Category Archives: 1940s

Stimson briefs Truman on ‘most terrible weapon ever known’ 80 years ago this hour (Apr 25 1945)

1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (Apr. 25, 1945, at 9:50)

(Wednesday, April 25, 1945, 12 noon EWT; during World War II) — U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson briefed President Harry Truman today about the possibility of an atomic weapon, outlined the history and status of the program and predicted that “within four months we shall in all probability have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history” (click here for a clip of Apr. 24 and this day in 1945 on “American Experience: Truman” at 1:40:57). Continue reading Stimson briefs Truman on ‘most terrible weapon ever known’ 80 years ago this hour (Apr 25 1945) →

U.S. and Soviet troops link up, cutting Nazi Germany in two 80 years ago this hour (Apr 25 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (U.S. and Soviet troops link up at 51:49)

(Wednesday, April 25, 1945, 4:40 p.m. Central European Summer Time; on the Western Front and Eastern Front during World War II) — The Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, met today at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s defenses. Continue reading U.S. and Soviet troops link up, cutting Nazi Germany in two 80 years ago this hour (Apr 25 1945) →

U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson requests meeting with President Truman to discuss ‘highly secret matter’ 80 years ago today (Apr 24 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (Apr. 24, 1945, at 8:55)

(Tuesday, April 24, 1945; during World War II) — U.S. Secretary of War Henry Simson wrote a memo today to President Harry Truman about the urgent need to discuss a “highly secret matter,” the atomic bomb.

Eyewitnesses provide filmed testimonies of Nazi atrocities 80 years ago today (Apr 24 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Memory of the Camps (full documentary) | FRONTLINE' (Apr. 24, 1945, at 19:29/27:57)

(Tuesday, April 24, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — Eyewitnesses today provided filmed testimonies of the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, liberated Apr. 15, 1945, in Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle, by British and Canadian troops. Continue reading Eyewitnesses provide filmed testimonies of Nazi atrocities 80 years ago today (Apr 24 1945) →

U.S. President Truman confronts Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov on Poland 80 years ago this hour (Apr 23 1945)

1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (Apr. 22 1945, at 6:47)

(Monday, April 23, 1945, 5:30 EWT; during World War II) — U.S. President Harry Truman met today at the White House with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and demanded that Russia bide by the Yalta agreement to hold free elections in Poland (click here for a clip of this day on “American Experience: Truman” at 1:38:58).

Nazi concentration camp Flossenbürg liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 23 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Liberation of Flossenburg Concentration Camp'

(Monday, April 23, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The remaining 3,000 inmates, including 1,400 women, at the Nazi concentration camp Flossenbürg in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia, were liberated today by the U.S. Army. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Flossenbürg liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 23 1945) →

Molotov arrives in Washington to confer with Stettinius, Eden 80 years ago this hour (Apr 22 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (Apr. 22 1945, at 6:17)

(Sunday, April 22, 1945, 5:46 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrived in Washington by plane from Moscow today. And within four hours began conferring with U.S. Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius Jr. and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden on the question of the representation of Poland at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which is scheduled to open at San Francisco on Apr. 25, 1945.

Hitler falls into tearful rage when General Steiner fails to move 80 years ago this afternoon (Apr 22 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (Apr. 22, 1945, at 29:48)

(Sunday, April 22, 1945, early afternoon CEST; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — At his afternoon situation conference today, German dictator Adolf Hitler was told units commanded by Waffen-SS General Felix Steiner had not moved after being ordered to attack the northern flank of the encircling Soviet salient. Continue reading Hitler falls into tearful rage when General Steiner fails to move 80 years ago this afternoon (Apr 22 1945) →

Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 22 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Hitler's SS in Sachsenhausen... One of the worst Nazi concentration camps'

(Sunday, April 22, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The remaining 3,000 inmates, including 1,400 women, at the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg, Germany, (35 km north of the center of Berlin) used primarily for political prisoners, were liberated today by the Red Army and the Polish Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 22 1945) →

Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (Apr. 21, 1945, at 28:15)

(Saturday, April 21, 1945; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — Soviet tanks thundered into the northeastern suburbs of Berlin today, breaching the Nazi capital’s final outer defenses in a meticulously planned offensive aimed at delivering the death blow to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Continue reading Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945) →