June 1941
The following events occurred in June 1941:
June 1, 1941 (Sunday)
- The Battle of Crete ended in a Pyrrhic victory for the Axis.
- The light cruiser HMS Calcutta was sunk by the Luftwaffe off Alexandria, Egypt.
- In the power vacuum in Baghdad following the collapse of the Rashid Ali regime, two days of violence known as the Farhud broke out against the local Jewish population.
- Clothes rationing began in the United Kingdom.[1]
- All Catholic publications were banned in Nazi Germany.[2]
- Born: Alexander V. Zakharov, astronomer, in Moscow, USSR
- Died: Hans Berger, 68, German psychiatrist (suicide); Jenny Dolly, 48, American dancer and actress, one-half of The Dolly Sisters identical twin performers; Hugh Walpole, 57, English novelist
June 2, 1941 (Monday)
- Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass once again. During the five-hour conference Hitler ranted about Rudolf Hess and other recent events, but kept Mussolini in the dark about the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union. However, major Italian troop movements in the Balkans around this time suggest that the Italian government was likely aware of Hitler's intentions anyway. Mussolini reportedly told Count Ciano after the meeting, "I wouldn't be at all sorry if Germany in her war with Russia got her feathers plucked."[3][4]
- Manchester Blitz: German bombers attacked Manchester and neighbouring Salford, killing 70 and severely injuring 86.[5]
- German submarine U-147 was sunk off Ireland by depth charges from British warships.
- The Massacre of Kondomari and the first Alikianos executions were carried by German paratroopers in reprisal for the active participation of Cretan civilians during the Battle of Crete.
- The British cargo ship Michael E was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic by the German submarine U-108.
- 79-year old Chief Justice of the United States Charles Evans Hughes informed President Roosevelt that he was retiring effective July 1.[6]
- Born: Stacy Keach, actor, in Savannah, Georgia; Charlie Watts, drummer for The Rolling Stones, in Kingsbury, London, England
- Died: Lou Gehrig, 47, American baseball player (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
June 3, 1941 (Tuesday)
- Razing of Kandanos: German occupying forces in Crete completely destroyed the village of Kandanos in retaliation for the resistance of the local population during the Battle of Crete.
- The Finnish High Command granted the German General Staff permission to use northern Finland as a staging area for the planned attack on the Soviet Union.[7]
- Hitler received Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Ōshima at the Berghof and informed him of the plan to attack the Soviet Union.[4]
June 4, 1941 (Wednesday)
- British forces seized control of Mosul and set up a pro-British government.[8]
- The Luftwaffe bombed Alexandria.[9]
- British intelligence intercepted Ambassador Ōshima's coded message which included considerable details of Germany's plan to attack the USSR. However, due to a lack of either translators or interest, the report was not delivered to the Joint Intelligence Committee for eight days.[4]
- The British ocean liner Zealandic struck a sunken wreck off Cromer while trying to evade a Luftwaffe attack and ran aground. Zealandic was then torpedoed by German E-boats before she could be salvaged.
- Died: Morris Michael Edelstein, 53, Polish-born American Congressional Representative; Wilhelm II, 82, Emperor of Germany from 1888 to 1918
June 5, 1941 (Thursday)
- About 4,000 Chinese residents who hid in a tunnel during the Bombing of Chongqing died of asphyxiation.[10]
- Vichy French planes bombed the Transjordanian capital of Amman.[11]
- From Alexandria the Greek Prime Minister-in-exile Emmanouil Tsouderos made a broadcast to the people of occupied Greece. "Unite as one man more closely than ever around our national symbols, around our flag and our heroic King," Tsouderos said. "Keep your heads high as men who have been victorious. Do not trust the enemy; and have confidence in the final victory. Help each one of you, with every means at your disposal in order that we may achieve the final victory. Help our country to overcome the present misfortunes until the glorious day of liberation of a Greece great and new."[12]
- An explosion of stored ammunition at Smederevo Fortress in Yugoslavia killed about 2,500 people.[13]
- Sandor Szabo won the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship over Bronko Nagurski in St. Louis by disqualification.[14]
- German submarine U-573 was commissioned.
- Born: Martha Argerich, Argentinian-born Swiss pianist, in Buenos Aires; Spalding Gray, actor and writer, in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 2004)
June 6, 1941 (Friday)
- President Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing the requisitioning of all foreign merchant ships idling in American ports. He then issued an executive order authorizing the Maritime Commission to operate or dispose of the ships in the interest of national defense. 84 vessels were affected by the order.[15]
- German troops arrived in Finland.[10]
- Commissar Order: Hitler ordered that commissars of the Red Army captured in battle or in resistance were "to be disposed of by gunshot immediately."[16]
- President Roosevelt said during a press conference that many Americans were being duped by German propaganda into believing that Britain was on the verge of collapse and would soon be suing for peace.[17]
- The 1941 Birthday Honours of King George VI were published.
- Died: Louis Chevrolet, 62, Swiss-born American race car driver and co-founder of the Chevrolet automobile company
June 7, 1941 (Saturday)
June 8, 1941 (Sunday)
June 9, 1941 (Monday)
- The Battle of the Litani River was fought in French Lebanon, resulting in Allied victory.
- President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8773, authorizing the Secretary of War to take over the striking North American Aviation plant in Inglewood, California. The president explained in a statement that the work stoppage could not be allowed to continue because it had created a situation that was "seriously detrimental to the defense of the United States."[20]
- Luftwaffe units began deploying near the Soviet border.[21]
- Hitler issued Directive No. 31, German Military Organisation in the Balkans.
- The funeral of ex-kaiser Wilhelm II was held in Doorn. Although Hitler had wanted a state funeral in Berlin with himself in a prominent role, Wilhelm's family insisted on respecting instructions he'd given in 1933 that he was to be buried in Doorn if Germany was not a monarchy at the time of his death. However, a delegation of Nazi officials led by Arthur Seyss-Inquart was allowed to attend as well as a Wehrmacht guard of honour, and Wilhelm's wishes that Nazi regalia not be displayed at his funeral were ignored.[22][23][24]
- Born: Jon Lord, composer and rock keyboardist for Deep Purple, in Leicester, England (d. 2012)
June 10, 1941 (Tuesday)
- Vichy Vice-Premier François Darlan made a speech to the French people warning of those who were "trying to darken the nation's understanding." Darlan said that "de Gaullist and Communist propaganda" both had "the same goal - to create disorder in the country, to increase the misery of the population, to prevent the rebirth of the nation ... Frenchmen, beware and help the government in its heavy, very heavy task. This task of the government is triple: to ameliorate the French people's situation, to prepare for peace in that measure a conquered nation can, and to prepare France's future in a new Europe."[25]
- On the first anniversary of Italy's entry into the war, Mussolini said in a speech to the Grand Council of Fascism that the United States was already in a de facto state of war with the Axis, but that "America's attitude does not bother us excessively ... American intervention would merely lengthen the war and would not save England."[26]
- Born: Mickey Jones, musician and actor, in Houston, Texas; James A. Paul, writer and executive, in New York City; Jürgen Prochnow, actor, in Berlin, Germany
June 11, 1941 (Wednesday)
June 12, 1941 (Thursday)
- Representatives of fourteen Allied countries and governments-in-exile made a pact in London to fight until victory was won and not make separate peace treaties with any Axis countries.[28]
- Hitler met with Romanian leader Ion Antonescu in Munich. An agreement was reached for Romania to participate in the invasion of the USSR.[29]
- The British cargo ship Empire Dew was torpedoed and sunk north of the Azores by German submarine U-48.
- President Roosevelt nominated Harlan F. Stone to be the 12th Chief Justice of the United States.[30]
- German submarines U-574 and U-575 were commissioned.
- Born: Marv Albert, sportscaster, in Brooklyn, New York; Chick Corea, jazz pianist, in Chelsea, Massachusetts; Roy Harper, folk rock musician, in Rusholme, Manchester, England; Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs, in Andover, Hampshire, England (d. 2013)
June 13, 1941 (Friday)
June 14, 1941 (Saturday)
- President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8785, freezing all German and Italian assets in the United States.[32]
- "Maria Elena" by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra topped the Billboard singles charts.
June 15, 1941 (Sunday)
- The British launched Operation Battleaxe, seeking to clear eastern Cyrenaica of German and Italian forces and lift the Siege of Tobruk.
- The Battle of Kissoué began in Syria.
- The Independent State of Croatia signed the Tripartite Pact.[33]
- Born: Neal Adams, comic book artist, on Governors Island, Manhattan, New York; Harry Nilsson, singer-songwriter, in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1994)
- Died: Evelyn Underhill, 65, English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist
June 16, 1941 (Monday)
- President Roosevelt ordered the closing of all German consulates in the United States and expulsion of their German employees no later than July 10, on the grounds of improper activities "inimical to the welfare of this country."[34]
- Winston Churchill gave a radio speech from London accepting an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Rochester in New York. Churchill told his American listeners that it gave him "comfort and inspiration to feel that I think as you do, that our hands are joined across the oceans, and that our pulses throb and beat as one ... A wonderful story is unfolding before our eyes. How it will end we are not allowed to know. But on both sides of the Atlantic we all feel, I repeat, all, that we are a part of it, that our future and that of many generations is at stake."[35]
June 17, 1941 (Tuesday)
June 18, 1941 (Wednesday)
June 19, 1941 (Thursday)
June 20, 1941 (Friday)
June 21, 1941 (Saturday)
- The Battle of Damascus ended in Allied victory.
- Hitler sent Benito Mussolini a secret message informing him of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. "I waited until this moment, Duce, to send you this information, it is because the final decision itself will not be made until 7 o'clock tonight," Hitler wrote. "I earnestly beg you, therefore, to refrain, above all, from making any explanation to your Ambassador at Moscow, for there is no absolute guarantee that our coded reports cannot be decoded. I, too, shall wait until the last moment to have my own Ambassador informed of the decisions reached."[44]
- A law in Vichy France limited Jews to only 3 percent of university students.[45]
- Churchill decided to dismiss Archibald Wavell as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East and replace him with Claude Auchinleck.[46] Wavell took Auchinleck's old post of Commander-in-Chief, India.
- Peter II of Yugoslavia arrived in exile in London.[47]
- The United States completed the tit-for-tat exchange of consulate closings with Germany and Italy by ordering all Italian consulates to close before July 15.[46]
- The British steam collier Gasfire struck a mine in the North Sea and sank. All 26 crew were rescued.
- German submarines U-374, U-434, U-455 and U-456 were commissioned.
- "Daddy" by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra hit #1 on the Billboard singles charts.
- Born: Joe Flaherty, actor and comedian, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Valeri Zolotukhin, theatrical and cinema actor, in Altai Krai, USSR
- Died: Elliott Dexter, 71, American film and stage actor
June 22, 1941 (Sunday)
- German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. At 3:25 a.m. Georgy Zhukov woke up Joseph Stalin by phone to inform him of the invasion, but Stalin initially believed it to only be a German provocation and refused to give Zhukov permission to strike back. Only three hours later did he realize it was a full-scale invasion and authorize the Red Army to resist.[5]
- The Defense of Brest Fortress, Battle of Hanko and Battle of Białystok–Minsk began on the Eastern Front.
- The Germans executed Operation Renntier to secure the nickel mines around Petsamo in Finland.
- The June Uprising in Lithuania began when a segment of the Lithuanian population rose up and declared the restoration of the country's independence.
- Hitler issued a lengthy proclamation of war with the Soviet Union presenting his justification for the German invasion. As usual, Hitler presented himself as doing everything he could to preserve peace and only turning to force as a last resort.[48]
- Italy, Romania and Bulgaria also declared war on the Soviet Union.[49]
- Vyacheslav Molotov gave a broadcast authorized by Stalin to the citizens of the Soviet Union. "This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations," Molotov said. "The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet Air Force will acquit themselves with honor in performing their duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict a crushing blow upon the aggressor."[50]
- Winston Churchill gave a speech announcing the German invasion of the Soviet Union and explaining Britain's new alliance with Russia. "No one has been a more consistent opponent of Communism than I have for the last twenty-five years," Churchill said. "I will unsay no word that I have spoken about it. But all this fades away before the spectacle which is now unfolding ... Any man or state who fights on against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe ... It follows, therefore, that we shall give whatever help we can to Russia and the Russian people. We shall appeal to all our friends and allies in every part of the world to take the same course and pursue it, as we shall, faithfully and steadfastly to the end."[51]
- Born: Ed Bradley, broadcast journalist, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2006); Michael Lerner, actor, in Brooklyn, New York; Terttu Savola, politician, in Vimpeli, Finland
June 23, 1941 (Monday)
June 24, 1941 (Tuesday)
June 25, 1941 (Wednesday)
June 26, 1941 (Thursday)
June 27, 1941 (Friday)
June 28, 1941 (Saturday)
June 29, 1941 (Sunday)
June 30, 1941 (Monday)
References
- ↑ "Was war am 01. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Chronomedia: 1941". Terra Media. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Seidel, Michael (2002). Streak: Joe Dimaggio and the Summer Of '41. University of Nebraska Press. p. 91. ISBN 9780803292932.
- 1 2 3 Smith, Robert C. (2007). The State of Strategic Intelligence, June 1941: The War with Russia: Operation Barbarossa. Bennington, VT: Merriam Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781576380611.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "1941". World War II Database. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Ross, William G. (2007). The Chief Justiceship of Charles Evans Hughes, 1930-1941. University of South Carolina Press. p. 243. ISBN 9781570036798.
- ↑ "Was war am 03. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Events occurring on Wednesday, June 4, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- 1 2 Gregory, Don A.; Gehlen, Wilhelm R. (2009). Two Soldiers, Two Lost Fronts: German War Diaries of the Stalingrad and North Africa Campaigns. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate. p. 223. ISBN 9781935149743.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1941". MusicAndHistory. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Mercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 551. ISBN 9-780582-039193.
- ↑ "Message to the Greeks Broadcast by Greek Premier, Emmanuel Tsouderos". Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "June 5 1941 Monument". Smederovo Welcome. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Nagurski Loses Mat Title; Disqualified for Butting". Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune). June 6, 1941. p. 31.
- ↑ "June 1941". Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day. FDR Presidential Library. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Fuegi, John (2002). Brecht and Company: Sex, Politics, and the Making of the Modern Drama. Grove Press. p. 398. ISBN 9780802139108.
- ↑ "Hitler Fakes Peace Rumor to Dupe U. S., Says F. D. R.". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 6, 1941. p. 1.
- ↑ "Tokio Recognizes Croatia". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 7, 1941. p. 1.
- ↑ "This Day in Sports". The New York Times. 2004. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Peters, Gerbhard; Woolley, John T. "Executive Order 8773 on the Seizure of the North American Aviation Company Plant at Inglewood, California". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- 1 2 Davidson, Edward; Manning, Dale (1999). Chronology of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-304-35309-4.
- ↑ Röhl, John C. G. Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941. Cambridge University Press. p. 1265. ISBN 9780521844314.
- ↑ MacDonogh, Giles (2001). The Last Kaiser: William the Impetuous. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. p. 459. ISBN 9781842124789.
- ↑ Cecil, Lamar (1996). Wilhelm II: Volume 2, Emperor and Exile, 1900-1941. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 353–354. ISBN 9780807860748.
- ↑ "Vice Premier Darlan's Speech to the French People". ibiblio. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "U. S. is at War With the Axis, Duce Charges". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 10, 1941. p. 1.
- ↑ Chronology and Index of the Second World War, 1938-1945. Research Publications. 1990. p. 62. ISBN 9780887365683.
- ↑ "Events occurring on Thursday, June 12, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Was war am 12. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Stone Selected As Chief Justice; Jackson Named". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 12, 1941. p. 1.
- ↑ "The Lutzow Torpedoed by Coastal Command". World War II Today. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Events occurring on Saturday, June 14, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941-1945. Stanford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 9780804779241.
- ↑ "All Nazi Consulates Closed by Roosevelt". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 16, 1941. p. 1.
- ↑ Churchill, Winston. "The Old Lion". The Churchill Centre. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- 1 2 "Was war am 17. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Joe Louis - Career Record". BoxRec. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Was war am 19. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "F. D. R. Demands Reparation for Sinking of Robin Moor". Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn). June 20, 1941. p. 1.
- 1 2 Kirchubel, Robert (2013). Operation Barbarossa: The German Invasion of Soviet Russia. Botley, Oxfordshire: Osprey Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9781782004080.
- ↑ "Ford signs first contract with autoworkers’ union". History. A&E Networks. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Shirer, William L. (1942). Berlin Diary (1942 ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- ↑ "Legend of the Curse of Tamerlan: History, Facts and Myths". Advantour. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Hitler's Explanation of the Soviet Invasion, June 21, 1941". ibiblio. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Klarsfeld, Serge (1996). French Children of the Holocaust: A Memorial. New York University Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780814726624.
- 1 2 "Events occurring on Saturday, June 21, 1941". WW2Timelines.com. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Was war am 21. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "The Führer to the German People: 22 June 1941". German Propaganda Archive. Calvin College. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- 1 2 Doody, Richard. "A Timeline of Diplomatic Ruptures, Unannounced Invasions, Declarations of War, Armistices and Surrenders". The World at War. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov's Broadcast on the Outbreak of War with Germany". ibiblio. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Churchill, Winston. "Alliance with Russia". The Churchill Centre. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Schneider, Carl J.; Schneider, Dorothy (2003). World War II. Facts On File, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 9781438108902.
- ↑ Salmaggi, Cesare; Pallavisini, Alfredo (1979). 2194 Days of War: An Illustrated Chronology of the Second World War. Mayflower Books. p. 144. ISBN 9780831789411.
- 1 2 Arad, Yitzhak (2009). The Holocaust in the Soviet Union. University of Nebraska Press. p. 164. ISBN 9780803222700.
- ↑ Kirchubel, Robert (2007). Operation Barbarossa 1941 (3): Army Group Center. Osprey Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9781846031076.
- ↑ "The Broadway Parade". Film Daily (New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.): 2. June 23, 1941.
- ↑ Hickman, Kennedy (May 21, 2015). "World War II: The Manhattan Project". About.com. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "June 1941". Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day. FDR Presidential Library. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Was war am 29. Juni 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.