Category Archives: World War II

Molotov arrives in Washington to confer with Stettinius, Eden 80 years ago this hour (Apr 22 1945)

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (Apr. 22 1945, at 6:17)

(Sunday, April 22, 1945, 5:46 p.m. EWT; during World War II) — Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrived in Washington by plane from Moscow today. And within four hours began conferring with U.S. Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius Jr. and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden on the question of the representation of Poland at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which is scheduled to open at San Francisco on Apr. 25, 1945.

Hitler falls into tearful rage when General Steiner fails to move 80 years ago this afternoon (Apr 22 1945)

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (Apr. 22, 1945, at 29:48)

(Sunday, April 22, 1945, early afternoon CEST; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — At his afternoon situation conference today, German dictator Adolf Hitler was told units commanded by Waffen-SS General Felix Steiner had not moved after being ordered to attack the northern flank of the encircling Soviet salient. Continue reading Hitler falls into tearful rage when General Steiner fails to move 80 years ago this afternoon (Apr 22 1945)

Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 22 1945)


Video: 'Hitler's SS in Sachsenhausen... One of the worst Nazi concentration camps'

(Sunday, April 22, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The remaining 3,000 inmates, including 1,400 women, at the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg, Germany, (35 km north of the center of Berlin) used primarily for political prisoners, were liberated today by the Red Army and the Polish Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 22 1945)

Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945)

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (Apr. 21, 1945, at 28:15)

(Saturday, April 21, 1945; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — Soviet tanks thundered into the northeastern suburbs of Berlin today, breaching the Nazi capital’s final outer defenses in a meticulously planned offensive aimed at delivering the death blow to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Continue reading Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945)

Allied forces take control of Nuremberg, Germany 80 years ago tonight (Apr 20 1945)


Video: 'April 20th, 1945 in Nuremberg'

(Friday, April 20, 1945, evening CEST; during the Battle of Nuremberg (1945), part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany during World War II) — The United States Seventh Army tonight – coincidentally on Hitler’s 56th birthday – captured the center of Nuremberg, Germany, the second largest city of Bavaria and the high shrine of the Nazi party, capturing the outskirts of Erlenstegen and Buch.

Hitler briefly emerges from Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday 80 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1945)


Image: 'Video: Adolf Hitler: The Last Days of the Dictator | Documentary' (Apr. 20, 1945, at 13:54; note: last known moving pictures of Hitler were captured on Mar. 20, 1945)

(Friday, April 20, 1945, approximately 3:00 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — As the Red Army’s tanks pressed into the outskirts of Berlin and a mournful air raid siren echoed through the battered city at dawn, Germany’s Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler marked his 56th birthday today in the gloom of his underground Führerbunker, facing the collapse of his regime and the encirclement of the capital. Continue reading Hitler briefly emerges from Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday 80 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1945)

Nazi concentration subcamp Leipzig-Thekla liberated 80 years ago today (Apr 19 1945)

Video: 'Memory of the Camps (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
(liberation at 51:26)

(Thursday, April 19, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — Leipzig-Thekla, a subcamp of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald near Leipzig, Germany, was liberated today by the U.S. 69th Infantry Division.

The camp had been established in September 1943 to supply labor for the German war effort. At its height, Leipzig-Thekla held approximately 1,400 prisoners.

325,000 Germans surrender at Ruhr Pocket 80 years ago today (Apr 18 1945)

Video: 'The World at War: Nemesis: Germany - February-May 1945 (21 of 26)' (Apr. 18, 1945, at 21:31)

(Wednesday, April 18, 1945; on the Western Front of World War II) — The Ruhr Pocket, a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945 in the Ruhr Area of Germany, essentially ended today, marking the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany’s Western Front as 325,000 troops were taken prisoner.

American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, killed by Japanese gunfire 80 years ago this hour (Apr 18 1945)


Video: 'Ernie Pyle: The Untold Story of America's Beloved War Correspondent & Journalist | You Asked For It'

(Wednesday, April 18, 1945, 10:15 a.m. Japan Standard Time; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — Famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed instantly today by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.

Thousands of German refugees, wounded soldiers killed when Soviets sink MV Goya 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945)


Video: '3D-animation of the sinking of the norse ship Goya during WW2'

(Monday, April 16, 1945, 11:52 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during World War II) — A Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea torpedoed and sank the MV Goya, a Norwegian motor freighter which Germany was using to transport civilian refugees and wounded soldiers. Continue reading Thousands of German refugees, wounded soldiers killed when Soviets sink MV Goya 80 years ago this hour (Apr 16 1945)