[longtermmemmory]

""The 11th Day chronicles the story of the men, women, and children of the Cretan civilian resistance movement and their relentless battle against Nazi occupation forces from 1941-1945—a battle which inspired Churchill to proclaim, “Until now, we knew that Greeks were fighting like heroes; from now on we shall say that the heroes fight like Greeks.” Their stories are told first hand, and on-location, through exclusive interviews with the resistance fighters themselves. Some were just child recruits at the time, boys and girls; others were seasoned veterans, and still others were the Allied soldiers and British intelligence operatives who fought alongside them. Together, they would inflict upon Germany its first major defeat of the war, decimating half of Hitler's 8,000 elite airborne assault troops in the first 48 hours. Cretan civilians fought alongside their comrades from England, Australia, and New Zealand throughout 10 fateful days in May 1941. Once the Germans took over the island, the Cretan people rallied to their first acts of resistance the following day: They risked and gave their lives to help the Allied soldiers escape..."" (part of press release from site)

""The 11th Day is an independent documentary film, so our resources are limited. We’re a small crew of 5 people, so please add your voices to our own and help us spread the word! This is our opportunity as Greeks to stand up and honor the sacrifices made by our elders, unjustly ignored by history, and to preserve their incredible stories for future generations. It is time for us to celebrate their unrecognized contribution to the defeat of Nazi tyranny, and to make sure that it is we Greeks who preserve our history, lest it be forgotten or written by others.

Please tell your family and friends to visit www.crete1941.com for the film’s tour schedule, preview clips, photo galleries, recent media coverage, t-shirts & hats, and more. Check out our on-line postcards, which let you email small clips of the film to family and friends; it’s a great way to tell people about the film. Help us keep this project alive! Nobody can spread news and gossip like us Greeks, so help us get the word out to everyone and your local press.

We hope to see you on the tour, and thanks again for your support—

The 11th Day producers and crew"" (from press release)

[longtermmemmory]

If you have a group you can contact the site to arrange a private screening for your group. Many local Greek Churches and organizations are arranging the screenings.

http://www.crete1941.com/home4.htm

info@the11thday.com or 916-972-1120

The website says many of the actors were actual decendents of those who fought back the Nazis.

I have actually had the pleasure of meeting some of these actual fighters and have the honor of being related to one.

These people beat back the best of the best of Hitler. When they did not have guns the used whatever they had at hand. It is an inspirational story that has extra special meaning in this day and age.

You will not see the MSM cover this movie. The critics will find something to have a problem. The oscars will ignore it.

You can see the trailers here http://www.crete1941.com/home4.htm

It even has a comment from Congressman Billirakis (R)

[Riley]

One hell of a nasty fight. Farmers chopping up just-landed Fallschirmjaeger with farming tools.

After the casualty figures were in- Hitler was appalled. He decided that airborne operations were not worth the cost, and ordered that there be no more large-scale operations of that type. Most of the rest of the German paratroop forces went on to become plain old infantry, although retaining their distinctive uniforms and helmets.

In the fight for Crete- German paratroops typically dropped without most of their weapons. Those were in airdropped containers that were dropped with them. They were vulnerable for a few minutes on landing, while they located the containers and got organized.

[Eagles6]

save.

[eleni121]

Thanks for reposting this information. The 11th Day is indeed a wonderful documentary showing the incredible bravery of the Greeks in fighting the Nazi onslaught.

Went up to Toronto to see it in a packed house last year. It is well worth the effort to see it.

[eleni121]

Greek ping!

[MajorityOfOne]

Didn't I read somewhere that Crete was a minor distraction for the Nazis, but was enough to cause Hitler to delay the invasion of Russia for a few weeks? It seems those few weeks may have made a crucial difference.