June 22nd

On this day - June 22 1941 - Germany invades USSR in "Operation Barbarossa

Unternehmen Barbarossa was the code name for the Nazi-Germany attack on the Soviet Union during world war 2. The background for the attack was Adolf Hitlers desire of conquer Soviet territory. The massive attack started as a success for Nazi Germany who initially won several important territories from the Soviet Union. However, the German attack was stopped and pushed back outside of Moscow, much due to weather and the limitations of the German supply line. The failure of Operation Barbarossa turned the tide in the war, but millions of lives were lost during the five months the operation lasted.

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1974-099-19 / Kempe / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, 

May 27th

On this day  May 27th 1941 - the sinking of the battleship German "Bismarck"

Bismarck was a battleship built by the German army and first launched in 1936. It is named after the former German chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck. She was one of the largest battleships owned by the German army. The ship was heavily hit in an attack on May 26th by torpedo bombers when it was on its way to occupied France after the Battle of  the Denmark Strait. The ship was further destroyed in an bombardment by the British fleet. The ships port rudder got stuck and the ship was unable to steer. Eventually the ship was sunk by the British fleet, and over 2000 Germans died with it. Only 114 people were rescued. The ship wreck was found in 1989 at a depth of 4791 meters.

Source: Bundesarchive

Illustration by Ken Marschall

April 9th

On this day - April 9th 1940 - Vidkun Quisling and Nazi-Germany occupied Norway

Norway was occupied by Germany in the early morning of April 9th 1940. The Germany attack happened both by air and sea and since Norway's military defense was rather poor at the time was the occupation an easy quest for the much stronger German army. The Norwegian army and resistance managed to sink the German ship Blücher and the government managed to get escape. The occupying German forces had expected Norway to surrender, but after much discussion decided the government that they would not give into German demands. Germany and Quisling decided thereafter to start a military coup and Quisling announced himself as the new Prime Minister over Norwegian radio. Norway was occupied until the end of the war, when Quisling was sentenced to death for his betrayal. You can read about his death sentence on October 24th here.

If you want to know mor about the events during the occupation and the resistance against Germany recommend we the movie "Max Manus: Man of War (English Subtitled)". The movie tells the story of one of the most important resistance fighters in Norway, Max Manus , and his fight against the German occupation.

March 23rd

On this day - March 23rd 1933 - The passing of the "Enabling Act" made Hitler a dictator

The enabling act, or Ermächtigungesetz, which was passed in 1933 was an amendment to the German constitution. The act gave the German Cabinet the power to enact laws without the approval of the Reichstag. Effectively this act gave Adolf Hitler the power to create whichever law he saw fit. The law was passed in the Reichstag, led by Hermann Göring on March 23rd 1933, after ruls of procedures were changed to make it easier to pass the act.

This act, together with the limitations of civil rights after the Reichtags Fire Decree passed in February 1933, made Hitler into the de facto dictator of Germany. The Enabling act was to last for four years before it had to be re-instated by the Reichstag, which was done in

Hitlers speech after the act was passed. From the Bundesarchive. 

November 8th

On this day - 8th November 1923 - The Beer Hall Putsch 

The Beer Hall Putsch that is also known as the Munich Putsch, was a failed coup-attempt by by the Nazi party. The idea was to seize power in Munich in the state of Bavaria. The attempt was two thousand men that gathered in the center of Munich. In the city center they confronted the police. The confrontation led to sixteen Nazis deaths and four policemen. Hitler himself was wounded in the confrontation. The coup attempt was inspired by Mussolini's successful attempt in Rome in October. Two days after the attempt Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason, some of his conspirators were arrested, while some fled to Austria. Hitler was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. He only served 9 months of the sentence and Hitler saw three benefits with the failed attempt. The first benefit was the attention, the second benefit was that he used the time in prison to write "Mein Kampf" and the final benefit was that Hitler realized that the path to power was trough legitimate means.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-1486