(Sunday, February 7, 1943; during World War II) — The U.S. government abruptly announced that rationing of shoes made with leather would go into effect in two days, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person per year. (Rationing was lifted in October 1945.)
Video: 'Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie' (part 15; Feb. 5, 1983, at 11:01
(Saturday, February 5, 1983) — Former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, expelled from Bolivia, was brought to Lyon, France, today to stand trial (known as the “Butcher of Lyon” for having personally tortured prisoners of the Gestapo while stationed in Lyon, France, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1991.) Continue reading Former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie brought to Lyon, France 30 years ago today (1983)
Video: Feb. 3, 1943 (at 52:30)
(Wednesday, February 3, 1943; a day after the Battle of Stalingrad ended on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German radio announced today that Stalingrad had fallen to the Soviets; the 6th Army had fought courageously but had succumbed to vastly superior enemy forces and to unfavorable circumstances. Continue reading German radio announces defeat at Stalingrad 70 years ago today (1943)
Video: '442nd Regiment of WWII'
(Monday, February 1, 1943; during World War II) — One of America’s most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese-Americans anxious to prove their loyalty to their country of birth and defy national prejudice that they are aliens and dangerous, was authorized today.
Video: Event of Jan. 30, 1943 described w/cover video of Jan. 31, 1943 (at 46:05)
(Saturday, January 30, 1943; during the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German dictator Adolf Hitler today promoted Gen. Friedrich Paulus to Generalfeldmarschall. Since no German Field Marshal had ever been taken prisoner, Hitler assumed that Paulus would fight on or take his own life.
Image: U.S. bombs Wilhelmshaven, Germany (Jan. 27, 1943)
(Wednesday, January 27, 1943; during World War II) — 91 bombers from the U.S. Eighth Air Force, a combination of B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, mounted the first American airstrike inside Germany today.
55 of the B-17s made a daylight raid on the submarine bases at Wilhelmshaven. All of the aircraft were able to return to base.
Video: Jan. 24, 1943 (at 43:52)
(Sunday, January 24, 1943; during the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German Gen. Friedrich von Paulus, commander in chief of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, urgently requested permission from Adolf Hitler today to surrender his position there, but Hitler flatly refused the request, setting his soldiers up for a crushing defeat.
Video: Jan. 23, 1943 (at 7:52)
(Saturday, January 23, 1943, 5 a.m. local time; part of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II) — The conquering British Eighth army wrested Tripoli from the Axis today and the conquest of Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini’s African empire, which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged in 1940 would be torn “to shreds and tatters,” was all but complete. Continue reading Tripoli falls to British 8th Army as it pursues Rommel into Tunisia 70 years ago this hour (1943)
Video: 'The Diary of ANNE FRANK (Part Two) - 06/17' (Jan. 13, 1943, at 0:15)
(Wednesday, January 13, 1943; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — On Anne Frank’s 192nd day in hiding in a secret apartment behind her father’s business in German-occupied Amsterdam, the 13-year-old girl described today in her diary the suffering of people outside and considers how selfish the members of the Secret Annex are to talk about what they will do or buy “after the war.”
Video: 'The World At War: Red Star The Soviet Union 4/5' (Jan. 12, 1942, at 0:20)
(Tuesday, January 12, 1943, 9:30 a.m. local time; part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — The Russians launched Operation Iskra today as the Soviet 67th Army began its final assault on the German occupation of Leningrad.
