Category Archives: 1940s

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) →

Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler sickened after witnessing mass execution at concentration camp 80 years #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 15 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II

Video: 'The World at War: Genocide: 1941-1945 (20 of 26)' (Himmler's visit to Minsk at 21:46)

(Friday, August 15, 1941; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — While inspecting the Shirokaya Street Concentration Camp today in Minsk, Belarus, Heinrich Himmler,  one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of The Holocaust,  asked to witness the shooting of 100 Jews, a sight that nauseated him when brain matter and blood sprayed his uniform. Continue reading Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler sickened after witnessing mass execution at concentration camp 80 years #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 15 1941) →

FDR and Churchill attend Sunday services aboard British battleship in Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 10 1941)

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


Video: 'President To Prime Minister - Historic Meeting (1941)' (Aug. 10, 1941, at 3:19)

(Sunday, August 10, 1941, 10:00 a.m. Newfoundland Daylight Time; during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill attended attended religious services today aboard the British battleship Prince of Wales at Placentia Bay in Newfoundland on the second day of the four-day the Atlantic Conference. Continue reading FDR and Churchill attend Sunday services aboard British battleship in Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 10 1941) →

FDR and Churchill begin first wartime conference aboard USS Augusta off Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 9 1941)

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


Video: 'President To Prime Minister - Historic Meeting (1941)' (Aug. 9, 1941, at 0:09-3:17)

(Saturday, August 9, 1941, 11:00 a.m. Newfoundland Daylight Time; during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly met aboard the USS Augusta today at Placentia Bay in Newfoundland to begin the four-day Atlantic Conference (codenamed Riviera), the first of nine face-to-face conferences between the two leaders during World War II. Continue reading FDR and Churchill begin first wartime conference aboard USS Augusta off Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 9 1941) →

Only existing moving footage of Anne Frank taken in Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 22 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust


Video: 'Anne Frank - The Only Known Video'

(Tuesday, July 22, 1941, during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — 12-year-old Anne Frank, a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage who would gain fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl, was filmed today leaning out of the window of her Amsterdam home in Nazi-occupied Holland to get a good look at a neighbor’s wedding party below. Continue reading Only existing moving footage of Anne Frank taken in Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 22 1941) →

Anne Frank attends wedding of Jan and Miep Gies in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 16 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II

(Wednesday, July 16, 1941; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — 12-year-old Anne Frank, a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage who would gain fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl, and her father, Otto, were photographed today on their way to the wedding of family friends Miep Santrouschitz, 32, and Jan Glies, 35, in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Continue reading Anne Frank attends wedding of Jan and Miep Gies in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 16 1941) →

Nazi Germany attacks Soviet Russia with largest invasion force in history of warfare 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 22 1941)

1940s, World War II

Video: '096a - Operation Barbarossa - Biggest Land Invasion in History - WW2 - June 22 1941'

(Sunday, June 22, 1941, at around 3:15 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Barbarossa, part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — Nazi Germany and some of its Axis allies began bombing major cities in Soviet-occupied Poland and an artillery barrage on Red Army defenses on the entire Eastern Front of World War II this morning, launching Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Continue reading Nazi Germany attacks Soviet Russia with largest invasion force in history of warfare 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 22 1941) →