OXI (NO) Day Revisited
OXI (NO) Day Revisited. I will keep posting this every year at this time,until our history , the history of our fathers, our grandfathers and our Fatherland and of the great Hellenic Nationalist leader Metaxas is given the respect it deserves.
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OXI Day Revisited
"There is a touching note written in longhand by Lela Metaxas, widow of Metaxas, about the days leading up to the Italian ultimatum on 28 October 1940, in which, among other things, she reports,
'Eight days before 28 October 1940, I believe a Sunday, returning from the Ministry, Metaxas sat at a table for lunch and in a cheerful mood said,'Now they can come, we are ready. We will defeat them.' There were only the two of us at the table, and what impressed me was his calmness and the satisfaction etched on his face. I was very impressed because after the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli which was a signal-and no one was to mention the episode-I had forgotten what he said exactly then at the same place but vaguely somethingto the effect 'now we will keep quiet, we will ignore the torpedoist until the time is right, when we will be ready. We shall take our revenge, but we must get ready first.'
And so to 3 a.m. when we heard suddenly the telephone ring. Surprised we wondered who it could be at that hour. He put on his dressing gown and hurried to the phone. Travlos of Security was at the other end of the line who told Metaxas that the French Ambassador was asking to see him. Travlos had made a mistake: it was actually the Italian Ambassador, Grazzi, who was at the door. He returned to our room and said, 'What's up with Maugras (?); what indiscretion and how inconsiderate at this ungodly hour.' He straightened his hair quickly and went to meet him. He opened the main entrance door; they entered into the lounge with the desk in the middle of the room in front of the large green divan in which E. Grazzi sat to the right. Their conversation began calmly, but soon I heard an animated exchange, and an angry tone in my husband's voice followed by a loud bang of the palm of his hand on the top of the desk. It was the exact moment of the 'OXI' (NO), and there followed Grazzi's departure.
When he returned to our room Metaxas told me right away, 'We are at war; Imust dress quickly.' He was ready in fifteen minutes and rang first the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where his office was located instructing it to inform the King and the border guard posts. Then he briefed Nicoloudis (Undersecretary for Press and Information), and Sir Michael Palairet of the British Embassy who was spending the summer nearby in Kifissia. All this happened within minutes as the Italian ultimatum expired at 6 a.m. We received Palairet and Nicoloudis in the main entrance, when Metaxas told them we are at war; help us for we are ready to fight for our country's honour. Then he returned to our room and told me, 'God is our help,' and that he may not be back home till late at night. But as it turned out he was back for lunch.'
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Vlachos (ed. founder and publisher of KATHIMERINI newspaper) gives us a vivid picture of the scene outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very early in the morning of 29 October 1940, only hours after Grazzi had handed the Duce's ultimatum to Metaxas, and the outbreak of war.
'All of Athens was out in the street... Thousands of people shouting and trampling over the Ministry's garden and orchard, having also surrounded Metaxas's parked car. Metaxas himself was by the outer gate surrounded by his two bodyguards, whom he ordered to step aside as the crowd got to him and swept him on its shoulders across to Army GHQ. I saw the dictator live the best moment of his life.(1,pp.64-66)...The open cable Metaxas sent to all Greek embassies abroad concluded that the Italian Ultimatum meant war and added that Greece will defend itself with all its forces against the Italian invasion.' (i,p.67)
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In the meantime he sought assistance with food and other essential provisions from Turkey. The capture of Koritsa a month later sent the cheering Athenians out in the streets again.
EXTRACT FROM: POPULAR AUTOCRACY IN GREECE 1936-1941 by P.J.Vatikiotis.1998. pp. 177-178. ISBN: 0-7146-4869-8
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OXI Day Revisited
"There is a touching note written in longhand by Lela Metaxas, widow of Metaxas, about the days leading up to the Italian ultimatum on 28 October 1940, in which, among other things, she reports,
'Eight days before 28 October 1940, I believe a Sunday, returning from the Ministry, Metaxas sat at a table for lunch and in a cheerful mood said,'Now they can come, we are ready. We will defeat them.' There were only the two of us at the table, and what impressed me was his calmness and the satisfaction etched on his face. I was very impressed because after the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli which was a signal-and no one was to mention the episode-I had forgotten what he said exactly then at the same place but vaguely somethingto the effect 'now we will keep quiet, we will ignore the torpedoist until the time is right, when we will be ready. We shall take our revenge, but we must get ready first.'
And so to 3 a.m. when we heard suddenly the telephone ring. Surprised we wondered who it could be at that hour. He put on his dressing gown and hurried to the phone. Travlos of Security was at the other end of the line who told Metaxas that the French Ambassador was asking to see him. Travlos had made a mistake: it was actually the Italian Ambassador, Grazzi, who was at the door. He returned to our room and said, 'What's up with Maugras (?); what indiscretion and how inconsiderate at this ungodly hour.' He straightened his hair quickly and went to meet him. He opened the main entrance door; they entered into the lounge with the desk in the middle of the room in front of the large green divan in which E. Grazzi sat to the right. Their conversation began calmly, but soon I heard an animated exchange, and an angry tone in my husband's voice followed by a loud bang of the palm of his hand on the top of the desk. It was the exact moment of the 'OXI' (NO), and there followed Grazzi's departure.
When he returned to our room Metaxas told me right away, 'We are at war; Imust dress quickly.' He was ready in fifteen minutes and rang first the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where his office was located instructing it to inform the King and the border guard posts. Then he briefed Nicoloudis (Undersecretary for Press and Information), and Sir Michael Palairet of the British Embassy who was spending the summer nearby in Kifissia. All this happened within minutes as the Italian ultimatum expired at 6 a.m. We received Palairet and Nicoloudis in the main entrance, when Metaxas told them we are at war; help us for we are ready to fight for our country's honour. Then he returned to our room and told me, 'God is our help,' and that he may not be back home till late at night. But as it turned out he was back for lunch.'
-----
Vlachos (ed. founder and publisher of KATHIMERINI newspaper) gives us a vivid picture of the scene outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very early in the morning of 29 October 1940, only hours after Grazzi had handed the Duce's ultimatum to Metaxas, and the outbreak of war.
'All of Athens was out in the street... Thousands of people shouting and trampling over the Ministry's garden and orchard, having also surrounded Metaxas's parked car. Metaxas himself was by the outer gate surrounded by his two bodyguards, whom he ordered to step aside as the crowd got to him and swept him on its shoulders across to Army GHQ. I saw the dictator live the best moment of his life.(1,pp.64-66)...The open cable Metaxas sent to all Greek embassies abroad concluded that the Italian Ultimatum meant war and added that Greece will defend itself with all its forces against the Italian invasion.' (i,p.67)
---
In the meantime he sought assistance with food and other essential provisions from Turkey. The capture of Koritsa a month later sent the cheering Athenians out in the streets again.
EXTRACT FROM: POPULAR AUTOCRACY IN GREECE 1936-1941 by P.J.Vatikiotis.1998. pp. 177-178. ISBN: 0-7146-4869-8
2 Comments:
My name is Yoan ('Ioan' on my birth certificate), and discovered Metaxas while researching the origins of my name. I don't know my real father, but I was told my father wanted to call me 'Ioannes' or 'Ioannis', so I have a few ideas... ;}
Regardless, I love your blog & read it often. Keep it up. I have my own site, and blog (livejournal.com/~yoan) thoug rarely update the second, and the first probably doesn't have anything you'd enjoy... yet. I am writing some political texts, and some fiction based in Classical Greece.
Anyway: stay healthy,
Yoan
Hey Ioan,
Thanks for commenting on the blog and for visiting , you are the type of person I wish would comment more. I visited the site linked to you blogger handle "the Eternal Versailles" and the live journal blog you cite. Both seem very interesting and I have bookmarked them for further reading.
Are you Greek? And just curious, what date did you make this comment post?
Best Regards,
-Hellenic Nationalist
Are you Greek?
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