Category Archives: 1940s

German troops crush two-month-old Warsaw Uprising after 250,000 deaths 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 2 1944)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Warsaw Rising: The Forgotten Soldiers of World War II'

(Monday, October 2, 1944, 8:00 p.m. Central Euroopean Summer Time; during the Warsaw Uprising, part of Operation Tempest on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German troops today crushed the two-month-old Warsaw Uprising, a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation during which nearly a quarter of a million people were killed. Continue reading German troops crush two-month-old Warsaw Uprising after 250,000 deaths 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 2 1944) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt opens campaign for fourth term with hilarious ‘Fala’ speech 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 23 1944)

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


Video: 'FDR Fala Campaign Speech 1944'

(Saturday, September 23, 1944, 9:31 p.m. EWT; during the 1944 United States presidential election campaign, held during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened his campaign for a fourth term tonight, derisively defending Fala, his black Scottie dog, against a Republican political attack. Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt opens campaign for fourth term with hilarious ‘Fala’ speech 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 23 1944) →

Allied paratroopers launch Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in Holland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 17 1944)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Operation Market Garden: The Allies' Disastrous Attempt To End The War Early'

(Sunday, September 17, 1944, 12:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Market Garden, part of the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine on the Western Front during the Second World War) — In a bold maneuver to outflank German defenses, thousands of Allied airborne troops landed behind enemy lines in the Netherlands today, following a massive bombing campaign by American and British heavy bombers. Continue reading Allied paratroopers launch Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in Holland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 17 1944) →

First German V-2 rocket strikes British soil, killing three in London during World War II 80 years ago hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 8 1944)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'The V2 rocket was pointless, and here's why 2"'

(Friday, September 8, 1944, 6:40:52 p.m. British Double Summer Time; during World War II) — A V-2 rocket, the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, struck Chiswick in west London today, demolishing eleven houses and killing three people. Continue reading First German V-2 rocket strikes British soil, killing three in London during World War II 80 years ago hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 8 1944) →

Anne Frank’s arrival at Auschwitz: A harrowing account of survival and separation 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 6 1944)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank - English Subtitles' (Auschwitz arrival at 31:07)

(Wednesday, September 6, 1944, approximately 2:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — Following a two-and-a-half day journey crammed into a packed cattle car with little water or fresh air and no facilities except for a bucket, Jewish diarist Anne Frank, 15, was among 1,019 Jews ordered to disembark from their cattle cars early this morning upon arrival at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau extermination camp in German-occupied Poland. Continue reading Anne Frank’s arrival at Auschwitz: A harrowing account of survival and separation 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 6 1944) →

Jewish diarist Anne Frank, 15, deported on last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz concentration camp 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 3 1944)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank - English Subtitles' (Sept. 3, 1944, at 22:01)

(Sunday, September 3, 1944; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — Fifteen-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank, along with her family and other occupants of the Secret Annex, was deported today from the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Continue reading Jewish diarist Anne Frank, 15, deported on last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz concentration camp 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 3 1944) →

Paris liberated from Nazi tyranny as German commander surrenders to Allies during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 25 1944)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'LIBERATION OF PARIS (AMERICAN VERSION) (SOUND)'

(Friday, August 25, 1944, 3:30 p.m. Western European Mean Time; during the Liberation of Paris, part of Operation Overlord, World War II) — Despite repeated orders from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler that the French capital “must not fall into the enemy’s hand except lying in complete debris,” General Dietrich von Choltitz, German military governor of Paris, surrendered the City of Light to Free French troops this afternoon at the Hôtel Meurice. Continue reading Paris liberated from Nazi tyranny as German commander surrenders to Allies during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 25 1944) →

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest Kennedy son, dies in explosives-laden top secret war mission over England during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 12 1944)

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


Video: 'Operation Aphrodite: Remote Controlled Bomber Mission Goes Horribly Wrong'

(Saturday, August 12, 1944, 6:20 p.m. British Double Summer Time (BDST); during World War II) — Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a 29-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant and the eldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, tragically lost his life tonight along with his co-pilot when their explosives-laden PB4Y-1 Liberator detonated prematurely over Blythburgh, England. Continue reading Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest Kennedy son, dies in explosives-laden top secret war mission over England during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 12 1944) →

‘Swinging on a Star’ by Bing Crosby peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 5 1944)

1940s, Movies 1940s, Popular Music 1940s

(Saturday, August 5, 1944) — “Swinging on a Star” by Bing Crosby (with The Williams Brothers Quartet, orchestra conducted by John Scott Trotter) peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard National List of Best Selling Retail Records chart for nine consecutive weeks (Aug. 5/12/19/26, Sept. 2/9/16/23/30, 1944). Continue reading ‘Swinging on a Star’ by Bing Crosby peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 5 1944) →

Jewish diarist Anne Frank, 15, and occupants of Amsterdam’s ‘secret annex’ arrested by Gestapo during Holocaust 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 4 1944)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Anne Frank's capture and her diary with Miep Gies' (Aug. 4, 1944, at 2:44)

(Friday, August 4, 1944, approximately 10:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — On her 761st day in hiding in the Achterhuis (translated as “Secret Annex” in English editions of her diary), 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank, her parents, older sister, the Van Pel family, and dentist Fritz Pfeffer were unexpectedly discovered and arrested this morning. Continue reading Jewish diarist Anne Frank, 15, and occupants of Amsterdam’s ‘secret annex’ arrested by Gestapo during Holocaust 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 4 1944) →