Today in World War II History—September 3, 1939 and 1944

King George VI of the United Kingdom delivering his radio address announcing Britain’s entry into the war with Germany, Buckingham Palace, London, Sept 3, 1939 (United Kingdom National Archives)

SS Athenia in Montreal harbor, 1933 (Library and Archives Canada)
80 Years Ago—September 3, 1939: Great Britain, France, Australia, and India declare war on Germany.
Winston Churchill becomes First Lord of the Admiralty, his WWI post.
In North Atlantic, German submarine U-30 sinks British liner Athenia (112 killed, including 69 women, 16 children, and 28 Americans).
75 Years Ago—Sept. 3, 1944: Nazis deport Anne Frank and her family on the last transport from Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Free French troops take Lyon, France.
British troops take Brussels, Belgium.

The crew of a British Cromwell Mk IV tank of 2nd Welsh Guards on the drive into Brussels, 3 September 1944. (Imperial War Museum)