Category Archives: 1940s

Battle of Moscow begins as Germans renew drive on Russia’s largest city 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 2 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: '110 - A Huge New German Offensive Begins - Operation Typhoon! - WW2 - October 3, 1941' (Oct. 2, 1941, at 1:48)

(Thursday, October 2, 1941, 5:30 a.m. Moscow Standard Time; during the Battle of Moscow, part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — Having been diverted by Adolf Hitler’s order to move south to eliminate Russian forces at Kiev (which resulted in a huge triumph), German forces today resumed their advance on Moscow, largest city of the Soviet Union, with an offensive code-named Typhoon on a 370-mile sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. Continue reading Battle of Moscow begins as Germans renew drive on Russia’s largest city 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 2 1941) →

Majdanek concentration camp near Lublin in German-occupied Poland becomes operational 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 1 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Majdanek Concentration Camp' (23 videos)

(Wednesday, October 1, 1941; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — Majdanek (or Lublin), a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II, became operational today. Continue reading Majdanek concentration camp near Lublin in German-occupied Poland becomes operational 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 1 1941) →

Special SS squads begin massacring nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children at Babi Yar ravine outside Kiev 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 29 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The Rape of Humanity at Babi Yar - War Against Humanity 019 - September 1941 Pt. 2' (Sept. 29, 1941, at 6:09)

(Monday, September 29, 1941, approximately 8:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during the Babi Yar massacre and The Holocaust, part of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front of World War II) — SS and German police units and their auxiliaries, under guidance of members of Einsatzgruppe C, began murdering a large portion of the Jewish population of Kiev today at Babi Yar, a ravine northwest of the city. Continue reading Special SS squads begin massacring nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children at Babi Yar ravine outside Kiev 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 29 1941) →

‘Blue Champagne’ by Jimmy Dorsey peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago today #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 27 1941)

1940s, Popular Music 1940s

(Saturday, September 27, 1941) — “Blue Champagne” by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (fox trot vocal chorus by Bob Eberly) peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for one week. Continue reading ‘Blue Champagne’ by Jimmy Dorsey peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago today #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 27 1941) →

Germans capture Kiev and take 500,000 Red Army soldiers prisoner 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 19 1941)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World at War: Barbarossa: June-December 1941 (5 of 26)' (Kiev falls @ 29:35)

(Friday, September 19, 1941; during First Battle of Kiev, part of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front of World War II) — Kiev, a city of 850,000, third largest in the Soviet Union and next in importance to Moscow and Leningrad of the three top German objectives, fell this morning after its last strong fortications on the west bank of the Dnieper River had been smashed by violent Nazi charges. Continue reading Germans capture Kiev and take 500,000 Red Army soldiers prisoner 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 19 1941) →

Siege of Leningrad begins as Germans reach Lake Ladoga at Shlisselburg 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 8 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: '107 - Victory for the Red Army! - WW2 - September 12, 1941' (Sept. 8, 1941, at 4:20)

(Monday, September 8, 1941; part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — The siege of Leningrad, a prolonged military blockade undertaken from the south by the Army Group North of Nazi Germany against the Soviet city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) on the Eastern Front in World War II, began today when the Germans reached Lake Ladoga at Shlisselburg. Continue reading Siege of Leningrad begins as Germans reach Lake Ladoga at Shlisselburg 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 8 1941) →

German submarine fires on destroyer USS Greer off Iceland in first Nazi attack against an American ship 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 4 1941)

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

Video: 'The World at War: On Our Way: U.S.A. - 1939-1942 (7 of 26)' (Greer Incident at 13:34)'

(Thursday, September 4, 1941, 12:45 p.m. UTC; during the Battle of the Atlantic, part of World War II) — The USS Greer, a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, became the first U.S. vessel fired on in World War II when a German submarine (later identified as U-652) aimed a few torpedoes at it today, sparking heightened tensions between Nazi Germany and the United States, three months before America officially entered World War II. Continue reading German submarine fires on destroyer USS Greer off Iceland in first Nazi attack against an American ship 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 4 1941) →

Nazis order Jewish Germans to wear yellow badge when in public 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 1 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Key Historical Concepts in Holocaust Education: The Jewish Badge'

(Monday, September 1, 1941, during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — The requirement to wear the yellow badges with the word Jude (German for Jew) inscribed in letters meant to resemble Hebrew writing was extended today to all Jews over the age of six in the Reich and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (by a decree issued today signed by Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust), effective Sept. 19, 1941. Continue reading Nazis order Jewish Germans to wear yellow badge when in public 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 1 1941) →

‘Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)’ by Jimmy Dorsey peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 30 1941)

1940s, Popular Music 1940s

(Saturday, August 30, 1941) — “Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)” by Jimmy Dorsey peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for the first of four consecutive weeks (Aug. 30, Sept. 6/13/20, 1941). Continue reading ‘Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)’ by Jimmy Dorsey peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 30 1941) →

Massacre of 23,600 Jews in Nazi-occupied Soviet city of Kamianets-Podilskyi begins 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 27 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The SS and Wehrmacht Murder Inc. - War Against Humanity 017 - August 1941, Part 2' (Kamianets-Podilskyi massacre at 15:19)

(Wednesday, August 27, 1941; during the Kamianets-Podilskyi massacre, part of the Holocaust, part of World War II) — The Kamianets-Podilskyi massacre, a World War II mass shooting of Jews carried out in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the Soviet Union), began today in the Soviet city of Kamianets-Podilskyi (now southwest Ukraine), occupied by German troops since July 11, 1941.  Continue reading Massacre of 23,600 Jews in Nazi-occupied Soviet city of Kamianets-Podilskyi begins 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 27 1941) →