Category Archives: World War II

First of two Nazi saboteur teams land on Long Island in New York 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 13 1942)


Video: 'Operation Pastorius - Hitler's Dream to See New York in Flames'

(Saturday, June 13, 1942, about 12:10 a.m. EDT; during Operation Pastorius, part of the American Theater of World War II) — The first of two four-man Nazi sabotage teams arrived early this morning in the United States, disembarking from U-202 at Amagansett, New York, about 100 miles east of New York City, on Long Island, at what today is Atlantic Avenue beach. Continue reading First of two Nazi saboteur teams land on Long Island in New York 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 13 1942)

German forces wipe out Czech village of Lidice in reprisal for assassination of top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 10 1942)


Video: 'Lidice Massacre - Brutal Nazi Revenge for Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich - Operation Anthropoid'

(Wednesday, June 10, 1942, the shooting of the men commenced at about 7:00 a.m. and continued until the afternoon hours Central European Summer Time; during the Lidice massacre, part of World War II) — German forces burned the tiny Czech village of Lidice today after executing 173 men and shipping the women and children to concentration camps in reprisal for the recent assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, architect of The Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Continue reading German forces wipe out Czech village of Lidice in reprisal for assassination of top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 10 1942)

Battle of Midway ends in decisive American victory over Japan, marking turning point in Pacific War 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1942)


Video: 'Battle 360: Battle of Midway Leads to WWII Victory (S1, E2) | Full Episode | History'

(Sunday, June 7, 1942, 7:10 a.m. local time/12:40 p.m. Eastern War Time) — The Battle of Midway,  a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that began on June 4, 1942, ended today in a decisive U.S. victory despite the sinking of the USS Yorktown, which had been torpedoed the previous day. Continue reading Battle of Midway ends in decisive American victory over Japan, marking turning point in Pacific War 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1942)

World War II Battle of Midway begins near Midway Atoll in North Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)


Video: 'Battle 360: Battle of Midway Leads to WWII Victory (S1, E2) | Full Episode | History' (June 4, 1942, at 9:00)

(Thursday, June 4, 1942, 6:30 a.m. local time/1:30 p.m. Eastern War Time) — The Battle of Midway, a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, began today when Japanese planes struck Midway Atoll, facing meager opposition. Continue reading World War II Battle of Midway begins near Midway Atoll in North Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)

Top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, a principal architect of The Holocaust, dies eight days after attack in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)


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

(Thursday, June 4, 1942, around 4:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Anthropoid, part of World War II)Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of The Holocaust, died of sepsis this morning in Prague, one week after he was ambushed by a team of Czech and Slovak soldiers in Operation Anthropoid. Continue reading Top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, a principal architect of The Holocaust, dies eight days after attack in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)

Nazi mass murderer Adolf Eichmann executed in Israel 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1962)


Video: 'Adolf Eichmann | Nazi Hunters | S1E02'

(Friday, June 1, 1962, a few minutes past midnight Israel Standard Time)Adolf Eichmann, a German-Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of The Holocaust, the so-called “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” in Nazi terminology, was hanged at a prison in Ramla, Israel, early this morning. Continue reading Nazi mass murderer Adolf Eichmann executed in Israel 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1962)

U.S. opens concentration camp in Northern California to incarcerate Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1942)


Video: 'George Takei Visits Tule Lake Concentration Camp'

(Wednesday, May 27, 1942; during World War II) — The Tule Lake War Relocation Center, the second of ten concentration camps constructed in 1942 by the United States government to incarcerate Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast, opened today in Modoc and Siskiyou counties in Northern California. Continue reading U.S. opens concentration camp in Northern California to incarcerate Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1942)

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)

U.S. forces surrender on Corregidor Island, last Allied stronghold in the Philippines 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 6 1942)


Video: 'Fall of Corregidor - Last day of the Battle of Corregidor'

(Wednesday, May 6, 1942, at about 1:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time; during the Battle of Corregidor, part of the Pacific Theater of World War II) — Some 15,000 American and Filipino troops on Corregidor island surrendered to Japanese forces today as U.S. Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright sent two officers forward with a white flag to carry his surrender message to the Japanese. Continue reading U.S. forces surrender on Corregidor Island, last Allied stronghold in the Philippines 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 6 1942)