Pappas Leads Hellenic Caucus in Introducing Oxi Day Resolution

October 29, 2026 Press Release This week, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) , co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus , led bipartisan members of the Hellenic Caucus in introducing a resolution to designate October 28th as Oxi Day . On October 28, 1940, Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to surrender to Axis forces, answering "Oxi!" - or "No!" - to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's 3 A.M. ultimatum that he allow Axis forces to freely enter Greece or face war. Prime Minister Metaxas' refusal to relent to fascism sparked a national resistance movement, and Greece ultimately became the first country to repel the Axis invasion. Greece's resistance required Nazi forces to delay their invasion of Russia to intervene in the Greco-Italian War, a delay which caused the Nazi regime to face a brutal Russian winter which hindered their advance and ultimately led to their eventual defeat. Congressman Pappas was the first member of Congress to introduce legislation recognizing Oxi Day. Pappas first introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate October 28th as Oxi Day in 2019. He has done so every year since, with bipartisan support each time. The text of the resolution can be found here .