Today is Ochi Day in Greece and Cyprus, a public holiday. The day commemorates Greece’s refusal to yield to Axis demands for surrender in 1940.
At 3am on October 28th 1940, an ultimatum from Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was handed to former military general and Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas at his home in Kifissia by the Italian Ambassador of Athens, Emanuele Grazzi. The ultimatum required the free passage of the Italian army through the Greek-Albanian border, signalling the Italian occupation of some strategic areas of Greece.
After reading the letter, Metaxas turned to the Italian Ambassador and famously responded “Ochi!” – “No!” in Greek. That “No!” brought Greece into the second world war on the side of the Allies. Indeed, for a period, Greece was Britain’s only ally against Hitler.
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On this day in 1967, Diana Ross and the Supremes Greatest Hits started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart. Although original member Florence Ballard is pictured on the cover and sings on all the tracks, by the time the LP was released, she had been fired from the group and replaced by Cindy Birdsong.
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