Video: 'Bergen-Belsen concentration camp'
(Sunday, April 15, 1945, afternoon CEST; 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 70 years ago today (Apr 15 1945)
Video: 'WW2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt body arrival at the White House (13 April 1945)' (this was actually Apr. 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 70 years ago this hour (Apr 14 1945)
Video: 'WW2: Gardelegen Massacre "Murder Inc" | Civilians, Osterath | Allied Bombing in Hof, Germany (1945)'
(Friday, April 13, 1945; 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.
Most of the prisoners were burned alive; some were shot trying to escape. Continue reading Nazis kill 1,016 slave laborers in Gardelegen massacre 70 years ago today (Apr 13 1945)
Video: 'Funeral Of President Roosevelt (1945)' (Apr. 13, 1945, at 0:34-1:39)
(Friday, April 13, 1945, 10:13 a.m. CWT/11:13 a.m. EWT; 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 departs Warm Springs for the final time 70 years ago this hour (Apr 13 1945)
(Friday, April 13, 1945; during World War II) — President Harry S. Truman arrived at the White House today to begin his first day in office (having succeeded to the presidency the day before upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt), telling reporters: “Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now…When they told me yesterday what happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me” (click here to watch a clip of Apr. 13, 1945, from “American Experience: Truman” at 1:32:16).
Video: 'Truman Being Sworn In (1945)'
(Thursday, April 12, 1945, 7:09 p.m. EWT; 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 VP Harry Truman sworn in as 33rd President of the United States 70 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945)
Video: 'Death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt' (Apr. 12, 1945, at 0:00-2:00)
(Thursday, April 12, 1945, 3:35 p.m. CWT/4:35 p.m. EWT; 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 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage 70 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945)
Video: 'FDR: A Presidency Revealed: Part 18' (Apr. 12, 1945, at 7:22)
(Thursday, April 12, 1945, at about 1:00 p.m. CWT/2:00 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63, was stricken by a massive cerebral hemorrhage (stroke) today at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, while artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff painted his portrait in the living room in the presence of Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd (with whom he resumed an extramarital affair), two cousins and his dog Fala. Continue reading President Franklin Roosevelt suffers a massive stroke 70 years ago this hour (Apr 12 1945)
Video: 'Westerbork Transit Camp, The Netherlands HD'
(Thursday, April 12, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Nazi transit camp Westerbork near Hooghalen, in the northeastern Netherlands, where Romani and Dutch Jews were assembled for transport to other Nazi concentration camps, was liberated today by Canadian troops. Continue reading Nazi transit camp Westerbork liberated 70 years ago today (Apr 12 1945)
Video: 'American Experience - FDR (Franklin Roosevelt) - Part 1/2 (PBS Documentary' (Apr. 9/11, 1945, at 2:10:18)
(Wednesday, April 11, 1945, lunchtime; during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt drove his former mistress Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, who had arrived at Warm Springs, Georgia, on Monday (Apr. 9, 1945), to Dowdell’s Knob, overlooking a lovely valley, and talked about the future of the world and what he was going to do after the war had ended.
