Category Archives: 1940s

U.S. leaders approve immediate, unannounced atomic bomb strike on Japan 80 years ago this hour (June 1 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: '' (May 31-June 1, 1945, at 8:28)

(Friday, June 1, 1945, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m./1:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — The Interim Committee met again secretly today at the Pentagon, formally deciding that the atomic bomb “should be used against Japan as soon as possible; that it be used on a war plant surrounded by workers’ homes; and that it be used without prior warning.”


Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (June 1, 1945, 41:05)

Member James F. Byrnes then went to the White House and briefed President Harry S. Truman of the decision (click here for a clip of this event from “American Experience: Truman” at 1:46:11).

Interim Committee considers ‘demonstration’ of atomic bomb 80 years ago this hour (May 31 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (May 31, 1945, 32:09/39:27)

(Thursday, May 31, 1945, 10:00 a.m.-1:15 p.m./2:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — The Interim Committee, created by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson at the urging of leaders of the Manhattan Project (a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs), met secretly today at the Pentagon to consider the idea of giving the Japanese a non-combat demonstration of the new weapon of mass destruction.

First lady Bess Truman christens ambulance plane 80 years ago today (May 30 1945)

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


Video: 'Harry S. Truman — Bess Truman Christens an Ambulance Plane'

(Memorial Day, Wednesday, May 30, 1945; during World War II) — In her first public appearance as first lady, Bess Truman today tried to christen an ambulance plane at Washington’s National Airport with a unprepared bottle of champagne. Continue reading First lady Bess Truman christens ambulance plane 80 years ago today (May 30 1945) →

Nazi war criminal Heinrich Himmler commits suicide while in British custody 80 years ago this hour (May 23 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Death Of Himmler (1945)'

(Wednesday, May 23, 1945, 11:14 p.m. CEST; on the Western Front and Eastern Front during World War II) — Nazi official Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the people most directly responsible for the Holocaust, committed suicide tonight by biting into a cyanide capsule while in British custody in Luneburg, Germany. Continue reading Nazi war criminal Heinrich Himmler commits suicide while in British custody 80 years ago this hour (May 23 1945) →

Film actors Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall wed in Lucas, Ohio 80 years ago this hour (May 21 1945)

1940s, Movies 1940s


Video: ‘Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall Wedding at Malabar’

(Monday, May 21, 1945, shortly after noon EWT; during World War II) — Actors Humphrey Bogart, 45, and Lauren Bacall, 20, were married today in the spacious hallway of the twenty-room house of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield on Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio, in a three-minute ceremony. Continue reading Film actors Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall wed in Lucas, Ohio 80 years ago this hour (May 21 1945) →

USS Bunker Hill attacked, severely damaged off Okinawa 80 years ago this hour (May 11 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) damaged by suicide planes - 11 May 1945'

(Friday, May 11, 1945, shortly after 10:00 a.m. JST; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — The aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill was attacked and severely damaged today by two kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa; according to the U.S. Navy’s official website, 346 men were killed, 43 were left missing, and 264 were wounded.

Stutthof becomes last Nazi concentration camp liberated by Allies 80 years ago today (May 9 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration camp KL Stutthof'

(Wednesday, May 9, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Stutthof concentration camp, built in a secluded, wet, and wooded area near the small town of Sztutowo (Stutthof) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Gdansk in northern Poland, was liberated today by Soviet forces. Continue reading Stutthof becomes last Nazi concentration camp liberated by Allies 80 years ago today (May 9 1945) →

Oskar Schindler’s labor camp Brünnlitz liberated 80 years ago today (May 9 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Schindler's List (8/9) Movie CLIP - He Who Saves One Life Saves the World Entire (1993) HD'

(Wednesday, May 9, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The labor camp Brünnlitz, a sub-camp of the Nazi concentration camp Gross-Rosen located in the village of Brnenec in the Czech Republic where 1,200 Jews worked in a munitions factory, was liberated today by Soviet troops about 11 hours after their protector Oskar Schindler escaped. Continue reading Oskar Schindler’s labor camp Brünnlitz liberated 80 years ago today (May 9 1945) →

Soviet forces liberate Czechoslovakia 80 years ago this hour (May 9 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Liberation Of Prague (1945)'

(Wednesday, May 9, 1945, 8:00 a.m. CEST; during the Prague Offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II) — With World War II in Europe at an end, Soviet forces liberated Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation today. Continue reading Soviet forces liberate Czechoslovakia 80 years ago this hour (May 9 1945) →