Oxi Day: A Proud Moment in Greek History

On the 28th of October, all Greeks will once again celebrate the moment the Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas, denied the demands of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. When the Axis powers demanded the Greeks capitulate, Metaxas “Alors, c’est la gueree!” or “Then it is War!” That moment in 1940 when the whole world seemed under the jackboot is now called “Oxi Day” (Όχι Day).

October 28th is a solemn but festive national holiday commemorated every 28th of October in Greece, Cyprus, and by Greeks worldwide. It is a solemn but colourful remembrance of the moment when the entire Greek population took to the streets on the morning of the 28th of October, 1940, and yelled, “Oxi!” Here on Crete, the proud Cretans don wonderful traditional attire and parade through the streets of the Island’s towns to honour those lost to the war and to remember the courage this nation has stood for since antiquity.

The whole world owes a debt to the Greeks for what took place on October 28th, but also for the courage and determination Greeks showed during the occupation of Axis forces. On Crete, there is a monument to soldiers and/or partisans who fought the Axis occupiers with unbelievable steadfastness. Greece, and mainly Crete, made Nazi Germany’s march through North Africa and even the assault on Russia a far more difficult task by tying up vital resources that might have been used in places like El Alamein or Stalingrad. 

People here on Crete still pay tribute to the Island’s fallen for what transpired after May 20, 1941, when the Germans launched the largest airborne invasion in history against Greek and British forces that had retreated here to Crete from the mainland. Though the invasion ended in success for the Axis, the devastating losses the Cretans and their British allies exacted on Hitler’s Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) caused the Nazi leader never to deploy such large airborne forces ever again. 

The subsequent resistance in almost every village on the Island caused bitter reprisals that Cretan families still remember. But mostly, these Islanders take pride in the legendary heroic deeds that frustrated their occupiers from day one. They should also be prideful on “Oxi Day” for the pivotal role Greece played in the world-engulfing battle between Allied and Axis powers in the world’s most devastating war.