Category Archives: World War II

This week in the War, 30 April–6 May 1945: Death of Adolf Hitler

Posted on April 30, 2017 by secondbysecond

On the afternoon of 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler finished lunch in his bunker and, after sending everyone except Eva Braun away, he shot himself; Eva took cyanide. Hitler’s Third Reich and the program he had laid out in Mein … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 23–29 April 1945: A flying visit

Posted on April 29, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 23 April 1945, as Adolf Hitler took personal charge of directing Berlin’s defenses, he received a telegram from Hermann Goering advocating that he, Goering, take full control of Germany. Enraged, Hitler stripped Goering of all … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 April 1945: Birthday in the bunker

Posted on April 22, 2017 by secondbysecond

Hitler’s birthday, 20 April, was a special day in the Nazi calendar and normally a cause for parades and festivities across the German Reich. Not long before the beginning of the war, 20 April 1939, Hitler had celebrated his 50th birthday. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 9–15 April 1945: Death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Posted on April 15, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 April 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia—the so-called ‘Little White House.’ America had lost the man who had steered the country through the Great Depression, and the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 April 1945: Hitler settles scores with the Abwehr

Posted on April 5, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 8 April (some say 9 April) 1945, Hans von Dohnanyi was hanged at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. On the following day, 9 April 1945, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Major General Hans Oster, and Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 26 March–1 April 1945: Hitler goes into his bunker

Posted on March 26, 2017 by secondbysecond

On 1 April 1945, Adolf Hitler vacated his apartments and his headquarters in the Reich Chancellery and descended into his bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery gardens: the Fuehrerbunker. From then on, he lived below ground and only occasionally ventured to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 19–25 March 1945: Copenhagen—triumph and tragedy

Posted on March 23, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 March 1945, RAF and USAAF bombers carried out a precision raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Gestapo had chosen to set up its headquarters in the former headquarters of the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 March 1945: RAF attacks the Schildesche viaduct

Posted on March 15, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 14 March 1945, the RAF’s 617 Squadron launched a daytime raid against the Schildesche viaduct near Bielefeld, on the railway line linking Hanover to Hamm. The viaduct dated from 1847. A large section of the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 March 1945: The bridge at Remagen

Posted on March 6, 2017 by secondbysecond

On 7 March 1945, units of the 9th Armoured Division of General Courtney Hodges’ US First Army arrived at the German town of Remagen on the west bank of the Rhine. To their surprise, the Ludendorff railway bridge, which connected Remagen … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 26 Feb–4 March 1945: Without goodness or grace

Posted on March 3, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war saw the execution in Plötzensee Prison of the German Social Democrat politician Ernst von Harnack. In 1933, von Harnack had voiced his opposition to the new Hitler-led government, describing it as ‘without goodness or grace.’ [Quoted … Continue reading →

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