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April 20, 1945

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Headlines from April 20, 1945

JAPANESE HARD HIT; Fleet Guns Join Army and Marine Artillery in Tremendous Fire ENEMY LINE DENTED 3 Army Divisions Drive on Island-Wide Front, Gain 500 to 800 Yards Japanese Resist Fiercely Supplies Poured Ashore ARMY TROOPS BEGIN DRIVE ON OKINAWA

By George E. Jones By Wireless To the New York Times

army units supported by army and marine artillery and 5th Fleet guns, launch offensive, southern Okinawa; gain 500-800 yds and seize Machinato on west coast; rept fierce Jap resistance; no imminent US breakthrough expected; Jap defenses 4-5 mi in depth; US preparations for offensive noted; Amers gain south of Iegusugu peak; Japanese continue to resist from peak positions; US observation planes land on Ie airfield; Tokyo radio claims suicide air attacks had sunk or damaged 393 Allied ships, Okinawa; map

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Notable Births

Michael Brandon

1945Michael Brandon, American actor and director[†]

Michael Brandon is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series Dempsey and Makepeace (1985–1986) and narrating the American dub of the children's television series Thomas & Friends (2004–2012). His theatre credits include the original Broadway production of Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969), and Jerry Springer in the West End production of Jerry Springer: The Opera (2003–2004).

Olga Karlatos

1945Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer[†]

Olga Karlatos is a retired Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer, known primarily for performing in Italian horror cinema.

Thein Sein

1945Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma[†]

Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and retired army general who served as the eighth president of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as 11th prime minister from 2007 to 2010, and was considered by many in and outside Myanmar as a reformist leader in the post-junta government.

Naftali Temu

1945Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (died 2003)[†]

Nabiba Naftali Temu was a Kenyan long-distance runner. He became Kenya's first gold medalist when he won the 10,000 metres race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Steve Spurrier

1945Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach[†]

Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL) mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was first inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986. He was inducted again as a coach in 2017, making him one of four members to be honored in both categories.

Notable Deaths

Erwin Bumke

1945Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (born 1874)[†]

Erwin Konrad Eduard Bumke was the last president of the Reichsgericht, the supreme civil and criminal court of the German Reich, serving from 1929 to 1945. As such, according to the Weimar Constitution, he should have become acting President of Germany upon the death of Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934, and thus the acting Head of State of Nazi Germany. The Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich, passed by the Hitler cabinet, unconstitutionally prevented that by combining the presidency with the chancellorship, making Adolf Hitler the undisputed ruler of Germany. Following the Nazi takeover, Bumke extensively cooperated with the Party in establishing a Verbrecherstaat.

Historical Events

World War II

1945World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.[†]

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.

FĂźhrerbunker

1945World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.[†]

The FĂźhrerbunker was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the FĂźhrer Headquarters (FĂźhrerhauptquartiere) used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Nazi human experimentation

1945Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.[†]

Nazi human experimentation was a series of medical experiments on prisoners by Nazi Germany in its concentration camps mainly between 1942 and 1945. There were 15,754 documented victims, of various nationalities and ages, although the true number is believed to be more. About a quarter of documented victims were killed and survivors generally experienced severe permanent injuries.