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Jan 3

Movie-Set Decorator to Play Eisenhower in "The Longest Day"

Jan. 3, 1962 - Henry Grace (pictured), a movie-set director who has never acted before the cameras, today was cast as General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower for a film based on the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy. Mr. Grace, a 55-year-old bachelor living in Los Angeles, will come to Paris Jan. 9 for a role in “The Longest Day.” He won an Academy Award for his set direction of “Gigi” in 1959. #classicmovies #classicmoviestars #1960s #Movies #moviestar #movieset #MovieStars #

Dec 15, 2021

On this date in 1960, Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to hang

🎙 Check out our 2-part podcast that covers the life and crimes of this Nazi fiend. LISTEN: Part One Part Two #wwii #holocaust #history #podcast

Dec 15, 2021

🚨Adolf Eichmann Sentenced to Death

Dec. 15, 1961 - In Israel today, Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by hanging for his role in the killing of 6,000,000 Jews during World War II and for other war crimes and crimes against humanity. The three judges of the Jerusalem District Court delivered the sentence at 9:20 a.m. (2:20 a.m., Eastern Standard Time). Eichmann, looking very pale, was led to his glass cage at one minute to 9. He remained standing stiffly and arrogantly while Presiding Judge Moshe Landau acc

Dec 14, 2021

Movies: World Premiere of "Judgment at Nuremberg" Held in Berlin

Dec. 14, 1961 - An Berlin audience viewed the world premiére of the American film, “Judgment at Nuremberg.” A capacity audience of 1,200 attended the showing at the Congress Hall, only 700 yards from the communist border wall that divides Berlin. Many sat spellbound through the 170-minute performance. There were gasps when documentary shots of Nazi concentration camps appeared, and some viewers broke into spontaneous applause during a scene in the second half when Spencer Tr

Dec 12, 2021

West German Media Approve Eichmann Verdict

Dec. 12, 1961 - West German newspapers were unanimous today in approving the verdict against Adolf Eichmann (pictured in 1942) by an Israeli court yesterday. None of the lengthy editorials devoted to the proceedings in Jerusalem registered surprise over the judges’ findings. In a typical comment, the Süddeutsche Zeitung of Munich said: “Apart from the accused, there was hardly anyone in the courtroom or outside who could have any doubt about the verdict. Whether Eichmann or t

Dec 11, 2021

Eichmann Likely To Be Hanged

Dec. 11, 1961 - Israeli judges rejected one by one today the arguments that Adolf Eichmann hoped would gain some mitigation of sentence for him. The former Nazi was convicted in Jerusalem of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and miscellaneous war crimes. As the judges pressed on with the reading of their lengthy judgment, observers believed that Eichmann’s chances for escaping the death penalty were fading. Eichmann’s main hope lay in his assertion th

Dec 10, 2021

Eichmann Convicted in Jerusalem

Dec. 10, 1961 - Adolf Eichmann was convicted in a Jerusalem court this morning of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and membership in hostile Nazi organizations. The former Nazi colonel faces death by hanging. A few minutes after the court opened, Presiding Judge Moshe Landau coldly ordered Eichmann to the stand. “The court finds you guilty,” Judge Landau said. He then ordered the prisoner to be seated while he began reading the massive 20

Nov 16, 2021

Sir Winston Visits Old School

Nov. 17, 1961 - Sir Winston Churchill, bent with age but looking fit and cheerful, sang with the boys of Harrow and added one more page to the history of his old school, founded in 1572. Facing 600 students dressed in morning suits, Sir Winston sat with dozens of other Old Boys and joined in the songs that have echoed for many years in the school’s chilly halls. The former Prime Minister, who will be 87 on Nov. 30, had canceled a visit to the school last month because of a co

Nov 2, 2021

Bodies of Japanese Suicidal Soldiers of WWII Recovered

Nov. 2, 1961 - The bodies of 200 Japanese soldiers who committed suicide in World War II rather than surrender to U.S. forces have been found on Mount Mafuni at the southern tip of Okinawa (pictured in 1945), it was announced today. The bodies include those of Gen. Takeo Fujioka and Maj. Gen. Miyoji Sato. #WWII #WWIII #WWIIZombies #wwiihistory #wwiimemorial #wwiivet #wwiiveteran #wwiiaviation #wwiireenactment #wwiiplanes #wwiiheroes #wwiiincolors #wwiishu #wwiimuseum #wwiimem

Sep 26, 2021

Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger Dead at 75, Commanded Eighth Army

Sept. 26, 1961 - General Robert L. Eichelberger (pictured in New Guinea during World War II), retired American commander of the Eighth Army in the Pacific during World War II, died in Asheville, N.C. today. He was 75 years old. American troops under Eichelberger inflicted on the Japanese their first land defeat of the war at Buna, New Guinea. The general's stamina and perseverance against the Japanese in the sweltering, slime-coated jungles of New Guinea became legend. Few fi

Sep 8, 2021

Movie: "The Longest Day," Film on D-Day Landings

Sept. 8, 1961 - Curt Jürgens (right) has been signed for the role of Maj. Gen. Gunther Blumentritt, the German staff officer, in "The Longest Day." In addition, Darryl F. Zanuck, who is producing the film in Normandy, has signed the German director Bernhard Wicki, who made "The Bridge," to collaborate with Gerd Oswald on the German sequences. "The Longest Day" is based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 non-fiction book of the same name about the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1

Sep 7, 2021

Admiral Ramsey, Former Commander of Pacific Fleet, Dead at 72

Sept. 7, 1961 - Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, former commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, died today in the Philadelphia Naval Hospital at the age of 72. During World War II, Admiral Ramsey commanded the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, which took part in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. The Saratoga also took part in the first offensive against the Solomon Islands in August, 1942. Among his citations and decorations were the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Me

Sep 4, 2021

Movies: 20th Century-Fox Plans Film on Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

Sept. 4, 1961 - A movie about the life of the late Gen. George S. Patton Jr. (pictured) is scheduled to be made for 20th Century-Fox next year. The movie will be made by Frank McCarthy, a staff producer at Fox. Mr. McCarthy's present plan is to cover General Patton's career from his graduation at West Point in 1909 until his death in an auto accident on Dec. 21, 1945. During the war, Mr. McCarthy was secretary to Gen. George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff. In this capacity,

Sep 3, 2021

Japanese General on Pearl Harbor: No Regrets

Sept. 3, 1961 - Gen. Minoru Genda (pictured), chief of staff of Japan's air defense force, said in London today he had no regrets about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor except that "we should not have attacked just once - we should have attacked again and again." The general, who spoke at London Airport on his arrival from Tokyo for a visit, was a staff officer with the Japanese First Air Fleet in 1941. He said he had helped plan the Pearl Harbor attack on the U.S. fleet o

Aug 16, 2021

West Berlin Mayor Wants "Words Not Action" from Kennedy

Aug. 16, 1961 - Mayor Willy Brandt (pictured) told President Kennedy in a letter today that West Berlin expected "not merely words but political action" against the Communists' closing of the city's border with East Berlin. Mayor Brandt warned that the existence of the entire non-Communist alliance was at stake in the Berlin crisis. Mayor Brandt compared the sealing off of East Berlin and East Germany to Hitler's occupation of the Rhineland in 1936. "The question at issue," h

Aug 15, 2021

Churchill Sends "Warmest Wishes" to President Kennedy

Aug. 15, 1961 - Sir Winston Churchill sent warmest wishes to President Kennedy today "for the momentous and preeminent part" he plays in shaping the destiny of the world. The British leader was replying to a message President Kennedy sent to him yesterday affirming faith in the principles of the Atlantic Charter, which Sir Winston signed 20 years ago with President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured). The Charter was a statement issued on August 14, 1941 that set out American an

Aug 14, 2021

Eichmann Trial Done - Former Nazi Expects Death

Aug. 14, 1961 - The trial of Adolf Eichmann, which began April 11 and involved some of the most sickening testimony every heard in a courtroom, ended today. Eichmann was accused of a leading role in the murder of 6 million men, women and children during World War II. Judge Moshe Landau announced that the verdict would not be ready before November. The former Obersturmbannführer of the Gestapo, who sat ashen-faced and quiet in his glass cage during the final summation, picked

Aug 10, 2021

Israeli Prosecutor Asks for "True and Righteous" Verdict: Death for Eichmann

Aug. 10, 1961 - Attorney General Gideon Hausner demanded today the conviction of Adolf Eichmann as a merciless and insatiable murderer of millions of Jews. Closing Israel's case against the former Nazi officer, Mr. Hausner asked the tribunal to find Eichmann guilty of all counts of an indictment charging crimes against the Jewish people and crimes against humanity. Twelve of the fifteen counts carry the death penalty. "Judges of Israel," Mr. Hausner cried at the climax of his

Aug 10, 2021

Soviets Tap Marshal Ivan S. Konev as Commander of Soviet Troops in East Germany

Aug. 10, 1961 - Marshal Ivan S. Konev, former supreme commander of East European forces and one of the leading longtime Communists in the armed forces, was announced today as the new commander of Soviet troops in East Germany. Marshal Konev led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II and was responsible for taking much of Axis-occupied Eastern Europe. In 1956, he was appointed commander of the Warsaw Pact armed forces and led the violent suppression of the Hu

Aug 9, 2021

Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, Ike's Chief of Staff during WWII, Dead at 65

Aug. 9, 1961 - Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff in Europe during World War II, died of a heart attack today at Walter Reed Hospital. He was 65. Gen. Smith was involved in negotiating the armistice between Italy and the Allies in 1943, which he signed on behalf of Gen. Eisenhower. In 1944, he negotiated successfully for food and fuel aid to be sent through German lines for the cold and starving Dutch civilian population. In May 1945, Gen. Smith m