80 Years Ago—Oct. 16, 1941: Except for Stalin, the Soviet government evacuates from Moscow to Kuibyshev. German & Romanian troops take Odessa, Ukraine. Japanese government under Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe resigns. Germans begin deportation of Jews from Germany and Luxembourg.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 15, 1941: As the Germans advance, the Soviets evacuate 35,000 troops from Odessa in the Ukraine by sea in one night and destroy the port facilities.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 14, 1941: Germans encircle 6 Soviet armies near Vyazma, Russia, and take Vyazma. Germany announces that all German Jews will be deported.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 13, 1941: Hitler orders Luftwaffe to stop night intruder raids against British air bases, although they were effective.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 12, 1941: Germans take Bryansk, Russia. Nazis massacre 11,000 Jews from Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 11, 1941: Encircled Soviet 3rd & 13th Armies at Bryansk, Russia, break out. New song in Top Ten: “Tonight We Love,” Freddy Martin’s big band version of Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto in B-Flat Minor.”
80 Years Ago—Oct. 10, 1941: Marshal Georgy Zhukov replaces Ivan Konev over Soviet Western Front. In Luxembourg, less than 3% of the population votes to join Germany. Nazis open Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 9, 1941: President Roosevelt approves Vannevar Bush’s program to research the possibility of atomic weapons. Pro-German president Arnulfo Arias of Panama is overthrown in a US-supported bloodless coup, replaced by Ricardo de la Guardia. A week-long test of US air defense network begins: 40,000 civilian aircraft spotters of Aircraft Warning System search… Read more »
80 Years Ago—Oct. 8, 1941: Germans take Orel, key city south of Moscow. USSR establishes three regiments of female fighter pilots, including the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later called the “Night Witches” by the Germans. Chinese drive Japanese out of the Changsha area.
80 Years Ago—Oct. 7, 1941: To boost morale in the USSR as the Germans advance, Stalin lifts the ban on religion and permits many churches to reopen. Germans break through Vyazma defense line in Russia. Due to parliamentary elections in Australia, John Curtin replaces Arthur Fadden as prime minister.
