The Washington-based Oxi Day Foundation has released a new one-minute video highlighting the Greek and Greek-American philanthropists whose support has helped bring the story of Greece’s heroic stand during World War II to an international audience over the past 15 years.
The video pays tribute to the individuals and families whose generosity has enabled the Foundation to recognise modern-day acts of courage through its annual Oxi Day Courage Awards. Each year, one man and one woman are honoured for demonstrating the same spirit of bravery displayed by the Greek people when they rejected the Axis ultimatum on October 28, 1940.
The Foundation also presents the Metropolitan Chrysostomos Award, commemorating the courage of Metropolitan Chrysostomos and Mayor Loukas Karrer of Zakynthos, who defied Nazi demands for a list of the island’s Jewish residents. Instead of revealing their community, they protected every Jewish resident by hiding them in mountain villages, while submitting only their own names to the occupying forces.
Among the leading supporters recognised in the video are the Logothetis family, George Marcus, John Calamos, the Bouras Foundation, the Vasileos Haseotes family, Michael Psaros, Dennis Mehiel, Pete and Danialle Karmanos, Bill Matagaras, Dean Metropoulos, Gerry Ranglas and the Pedas family.
According to the Foundation, their support has helped raise international awareness of Greece’s wartime contribution by engaging global leaders and influential figures, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former US Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, Bono, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Russian opposition figure and Pulitzer Prize recipient Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The Foundation also notes that three recent Oxi Day Award recipients later went on to receive Nobel Prizes, while another recipient was invited by a US president to address a joint session of the US Congress during a State of the Union address.
Each year, the Oxi Day Awards are presented at a black-tie gala in Washington, DC, attended by government officials, diplomats, community leaders and members of the Greek diaspora. The event has helped share Greece’s wartime story with audiences across 22 countries through international media coverage of the award recipients.
As preparations begin for the 2026 Oxi Day Awards, the Foundation is encouraging organisations, media outlets and community leaders to share the newly released video to further promote awareness of Greece’s historic stand during World War II and honour the Greek and Greek-American benefactors whose continued support has sustained the initiative for more than a decade.
The Foundation also acknowledged the role of journalists and media organisations in helping preserve and share the story of Oxi Day with audiences around the world.