Today in World War II History—May 5, 1941
Tuesday, May 5, 2026 by Sarah Sundin
“Haile Selassie – Emperor, Warrior” by Charles Henry Alston for US Office of War Information, 1943 (US National Archives: 535684)
85 Years Ago—May 5, 1941: Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, five years to the day from fleeing during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
First SOE agent (British Special Operations Executive) parachutes into France—Georges Bégué lands in the unoccupied zone to organize resistance.
Pulitzer Prize in literature is awarded to Robert Sherwood for There Shall Be No Night.
Britain begins cheese rationing: 1 oz per week; manual laborers receive 8 oz per week. (Read more: “Food Rationing in Britain in World War II”)
