Author Archives: secondbysecond

This week in the War, 19–25 April 1943: The Warsaw ghetto uprising

Posted on April 21, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 19 April 1943, the eve of Passover, German troops entered the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. Many Jews had already been taken from the ghetto and deported to the east, supposedly to work camps. But … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 April 1943: Murder in Katyn forest

Posted on April 13, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 13 April 1943, Radio Berlin announced a grisly discovery in Katyn forest, close to Smolensk. Upwards of 3,000 Polish officers were found buried in layers in a number of mass graves. The officers had … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 April 1943: Hitler and Mussolini meet in Salzburg

Posted on April 7, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 7 April 1943, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in Salzburg to discuss the military situation. Axis forces had suffered major defeats and were on the defensive both in Tunisia in North Africa following … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 29 March–4 April 1943: Rationing in the USA

Posted on March 30, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 29 March 1943, the United States introduced rationing for meat items such as beef, pork and mutton; and also cheese. Poultry remained exempt. Sugar and coffee had been rationed since 1942, as had tires and gasoline. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 22–28 March 1943: The bazooka

Posted on March 28, 2015 by secondbysecond

The iconic hardware of World War II, items that took on a larger-than-life persona and captured the public’s attention both during and after the war included the Spitfire, the Jeep, even Germany’s MP-40 machine pistol. This week in the war, … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 15–21 March 1943: Trying to kill Hitler

Posted on March 18, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 March 1943, Wehrmacht colonel, Rudolf Christoph von Gersdorff attempted to blow himself up beside Hitler, and alongside Goering, Himmler and Doenitz, too. It was not the first attempt on the Fuehrer’s life, and … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 8–14 March 1943: Italian workers stage a strike at the Fiat factories in Turin

Posted on March 14, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, 12 March 1943, tens of thousands of workers at the Fiat factories in the Italian industrial city of Turin went on strike. Other Italian workers followed their lead and war production across northern Italy ground … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 1–7 March 1943: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

Posted on March 6, 2015 by secondbysecond

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was fought, this week in the war, 2–4 March 1943. After being alerted by their naval code breakers, the Americans and Australians launched air attacks against a Japanese convoy that was carrying reinforcements to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 22–28 February 1943: Sophie Scholl: “Somebody had to make a start.”

Posted on February 28, 2015 by secondbysecond

The White Rose was a non-violent resistance movement formed by a handful of Munich University students who were opposed to Hitler and the Nazis. The movement’s main activity was to pass out leaflets that were critical of the regime. Sophie … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 15–21 February 1943: STO—le Service du travail obligatoire, Vichy’s labour service law

Posted on February 20, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 16 February 1943, the law concerning the Service du travail obligatoire (STO)—the compulsory labour service law—was put into action by the government of Vichy France. It applied to young French males born between 1920 and 1922 and … Continue reading →

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