Category Archives: World War II

28 former Japanese officials go on trial in Tokyo as war criminals 80 years ago today (Apr 29 1946)


Video: 'Japanese war criminals go on trial in Tokyo Newsreel PublicDomainFootage.com'

(Monday, April 29, 1946, during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East) — Former Japanese prime ministers Hideki Tojo (1941–44), Kiichiro Hiranuma (1939), Koki Hirota (1936–37) and Kuniaki Koiso (1944–45), and 24 co-defendants were indicted today in Tokyo for war crimes, ranging from the murder of thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor, to conspiracy “to secure military, naval, political and economic domination of the whole world.” Continue reading 28 former Japanese officials go on trial in Tokyo as war criminals 80 years ago today (Apr 29 1946)

Masaharu Homma executed by firing squad for Bataan Death March 80 years ago this hour (Apr 3 1946)


Video: 'Execution of Japanese General Responsible for the Bataan death March in Philippines - Masaharu Homma'

(Wednesday, April 3, 1946, 12:53 a.m. Philippine Standard Time) — Lieut. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the 58-year-old Japanese commander held responsible for the Bataan Death March that killed 17,200 American and Filipino captives, was executed by firing squad today in Los Baños, Laguna, a few kilometers from the former internment camp at the University of the Philippines Los Baños

Germany declares war on Portugal during World War I 110 years ago this hour (Mar 9 1916)

portugal

(Thursday, March 9, 1916, 3:30 p.m. Central European Time; during World War I) — Germany this afternoon declared war on Portugal, which had earlier this year honored its alliance with Great Britain by seizing German ships anchored in Lisbon’s harbor.

U.S. President Gerald Ford revokes wartime order behind Japanese-American internment 50 years ago this hour (Feb 19 1976)

(Thursday, February 19, 1976, 11:54-11:59 a.m. EST) — U.S. President Gerald Ford President Ford today formally revoked a World War II–era executive order that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans, calling the action a necessary step toward acknowledging a grave injustice in the nation’s history. Continue reading U.S. President Gerald Ford revokes wartime order behind Japanese-American internment 50 years ago this hour (Feb 19 1976)

Nazi radio propagandist ‘Lord Haw Haw’ executed 80 years ago this hour (Jan 3 1946)


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(Thursday, January 3, 1946, 9:00 a.m. GMT)William Joyce, the 39-year-old pro-Nazi radio propagandist known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” was hanged today at Wandsworth Prison in south London for high treason, unrepentant and defiant to the end. Continue reading Nazi radio propagandist ‘Lord Haw Haw’ executed 80 years ago this hour (Jan 3 1946)

Vera Brittain informed of her fiancé’s death at Western Front 110 years ago today (Dec 26 1915)


Video: 'The Great War, Episode 3, Total War' (Dec. 26, 1915, at 15:34)

(Sunday, December 26, 1915, during World War I)Vera Brittain, a 21-year-old nurse in the British Red Cross who would become a famous author and feminist after the war, was informed today that her fiancé Roland Leighton, 20, who had been given Christmas leave, had died Dec. 23, 1915, of wounds sustained in battle at the Western Front in France.

U.S. General George S. Patton dies 12 days after car accident 80 years ago this hour (Dec 21 1945)


Video: 'The Tragic Death of General George S. Patton'

(Friday, December 21, 1945, 5:50 p.m. Central European Time) — General George S. Patton Jr., one of the most vivid figures among Allied combat leaders in World War II, died today in Heidelberg, Germany, 12 days after being seriously injured in a car accident. Patton was 60.

End of World War II-era tire rationing announced 80 years ago today (Dec 20 1945)


Video: 'World War II Rationing - Decades TV Network'

(Thursday, December 20, 1945) — More than three months after the end of World War II, the end of tire rationing (effective Jan. 1, 1946), was ordered today by the Office of Price Administration, but the public was warned that this did not mean that tires would be “plentiful.”

War crimes court at Nuremberg sees horror films 80 years ago today (Nov 29 1945)


Video: 'Nuremberg Day 8 Concentration Camp Film'

(Thursday, November 29, 1945; during the Nuremberg trials) — Tearing away the sanctimonious mask behind which the German leaders had cloaked their evil acts and intentions, the American prosecution presented today before the International Military Tribunal a one-hour nightmare in motion pictures depicting the fear and terror and the nameless horror of the concentration camps that, the prosecution charges, were an integral part of their hold on the German people. Continue reading War crimes court at Nuremberg sees horror films 80 years ago today (Nov 29 1945)

Nazi war criminals enter ‘not guilty’ pleas at Nuremberg 80 years ago today (Nov 21 1945)


Video: 'Nuremberg Day 2 Defendants Plead (translated captions)'

(Wednesday, November 21, 1945, morning Central European Time; during the Nuremberg trials) — One day after the trial of the major Nazi war criminals by the International Military Tribunal began in Nuremberg, Germany, the defendants entered their pleas of “not guilty.”

Hermann Göring tried to make a statement, but was prevented by the court from doing so. Continue reading Nazi war criminals enter ‘not guilty’ pleas at Nuremberg 80 years ago today (Nov 21 1945)