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Volume 2 | Issue 3 - Festivals and Celebration
Article by Stephen Woodward. Edited by Emma Carmichael. Additional Research by Jon Park.
The British are often accused of holding on too fast to sour memories from the Second World War, creating undue animosity toward tanning Germans whilst on holiday or heckling the French as ‘cheese eating surrender monkeys.’ But all modern day British animosity pales in comparison to that of the Greeks. Each year October 28th is given as a public holiday throughout Greece. October 28th is Οχι (ochi) Day. It commemorates the day in 1940 when Greek dictator, Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas, refused an Italian ultimatum demanding that Axis forces occupy key strategic positions in Greek territory or face war. Legend has it that when presented with this proposal Metaxas replied to the Italian ambassador with a simple ‘Οχι!’ (‘No!’) and subsequently slammed the door in the ambassador’s face. More reliable sources, however, cite Metaxas’ reply as being in French ‘Alors, c’est la guerre!’ ‘Then it is war!’ Regardless of the actual phrasing, the spirit of defiant rejection was taken up all over Greece. Thousands took to the streets shouting ‘No!’ and the message was clear. Greece was not prepared to lie down at the will of Mussolini, and she did not. Greece entered the war and immediately repulsed Italian attacks, driving Mussolini’s forces back, deep into Albanian territory. This Greek victory was in fact the first Allied victory of the war. It took the intervention of Hitler to prevent Mussolini’s further embarrassment at the hands of the Greek forces and only with overwhelming German help was Greece finally defeated.
Although defeated and occupied territorially, Greek spirit remained unconquered. Greece was a hotbed of anti-German and Italian resistance throughout the war. With mountain based bandits managing to create so much disorder that by 1943 they were able to declare a ‘Free Greece’ in the mountains, stretching from the Ionian sea to the Aegean; the only such free Allied administration on a fascist overrun continent at the time. One of the most dramatic examples of the spirit of Οχι Day took place on the eve of May 30th 1941 with the occupation of Athens. Konstantinos Koukidis, an Evzone, the elite guards of the Greek military, whose duty it was to guard the Greek flag atop the Acropolis, was ordered by a German officer to lower it and raise the Nazi Swastika in its place. Koukidis calmly obeyed the first half of the order, wrapped the flag around his body and jumped from the rock plummeting to his death thus protecting the honour of the nation. Such an act typifies the Greek sentiment towards occupation that Οχι Day is intended to commemorate.
Today Οχι Day is a major day for Greek nationalism, with the entire country unified in remembrance of the noble efforts of resistance to fascist oppression, whilst celebrating the service of current soldiers. Somewhat tongue in cheek displays of resistance towards past occupiers do still take place, however. Alongside traditional parades of the armed forces, there remains a strong anti-German and Italian sentiment. On some islands in the Aegean, models of U-boats have been known to be paraded and burnt a la Guy Fawkes. Many guide books, in fact, warn would-be German tourists to steer clear of the country in late October, so strong are past grievances. I once had a discussion with a taverna owner in the old town of Rhodes, who made no secret of the fact that German customers were often treated to the waiter’s spit accompanying their order, happily I was assured as liberating Brit that I was exempt from this service!
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Mussolini had demanded the key strategic positions out of fear that Hitler’s expanse into Romania would undermine the Italian claim to a new Mare Nostrum, a new Roman Empire controlling the Mediterranean.
Despite having ten times the fire-power of Greece, and overwhelming sea and air control, 200,000 Italian troops were halted for days by a small army of Greek soldiers, 25km in.
12,500 Italians returned home as casualties of war. 13,800 were buried in Northern Greece. 25,000 were missing in action and 40,000 were Prisoners of War.
Hitler did not have immediate plans to invade Greece, focussed as he was on invading the Soviet Union, but felt it had to in order to support the failing Italian army.
The resistance was particularly effective in the mountains region of North Greece, where it earned the name “Free Greece,” and in Crete, where 10,000 German soldiers died fighting the resistance.
By 1944, the EAM claimed that their total membership exceeded one million.
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