Volume 1, Issue 10, October 2007 Journalism as never before  

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‘Οχι’ Day
Οχι Day is the anniversary of Greece’s entry as a combatant nation into the Second World War on October 28th 1940. This event took place after dictator Ioannis Metaxas’ refused to comply with an ultimatum delivered by Mussolini. The ultimatum, presented by the Italian Ambassador at 04:00 after a party in the German embassy in Athens, demanded that Axis troops be allowed to enter Greece and occupy certain ‘strategic locations’ or else face war. According to popular belief, Metaxas is said to have responded to this demand by uttering the single word response ’οχι’ or ’no’. Modern historians now dispute this—saying that Metaxas’ actual response was ’Alors, c’est la guerre’ (’So it’s war’). The latter interpretation of events seems more probable, especially given that just an hour and a half later Italian troops stationed in Albania launched an attack on Northern Greece. Regardless of the actual wording of the response Metaxas’ act of defiance prompted Greeks to take to the street en masse chanting ’οχι’. During the Second World War, wherever possible, Οχι day was commemorated by Greeks around the globe. At the end of the Second War, the day was designated a public holiday. Throughout Greece it is now marked by military and civic parades.

Initially Greek forces were successful in not only repelling the Italian invasion force but in driving Axis forces out of most of Albania. However, the military campaign came to a standstill in the winter, and Metaxas’ death in January 1941 left a power vacuum. This along with poor coordination of allied forces in the area left Greece open to attack, and German forces invaded in the spring of 1941. Mainland Greece was quickly over-run, military commander General Tsolakoglou signing the final surrender on 23rd April 1941. the remaining allied forces and King George II retreating to Crete. With the fall of Crete at the end of May 1941, George II escaped to Egypt, establishing a government in exile (for more about the Battle of Crete see the May issue of the Bugle in the online archives). In mainland Greece, the Germans appointed Tsolakoglou Prime Minister, and he headed the first of a series of collaborationist governments that operated during the Axis occupation. Greece suffered harshly during the Second World War. The Nazis stripped the nation’s assets to bolster their war machine, the resulting food shortages and spiralling inflation contributed to a terrible famine in the winter of 1941-1942. Historians now estimate that more than 300,000 Greeks may have died from starvation during this time. As in the rest of Europe Jews were persecuted - the Jewish community in Thessaloniki (originally formed by Sephardi Jews fleeing the Spanish inquisition) was decimated with over 90% (around 46,000 people) of the city’s Jews being deported to Auschwitz (this atrocity was apparently carried out under the watchful supervision of a young soldier named Kurt Waldheim who later became Secretary General of the United Nations). On Crete, the entire Romaniot Jewish population—dating back centuries- was wiped out when a deportation boat was sunk off the coast of Hania.

Resistance groups were some of the most active in Europe. Resistance brought with it a heavy price—acts of sabotage were followed by savage reprisals. In numerous villages the entire male population was executed in response to resistance activity. You will see sad reminders of this in some of the abandoned ghost villages that remain today—particularly in Northern Greece. Resistance was also hampered by being split according to political factions. The main opposing groups were EAM/ELAS (leftist) and EDES (rightist, pro-monarchy)
‘Liberation’ from Nazi rule finally came in October 1944, when Axis forces withdrew from Greece. However, this was swiftly followed by civil war which lasted until 1950. The period between 1940 and 1950 is seen as being one of the darkest in Greece’s history and is often referred to by historians as ’the terrible decade’.

Metaxas the Dictator: Troubled Times

Not surprisingly, Οχι day evokes mixed feelings in Greece. For some it is a day to rejoice in national identity, for others, it represents a bitter reminder of political repression — and it is worth remembering that the period of the Junta (1967-1974) is still fresh in many people's minds. Metaxas himself is a controversial figure in Greek history. His refusal of the Axis ultimatum had nothing to do with making an idealistic stance against Hitler and Mussolini - Metaxas was himself a Fascist dictator. His response was based on pragmatic considerations, at the time his major concern was Italian expansionism in the region. Metaxas had become leader as a result of a series of political and economic crises that had beset Greece during the 1930’s. Partly as a consequence of the Wall Street Crash and subsequent depression, Greece’s economy collapsed. Greece’s key exports at that time included raisins, tobacco and olive oil: luxury goods—the first things that people would do without if needing to economise. The Greek diaspora started to fall on hard times, and were unable to contribute to the Greek economy as before. Measures taken by the Venizelos government were ineffective in dealing with the foreign debt and the Venizelos coalition fell apart in 1932. A couple of attempted coups and political chaos followed, Venizelos was discredited and retired to Paris where he died in 1936. In 1935, under a highly suspect mandate the monarchy was restored. It is clear now that the vote was rigged, official figures quoted 99% of the electorate calling for the return of King George II. One of King George’s first acts was to appoint Metaxas — a staunch monarchist and anti-communist– as Prime Minister. A period of civil unrest and labour strikes gave Metaxas the opportunity to declare a state of emergency. Order and stability were restored, but at a cost. Parliament was dissolved and human rights aspects of the constitution were suspended. Strikes were made illegal and the media was subject to severe censorship. Political opponents, particularly those from the left, were arrested or somehow ‘disappeared’. Conversely, this only had the impact of galvanising left wing opposition and sharpening divides between left and right—resulting in the political turmoil that bedevilled Greece for subsequent decades. But we’ll end on a positive note. October 28th is a way of celebrating modern Greece, too. A place where friendship goes hand in hand with freedom of expression, and where diversity of views and cultures are welcomed. This gives us hope for the future.

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