Category: 1940s
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On this day in history, Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft is arrested by Nazi Police at a military checkpoint in Haarlem, Netherlands. March 21, 1945
Image: Hannie Schaft (Public Domain) On this day in history, March 21, 1945, Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft is arrested by Nazi Police at a military checkpoint in Haarlem, Netherlands. Early in the war, Schaft became an active member of a Communist resistance cell, hiding and assisting Jews who were being rounded up for “resettlement”…
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The Bombing of Dresden, February 13, 1945.
Image: Dresden viewed from the Rathaus (city hall) in 1945, showing destruction. (Public Domain) On this day in history, February 13, 1945, over 800 Royal Air Force Lancaster’s descended on Dresden, Germany, “the Florence of the Elbe,” and with its lethal cargo, turned the city into a raging inferno killing approximately 25,000 innocent people and completely flattening…
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The Great Raid, January 30, 1945 – Part 2
Following are 74 photographs taken during the Raid at Cabanatuan / The Great Raid, which involved the rescue of roughly 500 Allied POWs & Civilians from a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines by US Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Philippine guerrillas on January 30, 1945. For more see our entry for January…
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The Great Raid Occured Where 500 Allied POWs were Freed in the Philippines, January 30, 1945.
134 U.S. Army Rangers and Alamo Scouts, along with about 280 Filipino guerilla fighters, successfully raided a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Cabanatuan City, Philippines, extricating more than 500 Allied POWs. January 30, 1945. Image: Different routes were used for the infiltration and extraction behind Japanese lines during the Raid at Cabanatuan (Public Domain) On…
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American Gangster Al Capone Died Eight Days After His 48th Birthday. January 25, 1947.
Image: “Scarface” Al Capone is shown here at the Chicago Detective bureau following his arrest on a vagrancy charge as Public Enemy No. 1 On this day in history, January 25, 1947, American gangster Al Capone died eight days after his 48th birthday. After suffering for years from paresis (a late stage of syphilis), which…
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The Wannsee Conference, Where 15 High-Ranking Nazi Party and German Government Officials Gathered at a Villa in a Berlin Suburb to Discuss and Coordinate the Implementation of the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” January 20, 1942.
Image: The villa Am Großen Wannsee 56–58, where the Wannsee Conference was held, is now a memorial and museum. (Public Domain) On this day in history, the Wannsee Conference, where 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in a Berlin suburb to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the “Final…
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The Second Great Fire of London, on the Evening of December 29, 1940, Resulted From One of the Most Devastating Air Raids of the Blitz During World War II.
Image: The view from the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral towards the Old Bailey after the second Great Fire of London. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 29, 1940, London, England, suffered its most destructive air raid when the German Luftwaffe firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires initiated by the igniting incendiary bombs…
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General George S. Patton, Commanding Officer of the U.S. 15th Army, Died From Wounds Suffered Not in Battle but in an Odd Car Accident. He was 60 years old. At 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945, Patton Passed Away in His Sleep.
Image: Major General Walter M. Robertson (back seat), commanding the 2nd Infantry Division, with Lieutenant General Patton pass in review of elements of Patton’s Third Army in April 1944, prior to the Normandy invasion in June. (Public Domain) On this day in history, General George S. Patton, commanding officer of the U.S. 15th Army, died…
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Legendary Big Band Leader Captain Glenn Miller’s Plane Would Go Missing Over the English Channel En Route to France for a Concert for American Troops That Had Assisted in the Liberation of Paris. December 15, 1944.
Glenn Miller On this day in history, December 15, 1944, trombonist and legendary big band leader Captain Glenn Miller, the biggest star of the American pop-music scene in the years directly before World War II and a man who set aside his dazzling career right at its pinnacle in 1942 to serve America as leader…
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A Group of 360 Japanese Warplanes Struck the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in a Brutal Attack. The Surprise Assault Caused a Significant Blow Against the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pulled the United States Irreversibly Into World War II. December 7, 1941.
Image: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A small boat rescues a seaman from the 31,800 ton USS West Virginia (BB-48), which is burning in the foreground. Smoke rolling out amidships shows where the most extensive damage occurred. Note the two men in the superstructure. The USS Tennessee (BB-43) is inboard. (Public Domain). On this day in history,…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 