides to attack and occupy Greece, believing that it will be an easy target.

First the Italians torpedo the Greek cruiser Elli in the harbour of Tinos with much loss of life. Then on October 28th the Italian minister in Athens brings the written ultimatum which basically demands that the Greeks let the Italian army enter and occupy the country or face their wrath.

Prime Minister General John Metaxas, who had hoped to remain neutral in the war, rejects the ultimatum and in just a few hours Italian troops are pouring into northern Greece from Albania. This is to be another one of those Hellenic moments like Salamis and Marathon.

The people of Greece answer the call to defend the country and in just 6 weeks drive the Italian army back into the cold mountains of Albania. It is a major humiliation for the Axis and the first sign that they can be defeated. It is not only an inspiration to the people of Europe but it puts Hitler in the position of having to delay his invasion of Russia, to commit troops to attack and occupy Greece. The Russian defence of Stalingrad and the cold Russian winter are the beginning of the end of the Third Reich and Greece’s resistance is a major part of the puzzle. It is Metaxas’ rejection of the Italian Ultimatum which is celebrated every year in Greece as a National Holiday on October 28th as "Oxi Day". (Oxi means "No").

The last thing that Hitler wants is to be bogged down in Greece when he is trying to build up his forces to invade Russia. But he cannot leave his southern flank exposed, nor can he allow his partner to suffer such a humiliation.

Metaxas knows the Greek army is no match for the German war machine and tries desperately to avert an invasion, hoping instead that Hitler will negotiate a truce on the Albanian front between Greece and Italy.

But two months after the death of the Prime Minister-for-Life on the 6th of April, the German Army invades Greece. Alexander Korysis, who has succeeded Metaxas as Prime Minister, commits suicide. The Greeks and the British forces are no match for the advancing Germans but manage to hold them long enough for the government of King George II, the Greek Army and the British Expeditionary Force to be successfully evacuated to Crete where they help the local population to heroically hold off the Nazi invasion of the island until the end of May. They are then evacuated to Egypt to regroup while Greece is occupied by the Germans, Italians and Bulgarians.

When the Germans enter Athens on April 27th, they order one of the evzones, the elite soldiers of the Greek army who are the guardians of the flag which flies over the Acropolis, to remove it. The soldier obeys, then wraps himself in the blue and white flag and leaps from the walls of the ancient fortress to his death. It is the first public act of resistance in the city.

Some days later, on the night of May 30th, Manolis Glezos and Apostolis Santas, both 18 years old, tear down the Nazi flag flying from the Acropolis. This act of courage and resistance to Nazi oppression becomes an inspiration to all subjected people. It is also foreshadowing that the occupiers will not have an easy time in Greece.

Reprinted with thanks from Matt Barrett’s website "A Short History of Greece" (http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com).