June 27th

On this day - June 27th 1991 - The ten-day war / Slovenian independence war

The ten day war was a war of independence by Slovenia. Slovenia had declared themselves independent on June 25th and was attacked by Yugoslavia on June 27th. The war lasted until July 7th when the Brioni accord was signed. Slovenia was recognized as independent by the other European countries in 1992 and joined the United Nation on May 22.

By Peter Božič - photo, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31225569

June 25th

On this day - June 25th 1950 - The Korean War begun 

The Korean war begun when North Korea attacked South Korea on this day in 1950. North Korea was suported by Soviet union and China. United Nations, with USA as its leader got involved in the war with the aim of rescuing South Korea from the communist North. The war ended in 1953, when the border that divides the two countries today was agreed upon.

June 21st

On this day - June 21st 1900 - China declared war on US, UK, France and Japan

China declared war on US, UK, France and Japan in the so called Boxer rebellion in China. The rebellion was an anti-foreign and anti-christian uprising which took place in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. Empresses Cixi supported the rebellion and sent out a decree which declared war on the foreign powers in China on June 21st. An eight-nations alliance invaded China as a respons to the rebellion and crushed the boxer rebellion. Beijing was recaptured on August 14th. The Boer rebellion supporters were executed.

April 30th

On this day - April 30th 1975 - The Vietnam War Came to an End 

The Vietnam War had started in November 1955 and was one of the hot conflicts which was a result of the cold war. In the US the war was seen as an important fight to keep communism from spreading in Asia (containment policy). The first step towards the end of the war was a gradual drawback and "Vietnamization" of the conflict in the end of the 1960's. In 1973 was a peace agreement, the Paris Peace Accord, signed, but fighting continued. Direct involvement from the US Army ended in August the same year as the Peace Contract. On April 30th fell the city Saigon to North Vietnam and the war came to an end after over 19 years of conflicts. The following year was Vietnam again reunited. Somewhere between 800.000 and 3 million Vietnamese died in the war and over 50.000 american soldiers.

April 5th

On this day - April 5th 1879 - The beginning of the War of the Pacific

The war of the Pacific was a conflict between Chile on one side and Bolivia and Peru on the other. The conflict started in 1879 and lasted until 1883/84. The background for the conflict was an tax the Bolivian government tried to impose on a Chilean mining company which Chile argued broke the two countries "Boundary Treaty" from 1874. Peru got dragged inn to the conflict because of an secret treaty between Peru and Bolivia from 1873. Bolivia declared war against Chile on March 1st and requested Peru to do the same. On April 5th declared Chile war against both the two countries and the war was officially started. Chile started their naval blockade of Peru on the same day. Chile ended as the victors of the conflict and gained huge amount of lands from both Bolivia and Peru, which made Bolivia into a land-locked country.

March 4th

On this day - March 4th 1665 - England declared war against the Netherlands

In 1665 started the second anglo-dutch war which lasted until 1667. Tis was the second conflict between the two countries, and two more were yet to come. The reason for the conflict was Englands wish to end the dutch trade domination of world trade. Although England started out as the most successful ended the conflict with the Netherlands as the winner. The reason the Netherlands won this war was simply because they were in a better financial situation than England. This ment that they could continue supplying their fleet with new ships as the war dragged on, and in the end this led to their victory. In fact, the war led to increased share in the world trade for the Netherlands who could increase their world trade without fear of the English, who did not have enough ships left. In 1667 was the treaty of Breda signed between the two countries.

December 13th

On this day – 13^th  December 1937 – The start of the Nanking massacre

The Nanking (Nanjing) massacre, also known as the rape of Nanking, was a mass-murder and mass-rape conducted by the Japanese troops during the second Sino-Japanese war. It started on the 13^th of December after the fall of Nanking, and lasted until January. Somewhere between 40.000 and 300.000 Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were killed in the six weeks the mass-murders lasted. Widespread rape and looting was also common among the Japanese soldiers, thereby naming the events the Rape of Nanking. It is estimated that around 20.000 women were raped, and several of them systematically where the soldier would go from door to door to look for females to rape. The inaccuracy of the number of victims during the six weeks is due to most of the Japanese records being destroyed after the war. The events are still creating political controversies and Japanese nationalist argues that the event have been exaggerated or even fabricated and the events still affect the relationship between Japan and its surrounding countries. The Japanese government and several veterans have, however, admitted to the killings of large amounts of people.    

A war criminal tribunal was held in 1946. Prince Asaka, the commander for the troops and the officer who allergically provided official sanctions for the crimes, escaped execution because he signed an agreement with the allied forces. Four other Japanese officers were executed, including the two officers who had a contest to be the first one to kill 100 people with a sword.  

November 20th

On this day – 20^th November 1945 – The beginning of the Nuremberg trials

The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials against 23 of the most prominent Nazi-Germany leaders during the Second World War. The trials were held in Nuremberg in Germany, thereby the name. They lasted from the 20^th of November 1945 to the 1^st of October 1946. On the 16^th of October in 1946 were those who were sentenced to death, hanged. Lesser war-criminals were tried and sentenced later, in a different trial. The trial was agreed to, and arranged, by the allied forces (UK, USA. Soviet). Out of the 24 prosecuted were 12 sentenced to death. Those who were sentenced to prison served their time in Spandau Prison in Berlin. This prison was destroyed after its last prisoner, Rudolf Hess, committed suicide in 1987. Nuremberg trial was the first international war trial. The main criticism against the trials were that the crimes were only defined as crimes, after they were committed, creating a "victors justice".

The accused from the trial in Nuremberg

november 17th

On this day – 17^th of November 1939 – 9 students were executed in Prague (International students day)

A Czech student, Opletal, was killed in an anti-Nazi demonstration on the 11^th of November, and his funeral led to huge student demonstrations in Prague. This again led Nazi-Germany to storm the universities in Czech and close them down. Nine students and professors were executed, without trial, on the 17^th of November, while another 1200 Czech students were sent to German concentration camps. Today the 17^th of November is celebrated as the International Students Day in many countries in remembrance of the events in Prague.  The day was first marked in 1941 by the International Students Council in London. On November 17th 1989 was a huge demonstration held in Prague in memory of the events 50 years earlier. The demonstration and the aftermath helped spark the “velvet revolution” in Czechoslovakia. 

Jan Opletal, the murdered student whos funeral led to more demonstrations

November 15th

On this day – 15^th November 1920 – The first League of Nation General Assembly was held

The League of Nation was founded on January 10^th 1920 and is considered the forerunner of today’s United Nations.  It was established as a part of the Paris Peace conference, which ended the First World War, and it was a part of US President Woodrow Wilson’s 14-point plan. Wilson received the Nobel’s peace prise for his work towards this, but the US never joined the organization. League of Nation was established as an international organisation with the goal of maintaining world peace. The organization has never been considered as too successful, although it did have some impact on international issues in the middle of the 1920s. In 1943 was it agreed among the allied power to create a new, and stronger, organisation to replace the League of Nation and this is how the United Nations was created. The league of Nations held its last meeting on 18^th of April 1946 where it officially ended its existence.  

November 13th

On this day – November 13^th  1940 – The movie Fantasia was released

The animated movie was produced by Walt Disney. The movie was intended as a elaborate Silly Symphony(a whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music), but as production cost grew higher than what the movie could earn it was turned into a feature film. The movie was also a comeback for Mickey Mouse that had declined in popularity. Fantasia was released in thirteen cities across the United States, but were unable to make a profit since it was not possible to distribute to Europe because of world war II. The movie has since been reissued and when adjusting for inflation it is the 22nd highest grossing US movies of all time. Fantasia has been adapted to other media such as video games, Disneyland attractions, a live concert and a theatrically released sequel.

November 11th

On this day – November 11^th (at 11 am) 1918 – The end of the First World War 

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month was an armistice between the allied countries and Germany implemented. The armistice marked a complete defeat of Germany (although not formally a surrender) and with it, the First World War ended. After 55 months and over 16 million deaths came the Great War to its end. The armistice required an end to all fighting and withdrawal of German troops from France, Belgium and Luxembourg. In June 1919 was the peace treaty between the countries signed. The peace treaty, known as the Versailles treaty required heavy demilitarisation of Germany and huge repayments to the allied countries. 

American Soldies cellebrating the news of the armistice