Category Archives: 1940s

Soviet forces launch Battle of Berlin against Nazi Germany 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World at War Episode 21 - Nemesis - Germany (February - May 1945)' (Apr. 16, 1945, at 16:04)

(Monday, April 16, 1945, 4:00 a.m. Central Euroopean Summer Time; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — The final chapter in the destruction of Hitler’s Third Reich began today when the Soviets unleashed the brutal power of 20 armies, 6,300 tanks and 8,500 aircraft with the objective of crushing German resistance and capturing Berlin. Continue reading Soviet forces launch Battle of Berlin against Nazi Germany 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945) →

U.S. forces invade Japanese island of Ie Shima 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Lost in the Fog of War: Battle of Ie Shima 1945'

(Monday, April 16, 1945, first waves of assault troops landed at 7:58 a.m. Japan Standard Time; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — The 77th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army assaulted Ie Island (Ie Shima), a small island off the western end of the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa. Continue reading U.S. forces invade Japanese island of Ie Shima 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt buried at Hyde Park 80 years ago this hour (Apr 15 1945)

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


Video: 'FDR: A Presidency Revealed: Part 19' (Apr. 15, 1945, at 2:35)

(Sunday, April 15, 1945, 11:00 a.m. EWT; during World War II) — In the hedge-enclosed garden of his ancestral Hyde Park estate in New York, high above the eternal flow of the Hudson, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid at rest this morning in the presence of President Harry S. Truman and ranking officials of this country and representatives of other nations. Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt buried at Hyde Park 80 years ago this hour (Apr 15 1945) →

Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 15 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp — Footage from Liberation // Colorized & Restored'

(Sunday, April 15, 1945, afternoon Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — 60,000 (mostly sick) prisoners at the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle, were liberated today by British and Canadian troops. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 15 1945) →

500,000 view FDR’s final march in Washington 80 years ago this hour (Apr 14 1945)

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


Video: 'The funeral procession for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt April 14, 1945'

(Saturday, April 14, 1945, 11:20 a.m. EWT; during World War II) — Along streets that seemed heavy with a still and severely controlled grief, and which were silent but for the somber intermittent hymns of the military bands and the soft footfalls of marching service men and women, the body of Franklin D. Roosevelt was carried today upon a black caisson of honor back to the White House for the official farewell of the United States and of all the friendly world. Continue reading 500,000 view FDR’s final march in Washington 80 years ago this hour (Apr 14 1945) →

Nazis murder 1,016 slave laborers in Gardelegen massacre 80 years ago today (Apr 13 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The HORRIFIC Burning Alive Of The Concentration Camp Prisoners'

(Friday, April 13, 1945 evening Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — German SS and Luftwaffe troops forced 1,016 slave laborers (who were part of a transport evacuated from the Mittelbau-Dora labor camp) into a large barn on the Isenschnibbe estate near the northern German town of Gardelegen, which was then lit on fire. Continue reading Nazis murder 1,016 slave laborers in Gardelegen massacre 80 years ago today (Apr 13 1945) →

President Truman assumes duties, tells reporters to ‘pray for me now’ 80 years ago this hour (Apr 13 1945)

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

truman

(Friday, April 13, 1945, luncheon began at 12:30 p.m. EWT; during World War II) –President Harry S. Truman, beginning his first full day in the nation’s highest office following the sudden death of President Roosevelt, asked the American people for their prayers today. Continue reading President Truman assumes duties, tells reporters to ‘pray for me now’ 80 years ago this hour (Apr 13 1945) →

Roosevelt’s flag-draped funeral train leaves Warm Springs, Georgia 80 years ago this hour (Apr 13 1945)

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


Video: 'Funeral Of President Roosevelt (1945)' (Apr. 13, 1945, at 0:34-1:39)

(Friday, April 13, 1945, 10:13 a.m. Central War Time; during World War II) — A train carrying the body of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for a memorial tomorrow in Washington departed Warm Springs, Georgia, today, one day after the president’s death by a massive cerebral hemorrhage (stroke). Continue reading Roosevelt’s flag-draped funeral train leaves Warm Springs, Georgia 80 years ago this hour (Apr 13 1945) →

Harry S. Truman sworn in as 33rd President of the United States 80 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945)

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


Video: 'Truman Being Sworn In (1945)'

(Thursday, April 12, 1945, 7:09 p.m. Eastern War Time; during World War II) — Vice President Harry S. Truman of Missouri, 60, standing erect, with his sharp features taut and looking straight ahead through his large, round glasses, became the 33rd President of the United States tonight in a ceremony lasting not more than a minute in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Continue reading Harry S. Truman sworn in as 33rd President of the United States 80 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage 80 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945)

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


Video: 'Death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt' (Apr. 12, 1945, at 0:00-2:00)

(Thursday, April 12, 1945, 3:35 p.m. Central War Time; during World War II) — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, War President of the United States and the only Chief Executive in history who was chosen for more than two terms, died suddenly and unexpectedly today at Warm Springs, Georgia. He was 63. Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage 80 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945) →