Remembering Greek Courage

Few know that women participated fully in the first civilian counterattack experienced by the Nazis on Crete, Greece. Fewer know that the Nazis killed 1,000 Cretan women in retaliation for this resistance and sent 500 more to camps. The Battle of Crete resulted in more Nazi deaths than any one-day in the then year-old war. Who remembers that the outnumbered and outgunned Greeks were the first in the world to defeat a seemingly unbeatable Axis invasion that had crushed 15 countries leading up to this point?

Many know that Greece created democracy but, until now, few people realize that the Greeks played a crucial role saving it during World War II and Hitler's Holocaust. Many US and world leaders -- ranging from Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, to internationally regarded musician and humanitarian Bono and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi -- tell this little-known story of David vs. Goliath courage in this short video.

Andy Manatos, President and Founder, Washington Oxi Day Foundation