Today in World War II History—September 30, 1939 & 1944
Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski, 1942 (Library of Congress: fsa.8e00864)
85 Years Ago—Sept. 30, 1939: French troops withdraw from German Saar region.
Gen. Władysław Sikorski becomes prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile in Paris.
New song in Top Ten in US: “Moonlight Serenade.”
BBC premiere of “The Home Front” series on wartime life in Britain.
Soldier poses next to one of the German coastal guns captured by the Canadians at Cap Gris Nez, France, 1 October 1944 (Imperial War Museum B 10467)
80 Years Ago—Sept. 30, 1944: Allies capture last German cross-Channel guns; residents of heavily bombarded Dover, England, celebrate.
Canadians take Calais, France.
In the Pacific, US declares Peleliu secure, but resistance remains.
France enacts law to confiscate property from those convicted of indignité nationale (collaborators), who have already been assigned second-class citizenship (banned from voting, government positions & unions).
US Marines on Peleliu, September 1944 (US Marine Corps photo)
