Chris Pappas: “today we celebrate Oxi Day which symbolizes the absolute refusal of the Greek people to succumb to Mussolini's Fascist…”

“today we celebrate Oxi Day which symbolizes the absolute refusal of the Greek people to succumb to Mussolini's Fascist Italy during World War II. In August 1940, Mussolini accused Greece of supporting Britain and demanded that she renounce the agreement of neutrality with the Allies. In that same month, the Greek Naval Cruiser Elli visited the island of Tinos during its highest religious holiday, paying a visit to the famous holy shrine there. In a sneak attack, the Italians torpedoed and sank the ship in the harbor. Mussolini also massed more than 150,000 troops on the Albanian border, and the Greek government was only able to place about half that number of its own ready to oppose them. In that tense condition on October 28, 1940, at the undignified hour of 3 a.m., the Italian Ambassador delivered an ultimatum from Mussolini to the Greek government set to expire at 6 a.m. that very same day. The Greek Prime Minister's response was oxi, which means 'no' in Greek.”