Tag Archives: World War II

History

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day-“A Date That Will Live In Infamy” ( 7 December 1941)

Leave a comment

[This has been updated from 2023 with corrections in punctuation and grammar. Sources have been updated and a list of suggested media to read or view has been added.]

Title: We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain… remember Dec. 7th!
Creator/Contributor: Saalburg, Allen Russell, 1899-1987 (artist); United States. Office of War Information (sponsor)
Created/Published: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1942
Public Domain as was produced by the U.S. Government
Photo on Wikimedia Commons uploaded by Boston Public Library

On this date in 1941, Japan launched a carrier-based strike on U.S. military forces based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Their strategy was to use this attack to convince the country and its leaders that war with Japan would be futile. They achieved tactical surprise as no warning of an attack had yet been received. While decryption of their codes had revealed their intent, the warning did not reach Pearl Harbor until after the attack had begun. The Japanese legation in Washington did not deliver their government’s official response to a recent diplomatic exchange until after the attack due to problems in transcribing the message. The attack began at 07:55 local time (12:55 p.m. eastern standard time). It was early afternoon when President Roosevelt was notified by Secretary of War Henry Stimson of the attack. There was some doubt among some staff as to the validity of the report, but President Roosevelt believed it. And subsequent reports would show it was true. Radio was soon reporting on it as well and the entire nation soon learned of the shocking event that had taken place in the faraway location.

The purpose of the attack was to seriously cripple the U.S. naval and air operations (both the Navy and Army Air Corps). The surprise was effective and sank or crippled numerous American ships. However, the jewel of the fleet were the aircraft carriers, and they were not there. And the Japanese had no idea where they were. After conducting the first two strikes, a third strike was considered to more completely wipe out the storage, maintenance and dry dock facilities. Captain Minoru Genda, who helped in the planning, argued for invasion to maximize American losses. Admiral Nagumo decided to retire because of deteriorating weather, the unknown location of the American carriers, the long turnaround time required for a third strike that would allow American forces to gather and counterattack, and the fact the Nagumo’s strike force was at the extreme limit of logistical support. They were low on fuel and another strike would require them to travel at reduced speeds to conserve fuel. So, he headed home. Much later Admiral Yamamoto, who supported the decision at the time, would in retrospect say it was a mistake since it allowed the U.S. to come back quickly.

The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
Image: Public Domain (National Archives and Records Administration,ARC Identifier#195617)

Most of those who died at Pearl were sailors aboard the ships that were damaged or sunk. Of the 2,008 sailors killed, 1,177 were killed when the forward magazine on the USS Arizona exploded. Eighteen ships were sunk, beached, or run aground. 188 aircraft (mostly Army Air Corps) destroyed, 159 damaged. Most of the planes were destroyed on the ground. Only eight pilots got airborne and did attack Japanese aircraft but only one was shot down. Some pilots were killed or shot down later by friendly fire. Five inbound planes from USS Enterprise were shot down. The Navy lost 24 of its PBY planes. Additional casualties came from when Japanese attacked barracks. 2,403 Americans killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Since the U.S. was not at war, they are all classified as non-combatants. The Japanese lost 55 airmen, nine submariners and one captured. They lost 29 planes in battle and 74 were damaged by antiaircraft fire.

Most Americans were enjoying a pleasant Sunday. Secretary of State Cordell Hull met with the Japanese ambassador around 2:30 p.m., just when the first reports were coming in about the attack. Popular Sunday afternoon radio shows were interrupted with the stunning news about the attack on Pearl Harbor. From coast to coast, Americans were riveted to their radios listening to the latest updates. Lines of volunteers began forming outside military recruitment centers. The isolationist sentiment was ushered to the rear while most of the nation united against the Japanese. On 8 November before a joint session of Congress, President Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war.

“Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives:

 Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

 The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

 Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

 It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

 The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

 Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

 Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

 As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

 No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.

 I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

 Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

 With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.

 I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

 

And an hour later Congress officially declared war on Japan. Far from causing the U.S. to cower, it brought Americans together like never before. Hitler’s decision to join with Japan on 11 Dec was somewhat of a surprise-to his German High Command! They had not planned with war with the United States so soon and now they faced a two-front war with an highly industrialized power against them. Mussolini foolishly committed Italy to the war with the U.S. as well.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signing Declaration of War Against Japan
8 Dec 1941
National Archives and Records Administration

 

For Japan they had control of the Pacific until June 1942. That is when the U.S. Navy engaged the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. At the end of the battle, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk to our one (the Yorktown). It was a shocking loss to the Japanese (and one they kept secret for as long as possible). The Doolittle Raid had convinced them to take on the American Navy directly. They did and lost spectacularly. And it shifted the balance of power in the Pacific. Admiral Yamamoto had been correct in his assessment of how the war with America would go: “I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years.”

Yamamoto would not survive the war. President Roosevelt ordered that he be taken care of for his part in planning the Pearl Harbor attack. Thanks to the work of U.S. Naval Intelligence that had broken Japanese codes (code named Magic), his travel plans to the South Pacific in April 1943 were learned. Orders were given and select pilots were used to target a very important high officer but were not told who it was. On 18 April 1943, a squadron of Lockheed P-38’s was assigned to intercept and bring down his transport being escorted by Japanese zeroes. There were two Japanese transports. After a dogfight with the Zeroes and transports, the transport with Yamamoto’s plane crashed into the jungle north of Buin, Papua New Guinea. Japanese search parties found his body, thrown from the aircraft and under a tree. He had two .50 caliber bullet wounds, one in his left shoulder and the other that had exited through his right eye. The true manner of his death was hidden from the Japanese public and not revealed until long after the war had ended. He was cremated, given a state funeral, and given posthumous titles and awards. Today the place where his plane crashed is a tourist attraction.

Sources

Christian Zapata, “Pearl Harbor: Attack, Deaths & Facts,” HISTORY (History.com, August 7, 2024),, accessed December 4, 2024, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Pearl Harbor attack | Date, History, Map, Casualties, Timeline, & Facts,” Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified November 30, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack.

“Pearl Harbor Attack, December 7, 1941 | the National WWII Museum | New Orleans,” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, last modified December 7, 2001, accessed December 4, 2024, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941.

“Pearl Harbor Attack, December 7, 1941 | the National WWII Museum | New Orleans,” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, last modified December 7, 2001, accessed December 4, 2024, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941.

For more information

Suggested Reading & Media

Books

Walter Lord, Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor (Macmillan, 2001).

Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor; Revised Edition (Penguin Books, 1991).

John Toland, Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath (Anchor, 1992).

John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library, 2003).

Films

The History Channel Presents: Pearl Harbor, DVD (Lionsgate, 2001).

National Geographic – Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack, DVD (National Geographic, 2001).

Dec. 7th, 1941: Pearl Harbor Old Historic Films USS Arizona Before and After. DVD. Campbell Films, 1941. This has 5 separate films in the collection. One is from Japan telling its citizens of the great victory. Another is a War Department film about the attack. There is an episode from Victory At Sea included, newsreels, and a film about USS Arizona. A must have for the serious enthusiast!

Attack on Pearl Harbor – A Day of Infamy, DVD (Timeless Media, n.d.).

Tora! Tora! Tora! DVD. Williams-Fleischer Productions, Toei Company, 2006. This 1970 movie covers it from both the Japanese and American perspectives and is historically accurate. This provides an even handed look at both sides without a lot of drama (which was criticized) but the recreation of the attack is considered on the best done. Later movies rely on many of the action scenes from this movie. It takes the documentaries and brings them alive with a real cast and sees how this attack was planned, staged, and executed.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Nuremberg Trials Begin (20 November 1945)

[This was updated from 2023 with updated sources and information]

Nuremberg Trials. Defendants in their dock, circa 1945-1946.
(in front row, from left to right): Hermann Göring, Rudolf Heß, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel
(in second row, from left to right): Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, Fritz Sauckel)
Public Domain (Wikipedia)

In the aftermath of World War II, there was debate about how to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and especially the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels were already dead by suicide. Churchill had the simplest approach of wanting to simply execute them, but it was decided that tribunal would be a better method. The tribunal would reveal to the world the extent of the crimes upon humanity the persons were responsible for.

The concept of an international tribunal was novel and had never been done before. Then again, no nation had before committed to full scale extermination of whole peoples as the Nazi’s had tried to do. An international tribunal composed of representatives from Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States was formed. Defendants faced charges that varied from war crimes to crimes against humanity. Twenty- four were indicted along with six Nazi organizations such as the Gestapo that were also determined to be criminal. One was declared medically unfit to stand trial and another committed suicide before the trial began. Two top Hitler associates, Heinrich Himmler (1900-45) and Joseph Goebbels (1897-45), had each committed suicide in the spring of 1945 before they could be brought to trial.

Each defendant was allowed to choose their own lawyers. They all pled not guilty and either argued that the crimes they committed were declared crimes after the London Charter (meaning ex post facto) or that they were applying harsh standards as they were the victors. The trials would last 1 October 1946 when verdicts were handed down. Twelve were sentenced to death and others got prison terms. On 16 October 1946, 10 Nazi policy architects were hanged. Hermann Goering, who had been called the “leading war aggressor and creator of the oppressive program against the Jews,” committed suicide by poison the night before. Martin Bormann was tried in absentia and many thought he had escaped Germany. However, he never left Berlin, and his remains were eventually found (it appears he committed suicide), examined, and conclusively identified in 1988 using DNA. Other war criminals (German and Axis government leaders both civilian and military) would be tried into the 1950’s. 5,025 were convicted and 806 were executed. Those not sentenced to death, depending on what they did, served life sentences or were given shorter sentences.

Sources

———. “Nürnberg Trials | Facts, Definition, & Prominent Defendants.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified November 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Nurnberg-trials.

———. “Nuremberg Trials Begin.” HISTORY, November 19, 2024. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nuremberg-trials-begin.

“The Nuremberg Trials.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nuremberg-trials.

“The Nuremberg Trials | the National WWII Museum | New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/nuremberg-trials.

Zapata, Christian. “Nuremberg Trials – Definition, Dates & Purpose | HISTORY.” HISTORY, August 20, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials.

History

Goebbels Blames the Jews for World War II (16 Nov 1941)

Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda
Heinrich Hoffmann (1885-1957)
German Federal Archives via Wikimedia

On 16 November 1941, Joseph Goebbels publishes in the German magazine Das Reich that the “Jews wanted the war, and now they have it.” This was part of the Nazi propaganda scheme to shift blame for the war to Jews and thus rationalizing  the Final Solution–the elimination of Jews.  German soldiers and the SS were infused with this propaganda and anti-Communist rhetoric to carry out their task of eliminating the Jews with enthusiasm.

[T]he prophecy which the Fuhrer made…that should international finance Jewry succeed in plunging the nations into a world war once again, the result would not be the Bolshevization of the world…but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe. We are in the midst of that process…Compassion or regret are entirely out of place here.

Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945)

Joseph Goebbels joined the Nazi Party in 1924. He had obtained a PhD in German literature from the University of Heidelberg in 1920. Prior to joining the party, he had worked as a writer, journalist, and clerk. The same year he joined the Nazi Party, he became editor of the Völkische Freiheit (Folkish Freedom) where he honed his propaganda skills for the party. Goebbels became an admirer of Hitler and became unfailingly loyal to him. He was also a rabid antisemite.

He came to Hitler’s attention in 1926 due to his organizational skills, devotion to the party, and his clever propaganda. He was made a regional Gauleiter (party chief) for Greater Berlin. He built up the Nazi Party organization and ran his own newspaper (Der Angriff or The Assault in English) until 1935 where he advanced the Nazi Party goals of anticommunism, antisemitism, and promoted Hitler becoming dictator of Germany. He would be elected to the Reichstag in 1928 representing the Nazi Party in Berlin.

Goebbels was a tireless agitator as the District Leader in Berlin. He railed against the Communist and Social Democratic party members, marched with the SA (Storm Troopers) into working class neighborhoods where support for those parties was strong. Bitter street fights would result, and Goebbels would call those who were injured or killed as suffering for the party. He made sure through his paper and other media of the heroism of those who suffered. Films were made to dramatize the events and led to the creation of the Horst Wessel Song, named for one of those who were killed in 1930. The song would become the party’s anthem.

The image he crafted was one of bloodied stormtrooper (and overly muscled as well) that would appear in Nazi propaganda for years to come. They died, the party said, fighting the Marxist enemy.

Hitler would appoint him as Reich leader of propaganda for the Nazi Party in 1929 and would hold that position until his death in 1945. Hitler relied on Goebbels in the critical elections of 1932. Goebbels was the first of that era to use radio and film for mass propaganda techniques. Films of Nazi rallies, speeches, and other important events were filmed and broadcast over the radio to inspire supporters and draw new ones in. Hitler was depicted by Goebbels as energetic and using all the modern modes of transport to get around Germany. Films showed him flying all over Germany on the same day holding events.

German students publicly burn collected, “un-German” writings and books on the central boulevard “Unter den Linden” in Berlin.
10 May 1933
Photo: Pahl, Georg
German Federal Archives via Wikimedia Commons

After Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933, Goebbels would be instrumental in implementing the Nazi’s desire to control all aspects of German culture. Hitler established the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in March. At thirty-five years of age, he was the youngest member of the cabinet. Goebbels was tasked with decontamination of German culture, and nothing was considered outside of their control. Film, radio, and the press all fell under Goebbels control, and he used it to its fullest advantage. To make sure German’s accepted the anti-Jewish measures, Jews were cast into the worst possible light. Viewpoints unacceptable to the Nazi Party were silenced, books and publications were suppressed, and supported book burnings to cleanse the German spirit. Preaching national unity, Goebbels rallied people to support Hitler and the Nazi Party against those who had damaged Germany. And Jews were at the top of the list along with Communists, Socialists, certain religious groups, and others such as Roma. The doctrine of racial purity that party believed in excluded large swaths of people from German society.

Goebbels was the chief instigator for Kristallnacht in 1938. He convinced Hitler that the murder of the German diplomat in Paris was the perfect opportunity for a nationwide attack on Jews. And when Germany needed to invade other countries, he helped develop the Führer cult which glorified Hitler as both Germany’s war leader and savior. Mass propaganda was used to convince people that countries had to be invaded to save them from their mess created by Jews and Liberalism. Of course, during this whole time, the mass propaganda depicting the Jews and others negatively made it easier to target, imprison, and execute them. Right up until the end the near deification of Hitler and the rabid antisemitism would continue until the war ended in 1945. Goebbels was a complete supporter of the Final Solution-the Holocaust-the extermination of all Jews.

One of Goebbels last tasks in the final years was as Plenipotentiary for the War Economy which Hitler appointed him to in 1944. Goebbels had worked hard to keep morale up especially after the defeat at Stalingrad. In the new position, he was to help maximize manpower and arms production. He was not highly successful and ran into opposition with other ministers particularly Albert Speer who was in charge of armaments.

After Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, Goebbels became the new Reich Chancellor. He refused the idea of surrender and knew full well he would be put on trial and executed. He and his wife Magda poisoned their six children and then both committed suicide on 1 May 1945. The corpses were partly burned but never buried. There were repeated burials and exhumations, and they were finally buried in Magdeburg at the SMERSH facility in 1946. The remains were exhumed again in 1970 under orders from KGB director Yuri Andropov and destroyed. They were then dumped into the Biederitz river.

Sources

———. “Joseph Goebbels Publishes His Screed of Hate.” HISTORY, November 13, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/goebbels-publishes-his-screed-of-hate.

“Joseph Goebbels.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/joseph-goebbels-1

 

History

Remembering History: Pierre Laval Executed (15 Oct 1945) and Hermann Goering Commits Suicide (15 Oct 1946)

Pierre Laval

FRANCE – JANUARY 02: Marshal Petain And Prime Minister Pierre Laval In The Park Of The Sevigne Pavillion In Vichy In 1942. Behind Them, On The Left, Dr. Bernard Menetrel Keeps Out Of Their Conversation. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Public Doman via Wikimedia Commons

After the German invasion of France in 1940, the Vichy state was created with Henri Pétain in charge and Pierre Laval as head of state. Laval had originally begun his political life as a pacifist but during the 1930’s shifted more towards supporting Fascism. In 1935 he sought France to align with Italy rather than make a deal with the Soviet Union (he had become anti-communist by then). By 1939 he was against war with Germany and encouraged the antiwar faction to keep the government from using troops against Germany when it invaded Poland in September 1939. After the German invasion in 1940, he helped push for an armistice and got himself into the new Vichy government.

Pétain did not care much for him and dismissed him in 1940 after he found he was negotiating with Germany on his own. He had developed a friendship with Hitler and thus by 1942 had become the real ruler of Vichy while Pétain remained as a figurehead. During the time he ran the regime, he actively collaborated with Germany in carrying out their deportation of Jews and enforcing oppressive laws on French citizens. Laval had to flee to Germany when France was liberated in August 1944. He escaped to Spain when Germany was defeated in 1945, but Franco had him expelled. He tried hiding out in Austria but ultimately surrendered to American forces. He was then sent back to France to stand trial for his actions during the German occupation. The trial was quite sensational and revealed his complicity in working with the Germans. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. He tried taking his own life, but he was nursed back to health so he could be executed by firing squad on 15 October 1945. Petain, revered for his leadership in World War I, was tried and found guilty of treason. He was also to be executed but French president Charles de Gaulle changed it to life imprisonment. He was sent to the island of Yeu and died there in 1951.

Hermann Goering (15 October 1946)

Hermann Goring, 6 Jan 1943
Public Domain via Wikipedia

Hermann Goering once was not only the head of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) but at one time Hitler’s designated successor. As Reichsmarschall, he held the highest military rank and answered only to Hitler. He had other titles as well (president of the Reichstag, prime minister of Prussia, chief liquidator of sequestered estates and much more). He established concentration camps to imprison enemies and was instrumental in many anti-Jewish policies such as Kristallnacht and confiscation of Jewish money and property. Known for his flamboyant outfits that showed off his decorations and his displays of stolen artwork, his only threat was from Heinrich Himmler head of the SS.

His stature began to fall when the Luftwaffe failed to deliver in the Battle of Britain, and failing to deter Allied bombings of Germany. Other German officers had a low opinion of his military strategies leading him to become depressed and more addicted to painkillers. By the end of the war, Hitler had turned away from his old comrade and dismissed him when he learned he was negotiating with the Allies. He was captured at the end of the war and was tried in Nuremburg for various crimes against humanity.

He was convicted and sentenced to be hanged. Before that could be carried out, he took a potassium cyanide capsule and died. Speculation on how he obtained the capsule is either he had managed to hide it successfully when he was initially captured, or it had been secretly delivered to him. Cyanide capsules were found on his person when he was captured. Some speculate that US Army lieutenant Jack G. Wheelis had retrieved a capsule after Goering gave him some personal effects, but it has never been substantiated. Former US Army private Herbert Lee Stivers claimed in 1945 that it was likely hidden in a fountain pen a German woman asked him to smuggle into the prison. Goering’s body was later cremated, and ashes thrown into the Isar River.

Herman Goering body, 15 Oct 1946
Public Domain

Sources:

Pierre Laval

———. “Pierre Laval | French Prime Minister, Collaborator & Statesman.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified October 11, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Laval.

Reed, Betsy. “The Execution of Pierre Laval.” The Guardian, October 16, 2008. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/oct/16/fromthearchives.

———. “Vichy Leader Executed for Treason.” HISTORY, October 14, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vichy-leader-executed-for-treason.

Hermann Goering

Fraenkel, Heinrich, and Roger Manvell. “Hermann Goring | Biography, History, Death, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified October 11, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hermann-Goring.

Deutsche Welle.“Secret Lifted Around Göring’s Suicide,” Dw.Com, February 9, 2005, https://www.dw.com/en/secret-lifted-around-g%C3%B6rings-suicide/a-1482751.

———. “High-ranking Nazi Leader Hermann Göring Dies.” HISTORY, October 14, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hermann-goering-dies.

“Hermann Göring.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/hermann-goering.

 

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

 

History

Remembering History: Warsaw Uprising Ends (2 Oct 1944)

Warsaw, the capital of Poland, destroyed by German Nazis, January 1945.
Public Domain (Wikipedia)

On 2 October 1944 the Warsaw Uprising came to an end with the surrender of surviving Polish rebels to German forces. The uprising began two months earlier when the Red Army was approaching Warsaw. The rebels supported the Polish government-in-exile and hoped to gain control of the city before the Soviets arrived. They did not want the Russians to gain the city and establish a communist regime in Poland.

While the rebels had initial gains, they were poorly supplied. Hitler sent reinforcements and the rebels and German soldiers engaged in brutal street fights. The Red Army did take a suburb of Warsaw but proceeded no further. Stalin ordered the Red Army not to assist the rebels and denied a request to use their airbases to supply the rebels. This would be remembered down the road by the Polish people. Both Churchill and Roosevelt asked for his assistance. Churchill, without Soviet approval, had supplies dropped by the RAF, the South African Air Force, and the Polish Air Force. Stalin finally relented and gave air clearance for the U.S. Army Air Force to make supply drops. However, it was too late by the time the supplies came.

Out of arms, supplies and food, there was no choice. After 63 days, they had no choice but to surrender. In retaliation for this uprising, the remaining population of Warsaw was deported. The Polish people were always meant to be eradicated as were the Jews. Plans had been drawn up before the war to turn Poland into a German colony. Warsaw was to be Germanized. Once the remaining population was deported, German destruction of Warsaw was sped up. They had started after the earlier Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Using flamethrowers and explosives, special teams went to work destroying whole neighborhoods, historical monuments, archives, and any place of interest.

By January 1945, 85% of the buildings in Warsaw were gone. Approximately 25% was done during the Warsaw Uprising. The losses are staggering to consider:

10,455 buildings
923 historical buildings (94% of these were destroyed)
25 churches
14 libraries which includes the National Library
81 schools
64 high schools
The University of Warsaw and Warsaw University of Technology
Of course, prior to these all-Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were seized, looted and destroyed as well.

Aftermath

The Soviets took the position that the rebels did not coordinate their plans with them. Of course, the chief reason they did not aid them is that they supported the democratic Polish government-in-exile in London. And Stalin was not interested in supporting them. His goal had been before the war to allow the west to fight themselves to exhaustion allowing for the Soviet Union to expand in their direction. Those that led the uprising and members of the Home Army were persecuted by the Soviets after the war. They were arrested, tried, and deported to Soviet gulags. They had a show trial, not unlike ones during the Great Purge, where confessions were introduced to show they were actually in league with the Germans!

Fortunately, those captured by the Germans and freed by American-British forces were spared this. Stalin and his propaganda machine twisted the facts to show the failings of the Home Army and the Polish government-in-exile. All criticism of the Red Army and Soviet Union by Polish people were forbidden. All references to the Home Army were censored, all books and movies on the Warsaw Uprising were either banned or edited out the Home Army. When that did not work, they made the Home Army soldiers into heroes that were betrayed by their corrupt officers. This would remain in effect until the 1980’s with the rise of Solidarity that challenged the Soviet backed regime. It was not until 1989 that a monument was built in Poland.

Warsaw Uprising Monument
Source: Dhirad 2004

In the West, stories of the heroism of the Home Army were told. They were valiant heroes fighting against the Germans. The Soviets were criticized for their non-involvement and that it helped them get rid of partisans that would have opposed them. Despite all the official censorship that existed, many Poles knew what happened and led to growing anti-Soviet sentiment that manifested into the Polish labor movement Solidarity. This peaceful movement in the 1980’s would effect change in Poland and later, as the days of the Soviet Union waned, Poland would gain back the freedom it had lost in 1939.

Sources:

———. “Warsaw Uprising | Summary, Dates, & Monument.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified September 28, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Uprising.

Missy Sullivan, “Warsaw Uprising Ends,” HISTORY, October 1, 2024, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/warsaw-uprising-ends.

“The Warsaw Polish Uprising.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-warsaw-polish-uprising.

Lester P. Gideon. “The Warsaw Uprising of 1944.” https://www.gideon1.net/uprising/.

“Chronicles of Terror.” https://www.chroniclesofterror.pl/dlibra/results?action=AdvancedSearchAction&type=-3&search_attid1=69&search_value1=Warsaw+Uprising.

 

Suggested Reading

 Bialoszewski, Miron, A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising (New York Review of Books, 2015).

Davies, Norman. Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw. Penguin Books, 2005.

Richie, Alexandra. Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising. Picador, 2019.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

[This was updated for 2024 correcting for grammar, punctuation, and revising source information and details.]

History

Siege of Leningrad Begins (8 September 1941)

On 8 Sep 1941, German forces began their siege of Leningrad that would last 872 days making it one of the most grueling sieges in modern warfare. Let’s find out more about it.

The fire of anti-aircraft guns deployed in the neighborhood of St. Isaac’s cathedral during the defense of Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg, its pre-Soviet name) in 1941.
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Leningrad (formerly known as St. Petersburg and capital of Russia before the Communist takeover in 1918), was a major industrial center and the Soviet Union’s second largest city. When Germany in June 1941, many of the city’s industrial plants and inhabitants were relocated far to the east to prevent capture. Two million were left behind though to face the rapidly moving German army. Everyone who could lift a shovel (men, women, and children) were conscripted to build anti-tank fortifications around the city’s edge. The railway to Moscow was cut off at the end of July by German forces and they were starting to penetrate the outer fortifications of the city.  On 8 September, German forces began besieging the city but were held back by the fortifications and the tenacity of the defenders, some 200,000 Red Army soldiers. German bombers destroyed a warehouse containing food making life more difficult for the defenders.

Germans next moved to seal off the remaining highways and rail lines south of the city. Finnish forces joined the Germans by coming down the Karelian Isthmus in the north so that by November the entire city was encircled. German bombings intensified with raids several times a day. Most people were reduced to eating one slice of bread per day and starvation was rampant. One of the coldest winters on record would set in as well adding to the misery of the inhabitants. Many continued to work to produce arms to help defeat the Germans despite the lack of food and warmth as well. Just about anything that could be burned for heat was used from books to furniture. Pets (dogs and cats) were eaten along with animals from the city zoo. Wallpaper paste was used for food and leather boiled to make an edible jelly. Plants, grasses and weeds were put to use to produce vitamin supplements. Cannabilizing the dead was a major issue resulting in the Leningrad police department having a special unit to handle it.

Some supplies were able to be brought in over Lake Ladoga, but it was very small and not enough to alleviate the conditions in the city. Some were evacuated-mostly elderly and children-but many were unable to leave and starved and or froze to death. In June 1943 the Soviet Army was able break through the German blockade and establish a better supply line along the shores of Lake Ladoga. The city was kept alive through this and later an oil pipeline and electric cables were connected to the city despite the ongoing siege. When spring came in 1943, land was put to use so that by summer produce could be grown. The siege would end when the Soviet Army forced the German army to retreat in January 1944. The siege ended but the human toll was enormous. Over a million died. Survivors got the Order of Lenin in 1945. The population of Leningrad (now renamed to St. Petersburg) did not regain its former population of three million until the 1960’s.

St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad?

St. Petersburg was found in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great and named after the apostle St. Peter. Until 1918, it served as capital of the Russian Empire when it was moved by the Bolsheviks to Moscow. The city was both a cultural center as well as the capital in old Russia. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the city was renamed Petrograd because of the strong anti-German sentiment and the fact its name contained two German words. In 1924 after Lenin’s death, the city was renamed for him, Leningrad. In 1991 a public referendum approved the renaming of the city back to St. Petersburg. The city is a major tourist destination owing to its cultural and historical significance. An old guidebook reminds the city is spread out, so be prepared to spend time going to and from the various historical sites. Summers can be warm and sometimes rainy (bring waterproof jackets and something to wear if it gets chilly as well). Winters are cold, so bring cold gear. Surprisingly St. Petersburg is not as cold as Moscow during the winter.

St. Petersburg, Russia. View from the visitor’s gallery at the Colonnade of the St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
2012
A.Savin via Wikimedia Commons

Sources:

Dean, Mack. “Siege of Leningrad | World War 2 Facts.” World War 2 Facts, October 21, 2020. http://www.worldwar2facts.org/siege-of-leningrad.html.

———. “Siege of Leningrad | Nazi Germany, World War II, Blockade.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified September 1, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Leningrad.

———. “Siege of Leningrad Begins.” HISTORY, September 2, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/siege-of-leningrad-begins.

 

History

Remembering History: Hitler Invades Poland (1939); Japan Surrenders Ending World War II (1945)

Hitler attends a Wehrmacht victory parade in Warsaw on 5 October 1939
Public Domain

On 1 September 1939, German forces using the pretext they were acting in self-defense against Poland, invaded. The German infantry was not fully mechanized but had Panzers and fast-moving artillery that included truck mounted artillery. The German strategy was to quickly concentrate forces and encircle an enemy quickly. Thanks to the relatively flat terrain of Poland, it made it easy to move mobile infantry about. The invasion came one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 23 August. This non-aggression pact meant neither side could assist the enemy of the other. A secret protocol to the agreement defined German and Soviet spheres in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. This protocol would not be proved until the Nuremberg Trials. So, when Germany invaded, Poland was already split with defined borders between the two countries.

With this pact, Poland signed defense agreements with Britain and France. Talks between those powers and Germany did take place and the invasion was held up until they were concluded. Hitler did not believe they would declare war, and if they did would be willing to compromise after the invasion of Poland. Germany wanted the restoration of Danzig (in Polish Gdansk) as a free city (it had a large German population), the Polish Corridor, and the safeguarding of Germans in Poland. Germany demanded that a Polish representative with the power to sign such an agreement be present.

The British, remembering what happened before when Czechoslovakia was forced to capitulate to the Germans, did not like that demand. When the Polish representative met with Ribbentrop on 31 Aug, he was dismissed when he had no power to sign. The Germans then claimed that Poland had rejected their demands and Hitler ordered the invasion for 1 September. The Germans were better prepared for war than the Polish. They had higher numbers of troops and had air superiority. Poland had older fighters while the bombers were more modern. They waited too late to upgrade so newer fighters and bombers would not be there when the Germany invaded. Poland had two armor brigades and its 7TP light tank was better armed than the German Panzer. But they only had 140 of those and 88 tanks they imported from Britain and France. The Polish Navy was a small fleet with destroyers, submarines and support vessels. Most of the surface vessels escaped and joined the British Royal Navy. Submarines did engage German shipping in the Baltic Sea but it was not successful. Polish merchant ships that did escape or elsewhere would join the allies and take part in wartime convoys.

By 3 October both German and Soviet forces had secured their spheres ending the Second Polish Republic. Both German and Soviet governments quickly took control of their territories, organizing and annexing, and setting up regional controls. Government and military leaders who did escape would form a military force in support of the Polish government-in-exile. In response to the invasion of Poland, Britain and France formally declared war on Germany on 3 September but little else (France did invade the Saar but quickly withdrew).

Sources

Gilbert, Adrian. “Invasion of Poland (1939) | Description & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified August 25, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Invasion-of-Poland.

“Invasion of Poland, Fall 1939.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/invasion-of-poland-fall-1939.

———. “Germany Invades Poland.” HISTORY, August 30, 2024. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland.

Japan Surrenders

Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945: Representatives of the Empire of Japan on board USS Missouri (BB-63) during the surrender ceremonies.
Army Signal Corps, Public Domain

On the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese formally surrendered ending World War II. By this time Japan was no longer the military power it once was. The Battle of Midway in June 1942 had been the turning point when four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk. Since then Japanese control over its captured territories were pushed back under massive effort of U.S. and Allied forces. By the summer of 1945, and with the capture of Okinawa, Japan was being blockaded and being bombed often. Plans for the invasion of Japan had been drawn up. After the bloody experience of capturing territory such as on Iwa Jima, it was expected to be a difficult invasion that would cost a lot of allied lives. However, the dropping of two atomic weapons on Japan in August on Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed things dramatically. Members of the Japanese War Council and Emperor Hirohito favored accepting the peace terms; some objected and acted to stop a surrender. On 15 Aug a coup was attempted against Prime Minister Suzuki, but it was crushed. At noon that day, and for the first time in Japanese history, Emperor Hirohito addressed the nation by radio. “We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable.” The US and the allies accepted the surrender.

Sources

———. “Japan Surrenders, Bringing an End to WWII.” HISTORY, August 30, 2024. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders.

———. “Pacific War | Summary, Battles, Maps, & Casualties.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified August 18, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pacific-War/The-Japanese-surrender.

Malloryk. “‘to Bear the Unbearable’: Japan’s Surrender, Part I.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Last modified August 17, 2020. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surrender-part-i.

 

 

History

News That Stunned The World: Hitler and Stalin Sign Non-Aggression Treaty (23 Aug 1939)

On 23 August 1939 it was announced that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression treaty. The announcement was a complete surprise since Hitler had both in his writings and public speaking had denounced Communism and the Soviet Union. So why did this happen and what were its effects? Let’s find out.

Map of Europe and Western Asia in 1923 after World War I.
Image via Wikimedia Commons

Both Germany and Russia had suffered in World War I. Germany was defeated by the Allies, lost its monarchy and colonial territories, and was ordered to pay huge reparations per the Versailles Treaty. Russia had gotten into the war to protect Serbia but was ill-equipped for a major war due to its limited resources and industrial capability. It suffered humiliating defeats during the war and its people suffered with reduced goods and services. This fed to unrest which led to Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate and allow a more democratic government to take over. Alas, that did not last as it continued in the war despite its unpopularity. This allowed the Communists, led by Lenin (who had been sent back to the country by Germany to foment chaos) to seize power and overturn the entire social and political structure of the country. In Germany, after a decade of vacillating leadership and discontent over inflation and Germany’s loss of status in the world, Adolf Hitler would lead the Nazi Party to victory after he was given the chancellorship in in 1933. Both Germany and Russia (now called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or just Soviet Union), were led by authoritarian governments that ruled with an iron fist.

The Soviet Union in its early days sought a promised world-wide revolution that never happened causing its leader Lenin and later Stalin to realize that building up the country first was needed before worldwide revolution. Hitler and the Nazi’s had a different view as they wanted to expand their country and restore pride in Germany. A new Germany was being formed with a clear ideology they were the people that would lead to change Europe and the world. By 1939, Germany was making its moves in Europe by invading Czechoslovakia. In 1938, they demanded and got a piece of Czechoslovakia when Britain and France, desperate to avoid war, forced Czechoslovakia to accept the deal breaking a treaty they had signed to defend it. Germany also annexed Austria that year as well uniting both countries. The invasion of Czechoslovakia told Britain and France that Hitler would not honor his agreements.

On the Russian side, Stalin had instituted programs to industrialize the country, but his brutal dictatorship had resulted in people being denounced, tried, and either imprisoned for years or executed. A climate of fear existed and not knowing whether someone had denounced you in secret made you wonder if you would come home that night. The Great Purge of 1936-1938  saw its officer corps depleted. The German Gestapo, feeding on Stalin’s paranoia, used the situation to use create documents that implicated many in the officer corps but also in government as well. The era became known for its show trials where the accused would be brought in, tried of a crime they didn’t commit, and faced imprisonment or death depending on the severity of the charge. Those who had become important members of government or close to Stalin that had been purged would be removed from the public record as well. Photos were retouched to show they were no longer walking, standing, or near Stalin or other people.

Stalin looked at expanding the Soviet Union by stealth or force into Europe. He hoped the war between the European nations would so weaken them so he could achieve his aims. Poland was, like Czechoslovakia a means to an end for both powers. Germany’s racial theory held the Polish people were, like the Jews, to be eliminated. For all the bad reasons, both Hitler and Stalin would come to terms and agree to a treaty that divided Poland into two spheres. Secret protocols to the pact indicated the demarcation lines and other things as well. The countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland were secretly divided up as well giving both Germany and the Soviet Union access to raw materials. This allowed Hitler to invade Poland in September. Russia would move to claim its share of Poland, which the German military was not quite happy about since in some areas they had to withdraw back to the lines agreed to in the secret protocols.

“Nothing more unbelievable could be imagined. Astonishment and skepticism turned quickly to consternation and alarm”. (Gunther, John (1940). Inside Europe. New York: Harper & Brothers.)

Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking hands over the newly signed pact between Germany and Soviet Union. August 23,1939
Source: German Federal Archive

The news of the agreement, popularly called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, stunned the world. No one expected that Hitler would make a deal with Stalin. There had been some leaks suggesting of it, but no one thought it credible this would occur. The British and French had been in negotiations with the Soviets for months and were blindsided. Soviet propaganda heralded the agreement while others questioned secret protocols that were signed. Italy and the U.S. were given some limited information about them, but the full details were not disclosed. Soviet propaganda downplayed the previous attacks on Germany and Molotov himself made it clear they harbored no ill will.  Nazi propaganda also had to do an about face as well. The Nazi’s had shut down the German Communist Party, imprisoned its leaders, and shut down its press. And they had nothing good to say about the Soviet Union either. Now they had to say everything was good with the hated Communist state.

Meanwhile the Baltic States began to worry how the rumored secret protocols would soon impact them. British and French attempts to meet with the Soviet negotiator over the agreement were rebuffed. Hitler said that with the treaty in place Britain should recognize Germany’s claims over Poland since it changed the situation from that of World War I. Instead, and to the German leader’s surprise, Britain announced a defense pact with Poland on 25 August 1939. Needless to say, Poland now realized it was being divided up by the two powers and war was coming.

How Central Europe would be divided up according the agreement. And what actually happened before Germany broke the treaty and attacked the Soviet Union.
Author: Peter Hanula via Wikimedia Commons

The British and French governments had reached their end with Hitler; they no longer trusted him. In both countries the appeasement supporters diminished as reality set in that war was most certainly coming now with Germany. Neville Chamberlain, the chief supporter of the Munich Agreement a year before to avoid war, now realized his failure. He made it clear to Germany it would stand by Britain’s agreement to defend Poland. Hitler considered Chamberlain a fool and ordered the military to invade Poland as planned. The only question the Germans really had was whether those powers would do anything while they were attacking Poland. Both the British and French declared war on Germany when it invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 but took no immediate military action. It was a mistake that would prove costly for both countries later.

Aftermath

Stalin gambled that Hitler would focus on Europe and not on Russia. His goal was to build up the Soviet Union for war or to move in when his forces had subverted the country they wanted to take. Like many (including the German military high command) a two-front war was to be avoided. All of that went out of the window when Hitler decided he would invade Russia in 1941 under Operation Barbarossa. The goal of the operation was to remove and execute the leadership of Russia, take control of Russia, and make it a place for German resettlement. Stalin was not prepared for war and had discounted warnings Germany was about to invade as an attempt to get Russia to scuttle the treaty. Germany got the initial success and took territory easily defeating the military forces it encountered. However, they never took Moscow despite being twenty miles from it. And as time went on, faced more stiffer resistance and a military helped by American military equipment sent to help Russia defeat Hitler.

A vicious war broke out between the German and Russian forces creating now an Eastern Front that began to demand more resources than initially thought needed. The Soviet Union was getting supplies from the Allies using the dangerous North Atlantic to Murmansk route. And when the Allies landed in Europe in June 1944, this caused even more strain already on the limited resources Germany had. The Soviet troops started pushing back and ultimately forced Germany into retreat and ultimately to Berlin in 1945 where Hitler would commit suicide rather than be captured.

Stalin though did achieve his war aims in the end. Now with their troops in Poland and throughout Central Europe in countries they had liberated from Nazi rule, they would undermine the return of its former governments and subverted their political structure to ensure Communists would take charge. Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia all came to be controlled by the Soviet Union through governments that were installed and supported by them. It gave them access to sources of raw materials they had not had before and created a buffer around Russia. For people that had survived living under the yoke of Nazi controlled governments, it was simply swapping out one ideology for another with the same type of tyranny running things. Yugoslavia under Tito did break away from Moscow (he was fiercely independent but Communist) but that was about it.

The Iron Curtain, in black. Countries to the East of it are noted in Red and Warsaw Pact countries. NATO countries are blue, neutral states gray. Green depicts Yugoslavia which broke away from Moscow in 1948. Albania also had its own split starting in 1961 and in 1968 withdrew from the Pact but remained Communist. While a small part of Austria was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945-1955, it did not join the Warsaw Pact and declared its neutrality. The small black dot in East Germany indicates West Berlin which was circled with the infamous Berlin Wall starting in 1961.
Image: Sémhur via Wikimedia Commons

Until the fall of Communism began in 1991, these countries would remain either directly or indirectly controlled by Moscow through their governments. Some countries such as Czechoslovakia would break up (Czech Republic and Slovakia) after Communism ended. Yugoslavia would also break up as well into Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Romania had the most violent uprising (Poland had strikes that forced out the Communists) that ended with its leader being executed in the end. East Germany would be unified with West Germany ending the separation that had begun in 1945.

Sources

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024h, August 16). German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact | History, facts, & Significance. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/German-Soviet-Nonaggression-Pact

German-Soviet Pact. (n.d.). https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact

Klein, C., & Klein, C. (2023, October 5). How a secret Hitler-Stalin pact set the stage for WWII. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/the-secret-hitler-stalin-nonagression-pact

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact: Hitler, Stalin & WWII – HISTORY. (2022, November 15). Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact: Hitler, Stalin & WWII – HISTORY. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/molotov-ribbentrop-pact

Suggested Reading

Gunther, J. (1940). Inside Europe (Revised Edition 1940). Harper Brothers. (Original work published 1936)

Moorhouse, R. (2014). The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941. Basic Books (AZ).

Pipes, R. (1995). Russia under the Bolshevik Regime. Vintage.

Pipes, R. (2001). Communism: A History. Random House Digital, Inc.

Read, A., & Fisher, D. (1989). The Deadly Embrace: Hitler, Stalin and the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939-1941. W. W. Norton.

Shirer, W. L. (2011). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon and Schuster.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Remembering History: Warsaw Uprising Begins (1 Aug 1944)

Rare Agfacolor photo (invention from 1936) dated August 1944 taken in Warsaw, Poland in the Old Town Market Place during Warsaw Uprising in August 1944
Ewa Faryaszewska (1920-1944)
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

On 1 Aug 1944 Poles in Warsaw launched a major uprising against the Nazi occupation. The Soviet Army had advanced to the Vistula River on the eastern suburb of Warsaw prompting the revolt. Polish General Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski, commander of the Home Army (an underground resistance group of around 40,000). The Home Army had ties to the government-in-exile in London, which was anti-communist. The hope was to gain at least partial control of Warsaw before the Soviets arrived.

By this time, the German Army had been pushed back considerably from its gains in Russia. And their taking Warsaw seemed likely. Despite this, Adolf Hitler ordered that the uprising be suppressed at all costs. The Nazi SS directed the defense force and engaged in brutal street fighting. The Polish Home Army fought back hard despite having limited supplies and no support from the Soviet Army (which cause friction between Poland and the Soviet Union for years).

The Red Army did capture several bridgeheads across the Vistula River in preparation to take Warsaw but held back doing anything more. Only under intense pressure from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt did Stalin relent and allow Allies to drop supplies to the rebels. But it was too late as by that time, both the rebels and the citizens ran out of food, supplies, and medical supplies. The uprising came to an end on 2 October when the remaining forces surrendered. The revolt had lasted 63 days but the cost for both sides was high. An estimated three-fourths of the Home Army died along with 200,000 civilians. The Germans suffered 10,000 dead, 9,000 wounded, and 7,000 missing. In keeping with their dislike of the Polish people (they were seen as just a notch above the Jews but were slated for either slavery or death by the Nazis) the survivors were deported.

Deploying demolition squads, most of the remaining intact buildings in Warsaw would be destroyed over the next several months. All of Warsaw’s treasures were looted, burned, or destroyed. Meanwhile the Red Army sitting outside Warsaw did nothing to stop the Germans. They would not move until January 1945 when their final offensive was launched. On 17 January 1945, the ruins of Warsaw were liberated by the Soviets who faced little or no opposition. Thus, making it easy for them to establish a Communist state in Poland. After suffering from Nazi occupation, the Polish people would suffer a longer one under the Communists.

 

Sources:

History

Remembering History: Mussolini Ousted (25 July 1943)

Benito Mussolini
Public Domain

On 25 Jul 1943 the Fascist Grand Council formally voted Mussolini from power and was arrested later after meeting with King Victor Emmanuel III. So, what happened to the once all-powerful Duce? Let’s find out.

Italy had entered into the Pact of Steel with Germany in 1939 which committed Italy to fighting along with Germany if it declared war or was attacked. Mussolini entered the agreement knowing full well Italy did not have the resources or industrial capability for a sustained military conflict. Mussolini had grand ambitions about expanding the Italian sphere of influence in the region and even into central Europe. Mussolini believed that Fascism was on the march and aligning with Hitler seemed a good choice at the time. Italy had successfully invaded Ethiopia (1935-1937) though not without them putting up a strong fight. Using mustard gas against troops and civilians had gotten Mussolini severely criticized and international sanctions.

The war in Ethiopia and his intervention on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War had brought Italy closer to Germany with a treaty of mutual interest in 1936.  And he needed coal from Germany since international sanctions over Ethiopia had made acquiring it more difficult. Mussolini believed a German-Rome Axis would be how Europe would turn but relying on Germany to supply items like coal meant Italy was more dependent on Germany rather than a true partnership. Mussolini tried to get all kinds of concessions from the British and French after the Munich Agreement in 1938; none were given. He made it clear in speeches (and those by others) that they wanted territory in France, Tunisia, a small part of Switzerland, and Albania. He upped his demands to demand free access to the world’s oceans by breaking British control of key places such as Gibraltar.

From the viewpoint in London, Paris, and elsewhere, his bellicose talk signaled major territorial ambitions. The Fascists mostly supported this though some, like his foreign minister Count Galeazzo Ciano, were concerned about aligning with Germany. Taking on both Britain and France became accepted since they were the major colonial powers that Italy saw as blocking them from achieving their rightful position in the world. On 7 April 1938, Italy invaded Albania and took control in three days. The formal military alliance with Germany (the Pact of Steel) was signed on 2 May 1939 cementing further the military ambitions of both countries together. The Italians thought war with Britain and France would not occur for years but dreadfully miscalculated Hitler’s ambitions.

Italy was not ready for major war operations until 1942 according to his own advisors. The Pact of Steel had said neither side was to enter war until 1943. Italy desperately needed this time in order to get its industry running and lacked critical military industrial production. Both Britain and France had highly developed military industrial production, but Italy was woefully behind in key areas such as automobile production (key to making tanks and other mobile artillery). Additionally, Italy needed to acquire all the needed raw resources needed for war production. Italy was primarily an agriculturally based economy with small pockets of industrial sectors. They needed to setup a supply chain to bring in all the raw materials like coal and import steel. Italy’s merchant marine was not managed in preparation for war and would lose those ships as they were in foreign ports when war was declared by Italy in 1940.

Prior to that, raw materials being sent from European ports to Italy were subject to seizure. Coal, for instance, was shipped out of Rotterdam. The British declared it contraband and seized it, infuriating Mussolini. The Germans offered to ship by train over the Alps while the British countered saying they would supply all of his country’s needs if Italy supplied them armaments. The British hoped to lure Italy away from its alliance with Germany. And it appeared to work as Mussolini had approved a draft contract to provide military equipment. It was suddenly scrapped under intense pressure from Germany caused Mussolini to fold. This decision would come back to haunt him much later down the road.

Italian debt, already large when Mussolini, came to power, had increased thanks to his generous support of General Franco in Spain that increased it. The blockade of coal was strengthened and deeper reliance on German imports of raw materials occurred. The economy was bolstered by the important of goods from Germany, but inflation was occurring causing basic goods and service to become more expensive. When Italy entered the war in 1940, its merchant marine in foreign ports were seized leaving the country without hardly any means of getting needed supplies by cargo vessels.

Adding more to the woes, the warnings of his advisors were accurate. Italy’s army was huge making it a major land force on paper but in reality, lacked modern transport and weapons. The army, because of the weak economy, did not have the needed armaments or supplies for war, and was the major reason it failed. Lightly armored infantry is no match for a fully equipped company of troops with full battle-ready equipment like the British had. Along with both a navy and air force that did not work together well, Italy was ill-prepared for general warfare except for a country that had a worse military than it had. There was poor leadership as well at the top that never had clearly defined military objectives and seemed to go at the whim of whatever Duce wanted them to do. They easily took the lower portions of Vichy France and Corsica. About the only good thing they did in taking that was providing a refuge for fleeing Jews. The Italians did not follow the German lead much regarding the Jews, which caused the Germans frustration over the Italian non-compliance in this area.

The succeeding campaigns in North Africa and Greece ended badly. In North Africa the British put up a good fight and had routed the Italians. Then the Germans arrived with Rommel in charge making it a much tougher campaign for the British and later the Americans; Greece was a total debacle. They invaded from Albania, but the Greeks pushed them back into Albania ending up in a stalemate that cost both sides. Once again, the Germans invaded (the British were using Greece to fly bombing raids into Romania) and successfully took Greece and Crete. Only Yugoslavia was a success but that was because the Germans were part of the campaign and once the country was divided up, Italy got the coastal area.

By 1943 though, things had gotten worse for most Italians. Food and other items were rationed, wartime inflation made everything more expensive, and the war itself was unpopular with most Italians. Mussolini was no longer seen as the great leader and the recent bombing of Rome showed how his boasts were hollow. The invasion of Sicily and later the south by Allied forces showed the proverbial “writing was on the wall.” Mussolini knew that his military could not successfully fight the Allies but stuck to the war because he saw no other option but to fight it out. The Fascist Grand Council knew the war was lost and that Mussolini had lost his stature with the people.

On the night of 24 July and in the early morning of 25 July, the Grand Council met with Mussolini. Accounts of the meeting indicate he was sick, tired, and felt the burden of the military reverses suffered by the Italian military. To some, it seemed he was looking for a way out and it was given to him. The Grand Council voted to remove him from power and transfer some of his duties to the King. While some opposed it, the vote was carried by the majority. Even his son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano voted for his ouster. Mussolini seemed dazed by the vote and while his supporters tried to get him to act, he seemed unable to do anything. He would go to his meeting with the King (unshaven and groggy) where he would be arrested. The King told him that General Pietro Badoglio would be taking over as Prime Minister and that the war was lost. He and his family were assured of their safety, and he was whisked away. Mussolini accepted his fall as it absolved him of any more responsibility for the war.

When it was declared Mussolini was out, the general response was one of relief. His fellow Fascists did not stage marches or protests over his dismissal and did nothing to release him from his incarceration on La Maddalena (he would be moved elsewhere). Hitler was furious and knew that the Italians would seek an armistice with the Allies (which was true but in public said otherwise to keep the Germans at bay). For the Allies his dismissal was good news as they hoped it might bring an end to the Italian campaign. And many Italians thought it would as well, Unfortunately the Germans had other plans and that would drag out the war in Italy until June 1944, but that is a story for another time.

Sources:

Foot, J., & Hibbert, C. (2024, July 8). Benito Mussolini | Biography, Definition, Facts, rise, & Death. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2009, March 18). Pact of Steel | Italy–Germany [1939]. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Pact-of-Steel

Mullen, M. (2020b, July 23). Benito Mussolini falls from power. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mussolini-falls-from-power

Italy between 1922-1945 – The Rule of Mussolini. (n.d.). Life in Italy. Retrieved July 23, 2024, from https://lifeinitaly.com/italy-between-1922-1945-the-rule-of-mussolini/

Warfare History Network. (2023, November 29). Mussolini’s Fall from Power – Warfare History Network. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/mussolinis-fall-from-power/

Axis Alliance in World War II. (n.d.). https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/axis-powers-in-world-war-ii

Wikipedia contributors. (2024d, July 23). Military history of Italy during World War II. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II

Suggested Reading

Bosworth, R. J. B. (2006). Mussolini’s Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship, 1915-1945. Penguin Press HC.

Haynes, D. (2023). A brief history of Italy: Tracing the Renaissance, Unification, and the Lively Evolution of Art and Culture.

Hearder, H., & Morris, J. (2001). Italy: A Short History. Cambridge University Press.

Hibbert, C. (2008). Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of Il Duce. St. Martin’s Griffin.

Kertzer, D. I. (2015). The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Moseley, R. (1999). Mussolini’s shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano. Yale University Press.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.