The 1940s

1946 80 years ago

Named after Bikini Atoll, the site of the nuclear-weapons test Operation Crossroads in the Marshall Islands, the…

Bikini Atoll, known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a 229.4-square-mile (594.1 …

Named after Bikini Atoll, the site of the nuclear-weapons test Operation Crossroads in the Marshall Islands, the…

1946 80 years ago

After weeks of unrest, rioters lynched Bolivian president Gualberto Villarroel, desecrating and hanging his corpse in…

The 1946 La Paz riots were a series of increasingly violent strikes and protests which culminated in the lynching and hanging of then president of Bolivia, Gualberto Villarroel, an…

After weeks of unrest, rioters lynched Bolivian president Gualberto Villarroel, desecrating and hanging his corpse in…

1946 80 years ago

The Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer…

The Turkish Straits are two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey. The Straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterr…

The Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer…

1946 80 years ago

Widespread riots between Hindus and Muslims took place in Calcutta following the All-India Muslim League's call for an…

Direct Action Day was the day the All-India Muslim League decided to take a "direct action" using general strikes and economic shut down to demand a separate Muslim homeland after …

Widespread riots between Hindus and Muslims took place in Calcutta following the All-India Muslim League's call for an…

1945

World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces

Montese is a town in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces

1945

World War II: Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany

A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.

World War II: Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany

1945

World War II: The Surrender of Caserta is signed by the commander of German forces in Italy

The Surrender at Caserta of 29 April 1945 was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of German and Italian Fascist forces in Italy, ending the Italian Campaign of Worl…

World War II: The Surrender of Caserta is signed by the commander of German forces in Italy

1945

World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9,0

Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to ha…

World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9,0

1945

World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting

The Surrender at Caserta of 29 April 1945 was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of German and Italian Fascist forces in Italy, ending the Italian Campaign of Worl…

World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting

1945

World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of

Wöbbelin was a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp near the city of Ludwigslust. The SS had established Wöbbelin to house concentration camp prisoners whom the SS had evac…

World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of

1945

World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, one of only two battles in that war in which American and German troops fought coo

The Battle of Castle Itter was fought on 5 May 1945, in the Austrian village of Itter in the North Tyrol region of the country, during the last days of the European Theater of Worl…

World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, one of only two battles in that war in which American and German troops fought coo

1945

World War II: Last German U-boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland

U-boats are naval submarines operated by Germany, especially during World War I and World War II. The term is an anglicized form of the German word U-Boot, a shortening of Untersee…

World War II: Last German U-boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland

1945

World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Berlin-Karlshorst comes into effect

The German Instrument of Surrender was a legal document effecting the unconditional surrender of the remaining German armed forces to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe. It …

World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Berlin-Karlshorst comes into effect

1945

Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre

The Sétif and Guelma massacre was a series of massacres by French colonial authorities and pied-noir European settler militias on Algerian civilians in May and June 1945 around the…

Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre

1945

World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine

Yevgeny Ananyevich Khaldei was a Soviet naval officer and photographer. He is best known for his World War II photograph of a Soviet soldier raising a flag over the Reichstag in Be…

World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine

1945

King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II

Haakon VII was King of Norway from 1905 until his death in 1957, having reigned for nearly 52 years.

King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II

1945

The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists t

The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State, equ…

The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists t

1945

The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.

Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain, better known as Marshal Pétain, was a French military officer who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of th…

The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.

1945

World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.

HMS Vestal was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1943 and saw service in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan. She was crit…

World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.

1945

Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

Pierre Jean Marie Laval was a French politician. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vichy Fr…

Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

1945

World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fight

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often referred by its shortened name as the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Unio…

World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fight

1945

The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Coldi

The United States Army is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is designated as the army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As a part …

The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Coldi

1945

More than 7,000 die when the German transport ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine

MV Goya was a Norwegian freighter used as a troop transport by Germany and sunk with a massive loss of life near the end of World War II. Completed in 1940 for the Johan Ludwig Mow…

More than 7,000 die when the German transport ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine

1945

The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn…

The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the unicameral supreme state organ of power of Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of government in Viet…

The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn…