On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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freed slave laborers describe treatment by Gers
Duke of Windsor resigns as Gov and Comdr in Chief; will be succeeded by W L Murphy
on Loan Agency policy and personnel plans
operators counter-offers discussed; 11 demands, including royalty plan, rejected; several others lowered or otherwise altered
Revs pol situation and Brit Pacific war role, Conservative party conf
1945Douglas Ahlstedt, American tenor (died 2023)[†]
Douglas Ahlstedt was an American operatic tenor who had an international performance career with major opera houses from the 1970s through the 1990s. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera and of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, performing leading roles of the lyric tenore repertoire, and also many supporting roles. He was professor of voice at Carnegie Mellon University from 1998 until 2020.
1945Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (born 1874)[†]
Börries Albrecht Conon August Heinrich Freiherr von Münchhausen was a German poet and Nazi activist.
1945World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.[†]
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1945Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in at least 4,000 deaths.[†]
The city of Würzburg was attacked as part of the strategic bombing campaign in World War II by the Allies against Nazi Germany. Although lacking major armaments industries and hosting around 40 hospitals at the time, Würzburg was targeted as a traffic hub and as part of the attempt by Bomber Command to break the spirit of the German people. The major raid occurred on March 16, 1945, when Royal Air Force bombers dropped incendiary bombs that set fire to much of the city, killing an estimated 5,000 people and almost completely obliterating the historic town. Almost 90% of the buildings were destroyed by a raid that lasted less than 20 minutes.