ΚΑΛΩΣ ΗΛΘΑΤΕ! Kalos ilthate! Welcome!
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"OXI" the loudest message in World history - 28 October 1940
OXI Day 80 Years Later
«Ελληνίδες, Έλληνες. Από την Ορεστιάδα μέχρι τη Γαύδο και από τους
Οθωνούς μέχρι το Καστελόριζο, να θυμάστε το πιο λακωνικό και ηχηρό
μήνυμα της παγκόσμιας ιστορίας αποτελείται
από δύο συλλαβές, ΟΧΙ. Ένα μήνυμα που θυμίζει σε όλους ότι η Δημοκρατία
και η Ελευθερία είναι ιδεώδη ακατάλυτα που θα θριαμβεύουν όσο υπάρχουν
αθάνατες ελληνικές ψυχές. Ψυχές τολμηρές πέρα από τις δυνάμεις τους,
ριψοκίνδυνες εν γνώσει τους και αισιόδοξες στις δυσκολίες. Χρόνια πολλά,
Ελλάδα!»
"Hellenes. From Orestiada to Gavdos, from the Othonous to Kastellorizo,
remember - the loudest and shortest message in world history consists
of just two syllables, "ΟΧΙ" ΝΟ!. A message that reminds the world that
Democracy and Freedom are indestructible ideals that will always triumph
as long as the immortal Greek spirit exists. Courageous spirits bold
beyond their means, knowingly taking risks, and optimistic in adversity.
Xronia Polla, Hellas! "
Today's awesome #OXIDay
message comes from one of our wonderful Hellenic Air Force pilots from
the cockpit of his F16 Zeus as he flew over Athens during the 80th
Anniversary Celebrations earlier today. Watch and listen to his inspiring message below.
Note: Sadly #Covid19 numbers in Greece meant none of the usual parades could be held around the country.
Ζήτω Η Ελλάδα! Long LiveHellas! 🇬🇷 💙 🇬🇷
At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!
Greek Armed Forces Poster celebrating OXI Day 28 October 1940
"Until now we used to say that the Greeks
fight like heroes.
Now we shall say: The heroes fight like Greeks."
Sir
Winston Churchill - Prime Minister United Kingdom
(From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the
Greco-Italian war)
In 2011, Some of our most prominent Greek Americans decided it was time to get the story of Greece's heroism out to the world. This superb video, created by The Washington OXI Day Foundation, founded by Andrew Manatos, tells the story of Greece's heroism in adversity. Its strength against all odds and its pivotal role in the developments of the Second World war.
Historian Alexander Kitroeff, US Congressmen John Sarbanes and Gus Bilirakis, and Andrew Manatos himself, tell the wonderful story of OXI Day, exactly as it should be told...
Many know that Greece created democracy,
but few know that it also saved it... Until now.
The
Washington Oxi Day Foundation is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization
dedicated to informing American policymakers and the public about the
profound role Greece played in bringing about the outcome of World War
II and celebrating modern day heroes who exhibit the same courage as the
Greeks did in continuing to fight to preserve and promote freedom and
democracy around the world.
ΖΗΤΩ ΤΟ ΕΘΝΟΣ
ΖΗΤΩ Η ΕΛΛΑΣ
At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!
Food for thought as we remember and honour those who died so WE can befree, to live, to dream, to love, to have the right to speak... Remembering OXI Day...
"Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes.
Now we shall say: The heroes fight like Greeks."
Sir Winston Churchill - Prime Minister United Kingdom
(From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the Greco-Italian war)
Today is the 28th October in Greece, and for all those who don't know, it is the anniversary of one of Greece's most glorious moments - OXI Day.
Today we are rejoicing! Along with the whole of Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world, we are celebrating the day that our small country decided to be David and take on Goliath.
Today we are honouring our heroes and giving thanks for the valiant and courageous stance our forefathers took on that historic day in October of 1940.
This is our tribute to those noble men and women who fought and died so that today we can be free.
We, not just as Greeks, but as citizens of a free and democratic world, owe an enormous debt of honour to them.
OXI Day commemorates the day that Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum given by Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, on October 28, 1940.
This ultimatum, a demand that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory or otherwise face war, was presented to Metaxas by the Italian Ambassador in Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October 28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 AM), ironically enough after a party in the German Embassy in Athens.
Metaxas, is supposed to have immediately answered with a single word:
'OXI'
Whether he actually did or not, is almost irrelevant... That simple but determined OXI, however it was said, was symbolic and significant. It represented the sentiments and principles of the entire Greek people. This word marked the beginning of Greece's involvement in the Second World War, an involvement which was to cost Greece dearly, from every point of view.
An hour and a half after Metaxas' response, at 05:30 AM, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border.
The Greek nation was now officially at War!
On the morning of October 28, the people, regardless of political affiliation, took to the streets, shouting 'OXI', and this reverberated throughout the country as people everywhere started to fight and resist the invading Italian Army. Greece's participation in the war, daring to take a forceful and determined stand against the spreading fascism in Europe, was so much more impressive than many of the surrounding countries who gave in relatively quickly and with a much smaller 'cost', that it inspired a lot of admiration around the world.
One of the more well known salutes to the heroism of the Greek people was given by the US President Franklin D Roosevelt, who summed it all up beautifully...
"On the 28th of October 1940 Greece was given a deadline of three hours to decide on war or peace but even if a three day or three week or three year were given, the response would have been the same. The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. When the entire world had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom."
Franklin D Roosevelt, US President 1933 - 1945
The resistance against Mussolini's troops and the subsequent German invasion was legendary. The Battle of Crete, in May 1941 was pivotal. A small nation, with very few means but with valiant and courageous people who showed determination and nobility of spirit, refusing to bow to the oppressor, worked with the Allied Forces and succeeded in delaying the German advance enough to affect the outcome of World War II. The cost was enormous for Greece, economically, structurally and more importantly in terms of 'casualties'. The entire male population of some villages was sent to the firing squad, executed because they refused to name a saboteur or the perpetrator of an anti-Nazi act. This did not cower the Greeks, they resisted with heart and soul until the very end.
The period that was to follow the war, and the Greek Civil War, would prove to be much more divisive and catastrophic for Greece and it's people, but we won't dwell on this today. Today we will dwell on Greece's legendary heroism which was acknowledged and praised by all, friends and enemies alike. This much lauded cover on LIFE Magazine says it all...
"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death.."
Adolf Hitler (speech he gave at Reichstag, 4 May 1941)
"The word heroism I am afraid does not render the least of those acts of self-sacrifice of the Greeks, which were the defining factor in the victorious outcome of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII, for the human freedom and dignity. If it were not for the bravery of the Greeks and their courage, the outcome of WW II would be undetermined."
Winston Churchill (speech to British Parliament, 24 April 1941)
"Regardless of what the future historians shall say, what we can say now, is that Greece gave Mussolini an unforgettable lesson, that she was the motive for the revolution in Yugoslavia, that she held the Germans in the mainland and in Crete for six weeks, that she upset the chronological order of all German High Command's plans and thus brought a general reversal of the entire course of the war and we won."
Sir Robert Antony Eden (Minister of War and the Exterior of Britain 1940-1945, Prime Minister of Britain 1955-1957
In the name of the captured yet still alive French people, France wants to send her greetings to the Greek people who are fighting for their freedom. The 25th of March, 1941 finds Greece in the peak of their heroic struggle and in the top of their glory. Since the battle of Salamis Greece had not achieved the greatness and the glory which today holds.
Charles de Gaulle, President of the FrenchRepublic
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. We wonder what would have been Soviet Union's position without Greece.
Sir Harold Leofric George Alexander (British Field Marshal during WWII)
Paraphrased from a speech of his to the British parliament on 28 October 1941)
If the Russian people managed to raise resistance at the doors of Moscow to halt and reverse the German torrent, they owe it to the Greek People, who delayed the German divisions during the time they could bring us to our knees.
Georgy Constantinovich Zhoukov
(Field Marshal of the Soviet Army: Quote from his memoirs on WWII)
You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We owe you gratitude, because you gave us time to defend ourselves. As Russians and as people we thank you.
Moscow Radio Station following Hitler's attack on the U.S.S.R
The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that surprises always await us.
Benito Mussolini (From a speech he delivered on 10/5/1941)
These quotes, along with many others are on the slides of the presentation that follows. There you can also see some of the statistics of the War, including the tremendous number of casualties suffered by Greece in comparison to other countries.
Technology today gives us the ability to share with everyone something that a few years ago was in limited circulation. We have included some of the very interesting videos available on You Tube, showing some of the photos and newspaper headlines available at the time, for those who are interested in hearing some of the songs and looking at some of the people who helped motivate and sustain the resistance.
Greece's wonderfulSophia Vembo, like other artists of the time such as Anna Kalouta and Mimi Traiforos, added her magnificent voice to the fight against the occupying forces, and became synonymous with resistance and uprising, thus earning her the title of Singer of Victory (Τραγουδίστρια της Νίκης). One song which is a feature of nearly all the videos is magnificent Paidia, tis Ellados Paidia, (Sons of Greece) - a particularly moving patriotic song which inspired everyone, regardless of his or her political affiliation, because it spoke directly to the heart of every Greek in Greece, so 'real' it became the national song of a whole generation. It talks to the soldiers and their Mothers, women desperately trying to find, or get a glimpse of, their sons. Their sons, the sons of Greece, have been conscripted and are fighting the enemy in the mountains and villages of Greece, and the song urges the mothers not to weep because such faint-heartedness does not suit the temperament of Greek women and mothers; it tells them that they should be as heroic as Souliotisses**, the women of Souli, who joined hands as if in dance and jumped to their death from the heights of Zaloggo, in Epirus, rather than be taken captive by the Turkish troops during the 1821 revolution. (see note and pictures below).
The final chorus tells the soldiers that everyone is praying and waiting for them to return on the wings of victory!
A truly beautiful song.
Μες τους δρόμους τριγυρνάνε,
οι μανάδες και ζητάνε
ν' αντικρίσουνε τα παιδιά τους π' ορκιστήκαν,
στο σταθμό σαν χωριστήκαν
να γυρίσουνε.
Μα για κείνους πού 'χουν φύγει και η δόξα τους τυλίγει,
ας χαιρόμαστε
και καμιά ποτέ ας μην κλάψει
κάθε πόνο της ας κλάψει
κι ας ευχόμαστε.
Παιδιά, της Ελλάδος παιδιά,
που σκληρά πολεμάτε
πάνω στα βουνά.
Παιδιά, στη γλυκιά Παναγιά, προσευχόμαστε όλες,
νά 'ρθετε ξανά.
Λέω σ' όσες ξαγρυπνάνε
και για κάποιον ξενυχτάνε
και στενάζουνε,
πως η πίκρα κι η τρεμούλα
σε μια γνήσια Ελληνοπούλα
δεν ταιριάζουνε. Ελληνίδες του Ζαλόγγου
και της πόλης και του λόγγου
και Πλακιώτισσες, όσο κι αν πικρά πονούμε,
υπερήφανα ας πούμε
σα Σουλιώτισσες. Παιδιά, της Ελλάδος παιδιά,
που σκληρά πολεμάτε
πάνω στα βουνά.
Παιδιά, στη γλυκιά Παναγιά,
προσευχόμαστε όλες,
νά 'ρθετε ξανά.
Mε της Νίκης τα φτερά,
σας προσμένουμε παιδιά.
Vembo's rendition and ridicule of Mussolini in the satirical song, Vazei o Duce ti Stoli Tou, and the other anti-Italian-occupier songs which you can hear for yourselves below, raised the roof wherever they were performed during those dark days of the Occupation, and helped uplift a people who despite the fact that they were struggling to survive, with limited food and water supplies, strongly and courageously resisted the occupying forces with every means at their disposal.
A child with his ration card and measly portion during the Occupation...
If you are interested we urge you to have a look, listen to the songs - rousing, haunting or melancholy they are a testament to, and represent the extreme hardship and poverty the people of Greece experienced, without losing their will to fight or survive - a particularly moving tribute to the men and women who sacrificed themselves for the rest of humanity...
Eager to get to the mountains of Albania...
This post is dedicated to our parents...
To you, Mama kai Baba, and to all those young men and women, who, like many of the young people of the day, stood firm in your beliefs, inspired by your ideals of democracy to fight for freedom in the face of adversity, to persist and to resist and in so doing passed down to us some very valuable lessons and values : a passion for life, for working for the common good and a steadfast knowledge of what's right and wrong, firm principles or 'arhes' and a natural optimism which we have kept to this day.
To you, Baba, who, with your friend Vangeli, had the strength and courage, to take down a German Flag in your hometown and raise the Greek one, singing the Greek National Anthem, fully knowing what the consequences would be if they caught you!
To our parents, who didn't hesitate for a moment despite their misgivings, when it came to ensuring a better future for their children, to abandon their homeland, the homeland which they had fought so hard to free and take the hard and often hostile road of emigration, abandoning family and friends, all things dear and familiar, to go to a faraway land which bore no resemblance to their own, where the language was vastly different, where the attitudes and values were also different, but which was able to offer the security and opportunity that Greece of the 60's was unfortunately not in a position to do!
For all this we are eternally grateful - Efharistoume ...
During the German Occupation of Athens, the House of Troy, Schliemann's House, was commandeered. The detail on the gates of what is now the Numismatic Museum on Panepistimiou Street in Athens, remains as a 'souvenir' or evidence of that occupation.
** Souliotisses
Zaloggo in the mountains of Epirus - O Horos tou Zaloggou
These truly awe-inspiring giant marble statues depict the women of Souli joining hands and dancing - singing "Adieu Sweet life. Soulitiosses cannot live without their freedom" before jumping to their death to avoid capture and slavery...
The marble plaque dedicating the giant marble statues to the heroic women of Souli, The Souliotisses.
As the whole of Greece gets ready to celebrate OXI Day, the anniversary of the day on the 28th October in 1940, when the Greeks said a firm 'NO' to the invading forces of Italy's leader, Benito Mussolini, Greek children, in Greece and in our communities abroad are preparing for the day's celebrations and learning about the events and the incredible heroism of the Greek nation as a whole during the dreadful years of the Second World War.
As schools prepare the students for the αnnual OXI Day school Yiortes and Parades, they are learning much about how Greece and her people survived a catastrophic war which left the country destitute and in ruins, both physically and economically.
In my daughter's school books, one of the things the children are asked to do is have a parent or grandparent recount an event that took place during the War and the German Occupation, and they must write it in their own words. Each child learns to recite a poem, or take part in a play which recounts events during the War specially for the school Yiorti or celebration, and if old enough, proudly takes part in the school parades in cities and towns all over Greece. This Thursday, on the 28th October, our daughter will be part of that parade for the first time and she is very excited!
As part of their learning more about the events of World War II and its consequences for Greece, my 10 year old daughter's class, (she's 5th year- Pempti - by the way) was taken to see a new release of a marvellous movie about children growing up in war ravaged Thessaloniki. She loved it, as did all the children, and as she was telling me about the movie, Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα or The Barefoot Battalion, and I read the pamphlet they were given, I remembered my own parents telling us about the same movie when we were growing up in our own community so far away from Greece, each time the 28th October celebrations took place there.
I realised then that it was something that I would like to share with the readers of Global Greek World ...
Gregg Tallas 1950's
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
As I researched the material for this post a lot of previously unknown facts came to light about this wonderful film
the director was none other than one of our Global Greeks - Gregg Tallas born Gregory Thalassinos in Constantinople in 1903 ...
Many of the cast and crew were of Greek descent including Peter Boudoures, the producer, a Greek-American restaurateur in San Francisco who had been the regional director of Greek War Relief on the West Coast of the USA from 1940-1949
The film's production cost was $38,000.
It was shot without sound, using a 1920s era camera and minimal technical equipment.
The music for the film was the first film score that Greece's legendary composer,Mikis Theodorakis ever wrote
The Barefoot Battalion opened in New York on 28 May 1954 and Los Angeles on 11 June of the same year to great acclaim
In 1955 it was awarded the Golden Laurel at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, thus becoming the first Greek film to win a prize at an international film festival
It has been the subject of many university studies around the world, especially historical studies
In post war Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1953, a young, barefoot, ragged and homeless boy named Stavros wakes up on an abandoned rowboat... It is getting cold on the boat so he goes to shore, and, in order to buy a blanket, attempts to steal a purse from a woman in the crowded market. Demetri, a young man who sees the whole thing and sees him run off, follows the boy, catches him and searches him.
When Stavros begins to cry, saying he has no family, Demetri explains that he only wants to help and that he too used to steal on the street for a living... As the two talk we flashback to 1943 to wartorn, besieged Thessaloniki in German-occupied Greece and Demetri relates his own story - a war orphan who lives with his young sister Martha in an abandoned wrecked boat, with only food rations for survival. As they become desperate for food they join a group of boys, known as Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα or The Barefoot Battalion.
Based on a true story of a group of young boys who lost their parents when the Nazis occupied Greece in 1941, and the children sent to orphanages, this delightful film recounts the courage and bravery of a marvellous group of children, "The Barefoot Battalion" who got together to provide food for themselves and others who had no means, while at the same time working closely with Greece's dynamic underground resistance movement who worked to help Americans and Allied Forces escape to the Middle East, hiding and eventually smuggling an American airman out of the country...
The idea for the film came in the late 40's, when Greek actor Nikos Katsiotis, who was in the USA at the time, was discussing with Greek American director Gregg Tallas, the story of Thessaloniki's victory parade in November of 1944, on the day it celebrated its liberation from German Occupation. Katsiotis told Tallas how right at the tail end, a group of barefoot, bedraggled kids paraded, holding a banner with the words 'Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα' ...
Gregg Tallas 1966
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
Gregg Tallas was so enchanted and moved by this story that he decided to make it into a film, a film which was shot on location in Thessaloniki and Athens, even at the notorious black market site and the cast was made up of some of Greece's well known actors of the day, while 63 of the 66 children came from orphanages and reform institutions in Athens and Thessaloniki...
Gregg Tallas 1970's
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
For those that would
like to watch To Xypolito Tagma in it's entirety here is this brilliant film - a film which the reknowned director Vittorio de Sica is said to have praised so highly that he told Gregg Tallas that if The Barefoot Battalion had preceeded his own masterpiece 'Bicycle Thief', then he, Tallas, would have been de Sica...
- it's well worth while!
Mikis Theodorakis and Gregg Tallas Composer and Director - Two of our Global Greek legends together
Shortly after this post was published, we were delighted to receive a comment in our visitors book from Rhett Tallas, the grandson of Gregg Tallas. He was kind enough to share the photos of Gregg Tallas from their family archives with us and all our readers. He also sent us this note from Gregg's brother Alex, who lives in Greece and is often invited to speak before screenings of this wonderful movie.
The movie's story line is simple, clear and concise and it retells a true story that took place in Thessaloniki ( Greece's second largest city located in Northern Greece).
In a nutshell: It recounts the story of more than 150 orphan teenagers whose orphanage (The Papafion) was commandeered by the German High Command of Norhern
Greece and they were let out to starve.
They showed great initiative, courage and a great will to survive - by stealing food from the Germans and Italians,but also sharing the food they could spare with the starving civilian population of the city of Thessaloniki - whilst also helping to smuggle American, British and Greek officers who had fallen behind as the front collapsed to Cairo to join the Allied forces there.
Thank you for the fedback Rhett and Alex. We are grateful to you and the entire Tallas Family for allowing us the use of the photos of Gregg Tallas from the family archives.
Other Sources: www.moviereviews.gr
At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!
