{"id":3517,"date":"2025-02-10T04:41:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T04:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/10\/songstress-of-victory-and-symbol-of-resistance\/"},"modified":"2025-02-10T04:41:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T04:41:39","slug":"songstress-of-victory-and-symbol-of-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/10\/songstress-of-victory-and-symbol-of-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Songstress Of Victory And Symbol Of Resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-first=\"H\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<h2><strong>Her voice, a haunting bass filled with hope and inspiration, resonated through war-torn Greece. <\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>It was the voice of Sofia Vembo, who defied Nazi orders to become a clandestine wartime anthem for Greek troops. Even today, generations later, her patriotic and satirical songs continue to bewitch the nation.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-95746 size-full lazy\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896.jpg\" alt=\"On this day in 1910, Sofia Vembo &quot;Songstress of Victory&quot; was born\" width=\"568\" height=\"404\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896.jpg 568w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896-450x320.jpg 450w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896-225x160.jpg 225w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FB_IMG_1612940645896-20x15.jpg 20w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sofia_Vembo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sofia Vembo (\u03a3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1 \u0392\u03ad\u03bc\u03c0\u03bf)<\/a> became synonymous with patriotic fervor during the Greco-Italian War when she was dubbed the \u201cSongstress of Victory\u201d for her electrifying performances. Born on February 10, 1910, in Gallipoli, East Thrace (Turkey), she launched her career in Thessaloniki in the 1930s, her distinctly sonorous contralto voice quickly capturing hearts.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:24\">Vembo\u2019s fame skyrocketed after the Italian attack on October 28, 1940. Her stirring renditions of patriotic and satirical songs became a powerful source of inspiration for fighting soldiers. She used her voice to uplift the troops and demonstrated remarkable generosity, donating 2,000 gold pounds from her personal fortune to the Hellenic Navy.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:257\">When the Germans invaded and occupied Greece in April 1941, Vembo refused to be silenced. Transported to the Middle East, she continued to perform with unwavering spirit, captivating Greek troops in exile and remaining a beacon of hope during a dark period.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-editing=\"1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-95742 alignright lazy\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Sophia-Vembo.jpg\" alt=\"Sophia Vembo\" width=\"214\" height=\"272\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Sophia-Vembo.jpg 252w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Sophia-Vembo-236x300.jpg 236w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Sophia-Vembo-20x25.jpg 20w, https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Sophia-Vembo-225x286.jpg 225w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Because of her role in the war and her efforts during the Axis occupation, Vembo was awarded the rank of Major in the Greek Army.<\/p>\n<p>Some of her songs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Duce puts on his uniform (\u0392\u03ac\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9 \u03bf \u039d\u03c4\u03bf\u03cd\u03c4\u03c3\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b7 \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5)<\/li>\n<li>The tobacco box (\u0397 \u03c4\u03b1\u03bc\u03c0\u03b1\u03ba\u03b9\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1)<\/li>\n<li>Egyptian girl (\u039c\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c1\u03bb\u03bf\u03cd)<\/li>\n<li>Children, of Greece children (\u03a0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03ac \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03ac)<\/li>\n<li>How I\u2019m sorry (\u03a0\u03cc\u03c3\u03bf \u03bb\u03c5\u03c0\u03ac\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9)<\/li>\n<li>I love you, and I like the life (\u03a3\u2019 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03ce \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u2019 \u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b7 \u03b6\u03c9\u03ae)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Vembo\u2019s most famous song, \u201cChildren of Greece, Children,\u201d was written after the Italian attack on Greece on 28 October 1940. It encouraged the Greek soldiers during the Greek-Italian War.<\/p>\n<p>The song still remains popular and is heard on every OXI Day.<\/p>\n<p>After a long and tumultuous relationship with her songwriter and lyricist, Mimi Traiforos, she finally married him in 1957.<\/p>\n<p>Her frail health meant fewer performances in the \u201870s, but her defiant spirit came through during the Polytechnic student rebellion under the oppressive junta regime. Her home soon turned into a sanctuary for students fleeing the military police. Such was the respect she commanded among uniformed troops that the army did not dare question her motives.<\/p>\n<p>Sofia died on March 11, 1978, following a fatal stroke. The throngs at her funeral were a testament to how deeply this lady, who survived war and poverty to become a rallying voice for the brave and wounded, was adored by a grateful nation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0392\u0395\u039c\u03a0\u039f -\u03a0\u0391\u0399\u0394\u0399\u0391 \u03a4\u0397\u03a3 \u0395\u039b\u039b\u0391\u0394\u039f\u03a3 \u03a0\u0391\u0399\u0394\u0399\u0391\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l8JzuSXs0GU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Children of Greece children<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Lyrics: Mimis Traiforos<\/li>\n<li>Music: Michalis Souyoul<\/li>\n<li>Performer: Sofia Vembo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Among the roads, wander<\/p>\n<p>Mothers and the look<br \/>To meet<br \/>Their children, who made an oath<br \/>When were parting on the station<br \/>To win<\/p>\n<p>But for those who has gone<br \/>And the glory wraps them<br \/>Let us rejoice<br \/>And let no one ever cry<br \/>Let her burn every her pain<br \/>And let us bless<\/p>\n<p>Children, of Greece children<br \/>Who fight severely up in mountains<br \/>Children, to sweet Mother of God<br \/>We all pray for you to come back again<\/p>\n<p>And I say to all those, who love<br \/>And doesn\u2019t sleep night for someone<br \/>And sigh,<br \/>That the bitterness and fear<br \/>To a honorable Greek woman<br \/>Do not suit<\/p>\n<p>Greek women of Zalongo<br \/>And of the city, and of the forest<br \/>And Plaka residents<br \/>However bitterly we feel pain<br \/>Let us say proudly<br \/>As Souliot women<\/p>\n<p>Children, of Greece children<br \/>Who fight severely up in mountains<br \/>Children, to sweet Mother of God<br \/>We all pray for you to come back again<\/p>\n<p>With the branches of victory<br \/>We are waiting for you, children.<\/p>\n<p>Greek Cuisine Crowned Best in the World by Taste Atlas<\/p>\n<footer class=\"article-tags entry-footer\">\n<div>\n<strong>Tags:<\/strong><br \/>\nChildren of Greece children, Greco-Italian War, Greek army, greek news today, Mussolini, Oxi, Rank of major, Sofia Vembo, Songstress of Victory, WWII, \u03a0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03ac \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03ac, \u03a3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1 \u0392\u03ad\u03bc\u03c0\u03bf<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/2025\/02\/10\/sofia-vembo-songstress-of-victory-and-symbol-of-resistance-2\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Her voice, a haunting bass filled with hope and inspiration, resonated through war-torn Greece. It was the voice of Sofia Vembo, who defied Nazi orders to become a clandestine wartime anthem for Greek troops. Even today, generations later, her patriotic and satirical songs continue to bewitch the nation. \u00a0 Sofia Vembo (\u03a3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1 \u0392\u03ad\u03bc\u03c0\u03bf) became synonymous &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Songstress Of Victory And Symbol Of Resistance\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/10\/songstress-of-victory-and-symbol-of-resistance\/#more-3517\" aria-label=\"Read more about Songstress Of Victory And Symbol Of Resistance\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-02-10-at-9.16.00-pm.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}