WWII History

1940 A blindfolded secretary of war draws the first number – 158 – in the Selective Service draft. (Not all men are willing to register. In one case, a man goes to his draft board posing as his own widow to announce his death.) British troops set sail for Crete. Italians claim to have made […]

1939 On the 21st anniversary of Czech independence, celebrations become mass protests. A young medical student, Jan Opletal, is fatally wounded. 1940 Ministry of Health announces evacuation of 489,000 more children from London area. Laval becomes Foreign Minister of Vichy government. Italy attacks Greece after Greek rejection of three-hour ultimatum; Churchill promises ‘all the help

1941 In a broadcast to the nation on Navy Day, President Franklin Roosevelt declares: “America has been attacked, the shooting has started.” He does not ask for full-scale war yet, realizing that many Americans are not yet ready for such a step. The Russians launch numerous counter-attacks around Moscow in an attempt to halt the

1939 Germany annexes former Polish areas of Upper Silesia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Ciechanow, Danzig, and part of Lodz; all the rest of German-occupied Poland to come under the “General Government.” Forced labor decree issued for Polish Jews aged 14 to 60. 1940 London has longest air raid to date as a Catholic orphanage is

William Clark Gable (1901-1960) was born to a protestant father working as an oil well driller and a catholic mother who died when he was 10 months old. As a young man, he worked at oil fields and as a horse manager until he gradually broke into the world of theater and screen acting. By

1939 U-boats sink four more British ships. 1940 While bombing Chungking, China, Japanese bombs accidentally almost hit US embassy and US gunboat Tutuila, causing an international incident. Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes the first black general in the US Army. 1941 US condemns Nazi practice of killing innocent civilians in reprisal for partisan activities. 1942

1938 In a move that increases tensions between the United States and Japan, the USS President Coolidge is forced to unload nearly $3 million worth of gold and silver before it is allowed to leave the Japanese controlled port of Shanghai. 1940 British Summer Time to be continued throughout winter. Hitler meets Petain at Montoire,

1940 Hitler meets Franco, the Spanish head of state at Hendaye near the French-Spanish border. Franco declares ‘Spain will gladly fight at Germany’s side’, but remains non-committal regarding Spain’s entry into the war. The RAF continue its attacks on Berlin. 1941 De Gaulle meets French Resistance and asks to spare the innocent and bide their

1939 “Elections” are held in Soviet-occupied Poland now called “Western Byelorussia” and “Western Ukraine.” The USSR confiscates all property including bank accounts, and replaces Polish currency with the ruble. Poles are fired from their jobs and thrown into jail as the NKVD compiles lists for deportation. Factories, hospitals, schools, are dismantled and shipped to the USSR.

1939 The Luftwaffe starts attacks against North Atlantic convoys. As war heats up with Germany, the British war cabinet holds its first meeting in the underground war room in London. The Germans start deporting Poles from Posen (Poznan), largest city of western Poland (250,000 people), in their attempt at establishing “pure and Germanic provinces” in