Category Archives: World War II

President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes relocation and internment of Japanese Americans 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 19 1942)

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


Video: 'Executive Order 9066: A Shameful Moment In WW2 America | Silent Sacrifice Part 1 | Timeline

(Thursday, February 19, 1942; during the internment of Japanese Americans, part of World War II) — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 today, authorizing the secretary of war to prescribe certain areas as military zones and clearing the way for about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom lived on the Pacific Coast, to be forcibly relocated and incarcerated in concentration camps in the western interior of the country. Continue reading President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes relocation and internment of Japanese Americans 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 19 1942) →

Japanese warplanes raid Darwin, Australia, killing at least 243 people 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDate #OTD (Feb 19 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Bombing of Darwin'

(Thursday, February 19, 1942, 9:58 a.m. Australian Central Daylight Time; during the Bombing of Darwin, part of the Pacific War, part of World War II) — 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked Darwin, Australia, ships in Darwin’s harbor and the town’s two airfields today in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II. Continue reading Japanese warplanes raid Darwin, Australia, killing at least 243 people 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDate #OTD (Feb 19 1942) →

Defeated British garrison paraded before triumphant Japanese troops in Singapore 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 16 1942)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War Episode 6 HD - Banzai!: Japan (1931–1942)' (Feb. 16, 1942, at 51:38)

(Monday, February 16, 1942; during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, part of the Second World War) — One day after the fall of Singapore, the foremost British military base and economic port in Southeast Asia and key to British interwar defense planning for the region, resulting in the largest British surrender in history, the British suffered a last humiliation: the garrison was paraded today before the triumphant Japanese. Continue reading Defeated British garrison paraded before triumphant Japanese troops in Singapore 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 16 1942) →

Singapore falls in ‘worst disaster’ in British military history 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 15 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: '130 - Britain's Worst Defeat - Singapore Falls - WW2 - February 20, 1942' (Feb. 15, 1942, at 0:52)

(Sunday, February 15, 1942, just after 6:00 p.m. MALT, during the Fall of Singapore, part of the Malayan campaign of the Second World War) — Singapore — an island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia nicknamed Britain’s “Gibraltar of the East,” a mighty marine fortress that ties India with Australia — fell to the Japanese today when Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival formally surrendered, resulting in the largest British surrender in history. Continue reading Singapore falls in ‘worst disaster’ in British military history 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 15 1942) →

Battle of Singapore begins with Japanese amphibious assault 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: '129- German Army Surrounded: You Did Nazi That Coming! - WW2 - February 13, 1942' (Battle of Singapore at 2:34)

(Sunday, February 8, 1942, shortly before 8:30 p.m. MALT; during the Fall of Singapore, part of the Malayan campaign, the Pacific War and the Second World War) — The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, began tonight when the first wave of Japanese troops from the 5th Division and 18th Division began crossing the Johor Strait towards the island city-state nicknamed Britain’s “Gibraltar of the East.” Continue reading Battle of Singapore begins with Japanese amphibious assault 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 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)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


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) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially approves project to make first atomic weapons 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942)

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


Video: 'The Birth of the Manhattan Project - WW2 Special'

(Monday, January 19, 1942; during World War II) — Responding to a Nov. 27, 1941, recommendation by Vannevar Bush that “an atomic bomb WAS feasible,” U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, spurred on by the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, replied today with a brief handwritten note, “V. B. OK — returned — I think you had best keep this in your own safe FDR.” Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially approves project to make first atomic weapons 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942) →

251 people killed as German sub torpedoes Canadian ocean liner off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Sinking Of The Rms Lady Hawkins'

(Monday, January 19, 1942, 7:43 a.m. EST; during the Battle of the Atlantic, part of World War II) — German submarine U-66 sank the Canadian ocean liner RMS Lady Hawkins this morning off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, killing 251 people. Continue reading 251 people killed as German sub torpedoes Canadian ocean liner off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942) →

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill becomes first head of state to cross Atlantic Ocean by plane 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 17 1942)

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


Video: 'Mr Churchill Comes Home (1942)'

(Saturday, January 17, 1942, shortly before 10:00 a.m. British Summer Time; during World War II) — British Prime Minister Winston Churchill became the first head of state to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane when he landed this morning in Plymouth, England, after an eighteen-hour flight from Bermuda following the Arcadia Conference with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Continue reading British Prime Minister Winston Churchill becomes first head of state to cross Atlantic Ocean by plane 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 17 1942) →

Actress Carole Lombard, 33, killed in plane crash near Las Vegas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1942)

1940s, Movies 1940s, World War II


Video: 'Carole Lombard Paramount Death Report Footage'

(Friday, January 16, 1942, 7:20 p.m. PST) — Academy Award nominated actress Carole Lombard, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies, and 21 other people, including Lombard’s mother, were killed tonight when TWA Flight 3 crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas. Continue reading Actress Carole Lombard, 33, killed in plane crash near Las Vegas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1942) →