Category Archives: The Holocaust

Czech partisans attack and mortally wound top Nazi leader and Holocaust mastermind Reinhard Heydrich in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1942)


Video: 'The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich | Nazi Hunters'

(Wednesday, May 27, 1942, approximately 10:35 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Anthropoid, part of World War II)Reinhard Heydrich — the commander of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and a principal architect of The Holocaust — was attacked and wounded today in an assassination attempt by a team of Czech and Slovak soldiers. Continue reading Czech partisans attack and mortally wound top Nazi leader and Holocaust mastermind Reinhard Heydrich in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1942)

Sobibór extermination camp becomes operational in German-occupied Poland 80 years ago #OnThisDate #OTD (May 16 1942)


Video: 'Sobibor'

(Saturday, May 16, 1942; during the The Holocaust, part of World War II)Sobibór, an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany in the forest near the village of Sobibór in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland for the sole purpose of murdering Jews, became fully operational today (note: some sources say the camp may have become fully operation on Monday, May 18). Continue reading Sobibór extermination camp becomes operational in German-occupied Poland 80 years ago #OnThisDate #OTD (May 16 1942)

Nazis order Dutch Jews to wear yellow Jewish star in occupied-Holland 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 29 1942)


Video: 'Anne Frank (The Whole Story)' (Jewish star introduced at 30:52)

(Wednesday, April 29, 1942, during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — Nazi officials in occupied Holland announced today that from Sunday, May 3, 1942, onwards, every Jew six years and older would be required to wear a yellow star of David, a six-pointed star often used as a symbol of the Jewish religion, with the word “Jew” written on it in black letters. Continue reading Nazis order Dutch Jews to wear yellow Jewish star in occupied-Holland 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 29 1942)

First mass transport of Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp departs Poprad railway station in northern Slovakia 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 25 #1942)


Video: '1942: Auschwitz'

(Wednesday, March 25, 1942, 8:20 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during the First mass transport of Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp, part of The Holocaust and World War II) — The first mass transport of Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp departed today from the Poprad railway station in the Slovak Republic, in the Slovak State, arriving at its destination the following afternoon, March 26, 1942. Continue reading First mass transport of Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp departs Poprad railway station in northern Slovakia 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 25 #1942)

Belzec extermination camp becomes operational in German-occupied Poland 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 17 1942)


Video: 'Belzec Memorial and Museum Dedication'

(Sunday, March 17, 1942; during The Holocaust, part of World War II)Belzec, a Nazi German extermination camp built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all Polish Jews, a key part of the “Final Solution” which entailed the murder of some 6 million Jews in The Holocaust, became operational today. Continue reading Belzec extermination camp becomes operational in German-occupied Poland 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 17 1942)

Nearly 800 Jewish refugees killed when Soviet sub torpedoes MV Struma in Black Sea 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 24 1942)


Video: 'The Struma- A Never Ending Sadness'

(Tuesday, February 24, 1942, morning Eastern European Time; during the Struma disaster, part of The Holocaust and World War II) — The MV Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to Mandatory Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine today in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees perished. Continue reading Nearly 800 Jewish refugees killed when Soviet sub torpedoes MV Struma in Black Sea 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 24 1942)

Nazi officials formalize plans for ‘Final Solution to the Jewish question’ at Wannsee Conference 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 20 1942)


Video: 'The House of the Wannsee Conference'

(Tuesday, January 20, 1942, approximately noon-1:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered today at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question,” an attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe, an estimated 11 million persons. Continue reading Nazi officials formalize plans for ‘Final Solution to the Jewish question’ at Wannsee Conference 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 20 1942)

Architect of The Holocaust sentenced to die by Israeli war crimes tribunal 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 15 1961)


Video: 'German Nazi Adolf Eichmann convicted and sentenced to Hang PublicDomainFootage.com'

(Friday, December 15, 1961, 9:20 a.m. Israel Standard Time; following the Eichmann trial) — Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer regarded as the architect of The Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews during World War II, was sentenced to death by an Israeli war crimes tribunal today in Jerusalem — four days after being found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people. Continue reading Architect of The Holocaust sentenced to die by Israeli war crimes tribunal 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 15 1961)

‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ premieres in West Berlin 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 14 1961)


Video: 'Judgment at Nuremberg' trailer

(Thursday, December 14, 1961)Judgment at Nuremberg, an American epic courtroom drama film about an aging American judge who presides over the trial of Nazi war criminals, premiered tonight in West Berlin at a gala event in Kongress Halle attended by Mayor Willy Brandt, many members of the cast, and some 300 foreign and domestic reporters. Continue reading ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ premieres in West Berlin 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 14 1961)

Former Nazi SS officer who organized Hitler’s ‘final solution of the Jewish question’ found guilty on all counts 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 11 1961)


Video: 'EICHMANN GUILTY'

(Monday, December 11, 1961, shortly after 9:00 a.m. Israel Standard Time, during the Eichmann trial) — After months of trial before a three-judge panel in Jerusalem, former Nazi SS officer Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers of The Holocaust, was found guilty this morning of “unsurpassed” crimes against the Jews and that his role in Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” would be remembered “until the end of time.” Continue reading Former Nazi SS officer who organized Hitler’s ‘final solution of the Jewish question’ found guilty on all counts 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 11 1961)