The magnificent Greek holiday Oxi Day is celebrated every year in Greece on October 28th and mostly remembered for general Ioannis Metaxas strong reply of oxi (no) to Mussolinis request to allow Italian troops to come into Greece at the beginning of WW II. The result of this stern message was powerful, and in the end, helped to maintain Greece’s course of neutrality for generations to come. Nevertheless, the Italians did invade Greece, but were subsequently driven back into Albania. The story begins in 1935, when King George II was restored to the Greek throne by a rigged plebiscite, where he made the right-wing general Ioannis Metaxas prime minister. Nine months later, Metaxas assumed dictatorial powers with the king’s consent under the pretext of preventing a communist-inspired republican coup. The October 28 national holiday also marks the date in 1940 when Greece entered WWII. On that cherished day in Greek history, prime minister Ioannis Metaxas not only rejected Italys ultimatum, he chose the road of resistance, and thus saved his reputation as a dictator. Cypriot countrymen also drew inspiration from Greeces refusal to let Italian troops invade in 1940 in the face of continued Turkish agression. For that matter, parades are also staged by Greek communities around the world in celebration of Oxi Day.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 11:23:30 +0000
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