Former U.S. Vice President and Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden took to twitter to observe OXI Day, an important day for Greece, on Wednesday.
Biden noted that “Greeks inspired the world” with their resistance to the Italian Forces of Mussolini in 1940.
See below Biden’s full tweet on OXI Day:
Today we celebrate the 80th anniversary of Oxi Day. Greeks inspired the free world when they resisted Mussolini’s invading army — and that courageous spirit lives on today, reminding us we too must stand up and do our part to safeguard our democracy.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 28, 2020
On October 28th, millions around the world commemorated OXI Day, a day honoring Greece’s courageous resistance during WWII.
On October 28th, 1940, the Italian ambassador to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi delivered an ultimatum from Benito Mussolini to Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas. The ultimatum was demanding the entry of the Italian army and the occupation of Greek territory.
When Metaxas was faced with this demand, he delivered an unequivocal response in French, (the diplomatic language of the day) “Alors, c’est la guerre.” This brief phrase, “Then, it is war,” was quickly transmuted into the laconic “Oxi” by the citizens of Athens.
A few years ago on OXI Day, Joe Biden had given a revealing and emotional speech as he was accepting an award for his late son, Beau Biden, from The Washington Oxi Day Foundation.
Here’s what he said about Greece, his relationship with Greek-Americans, and how he became Joe “Bidenopoulos.”
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