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  • Yugoslavia
    May, 1945
    Josip Broz Tito

    Units of the Partisans were responsible for atrocities after the repatriations of Bleiburg

    Yugoslavia
    May, 1945

    In the final days of World War II in Yugoslavia, units of the Partisans were responsible for atrocities after the repatriations of Bleiburg, and accusations of culpability were later raised at the Yugoslav leadership under Tito.




  • Germany
    May, 1945
    The Holocaust

    250,000 had died during death marches

    Germany
    May, 1945

    In January 1945, the Germans held records of 714,000 inmates in concentration camps; by May, 250,000 (35 percent) had died during death marches.




  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Vice-Admiral Voss saw Goebbels for the last time

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Later on 1 May, Vice-Admiral Voss saw Goebbels for the last time: "... While saying goodbye I asked Goebbels to join us. But he replied: 'The captain must not leave his sinking ship. I have thought about it all and decided to stay here. I have nowhere to go because with little children I will not be able to make it, especially with a leg like mine.




  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels' letter informed Chuikov of Hitler's death

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Goebbels carried out his sole official act as Chancellor. He dictated a letter to General Vasily Chuikov and ordered German General Hans Krebs to deliver it under a white flag. Goebbels' letter informed Chuikov of Hitler's death and requested a ceasefire. After this was rejected, Goebbels decided that further efforts were futile.




  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels arranged to eliminate his children by injected morphine

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    On the evening of 1 May, Goebbels arranged for an SS dentist, Helmut Kunz, to inject his six children with morphine so that when they were unconscious, an ampule of cyanide could be then crushed in each of their mouths.




  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels killed himself

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Goebbels and Magda left the bunker and walked up to the garden of the Chancellery, where they killed themselves.




  • Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    11:00:00 PM
    Martin Bormann

    Bormann left the Führerbunker

    Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    11:00:00 PM

    At around 11:00 pm on 1 May, Bormann left the Führerbunker with SS doctor Ludwig Stumpfegger, Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann, and Hitler's pilot Hans Baur as members of one of the groups attempting to break out of the Soviet encirclement. Bormann carried with him a copy of Hitler's last will and testament.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945
    Adolf Hitler

    Berlin surrendered

    Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945

    Berlin surrendered on 2 May.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945
    Martin Bormann

    Death

    Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945

    Bormann's group left the Führerbunker and travelled on foot via a U-Bahn tunnel to the Friedrichstraße station, where they surfaced. Several members of the party attempted to cross the Spree River at the Weidendammer Bridge while crouching behind a Tiger tank. The tank was hit by Soviet artillery and destroyed, and Bormann and Stumpfegger were knocked to the ground. Bormann, Stumpfegger, and several others eventually crossed the river on their third attempt. Bormann, Stumpfegger, and Axmann walked along the railway tracks to Lehrter station, where Axmann decided to leave the others and go in the opposite direction. When he encountered a Red Army patrol, Axmann doubled back. He saw two bodies, which he later identified as Bormann and Stumpfegger, on a bridge near the railway switching yard. He did not have time to check thoroughly, so he did not know how they died. Since the Soviets never admitted to finding Bormann's body, his fate remained in doubt for many years.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945
    Martin Bormann

    The Battle In Berlin Ended

    Berlin, Germany
    Wednesday May 2, 1945

    On 2 May, the Battle in Berlin ended when General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, unconditionally surrendered the city to General Vasily Chuikov, the commander of the Soviet 8th Guards Army.


  • Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and the Veneto regions, northern Italy
    Wednesday May 2, 1945
    World War II

    Spring 1945 offensive in Italy

    Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and the Veneto regions, northern Italy
    Wednesday May 2, 1945

    Allies finally pushed forward in Italy and swept across western Germany. The offensive lasted from 6 April to 2 May 1945.


  • Czechia
    Thursday May 3, 1945
    The Holocaust

    Red Cross took control of Theresienstadt

    Czechia
    Thursday May 3, 1945

    The Red Cross took control of Theresienstadt on 3 May.


  • U.S.
    May, 1945
    Mamie Till

    Till's execution

    U.S.
    May, 1945

    In 1945, Ms. Till received notice from the War Department that, while serving in Italy, her husband (along with accomplice Fred A. McMurray) had been charged with raping an Italian woman. Both men were tried and convicted by a U.S. Army general court-martial and their sentence was death by hanging.


  • Okinawa, Japan
    Sunday May 6, 1945
    Desmond Doss: Hacksaw Ridge

    One more

    Okinawa, Japan
    Sunday May 6, 1945

    Doss said frequently after saving a wounded soldier: "help me get one more". This phrase motivated him to keep searching for soldiers.


  • Reims, France
    Monday May 7, 1945
    Winston Churchill

    Allies accepted Germany's surrender

    Reims, France
    Monday May 7, 1945

    On 7 May 1945 at the SHAEF headquarters in Reims, the Allies accepted Germany's surrender.


  • Germany
    Monday May 7, 1945
    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Germans finally surrendered

    Germany
    Monday May 7, 1945

    The Soviet Red Army captured Berlin in a very large-scale bloody battle, and the Germans finally surrendered on May 7, 1945.


  • Algeria
    Tuesday May 8, 1945
    Algerian War

    The Sétif Massacre

    Algeria
    Tuesday May 8, 1945

    At first, and despite the Sétif massacre of May 8, 1945, and the pro-Independence struggle before World War II, most Algerians were in favor of a relative status-quo. While Messali Hadj had radicalized by forming the FLN, Ferhat Abbas maintained a more moderate, electoral strategy.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Tuesday May 8, 1945
    Winston Churchill

    VE Day

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Tuesday May 8, 1945

    The next day was Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) when Churchill broadcast to the nation that Germany had surrendered and that a final ceasefire on all fronts in Europe would come into effect at one minute past midnight that night (i.e., on the 9th). Afterward, Churchill went to Buckingham Palace where he appeared on the balcony with the Royal Family before a huge crowd of celebrating citizens. He went from the palace to Whitehall where he addressed another large crowd: "God bless you all. This is your victory. In our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best".


  • Karshorst, Berlin, Germany
    May, 1945
    World War II

    Total surrender

    Karshorst, Berlin, Germany
    May, 1945

    Total and unconditional surrender in Europe was signed on 7 and 8 May, to be effective by the end of 8 May.


  • Europe
    Tuesday May 8, 1945
    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded all Allied forces, and through his command of ETOUSA had administrative command of all U.S. forces on the Western Front north of the Alps

    Europe
    Tuesday May 8, 1945

    From then until the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded all Allied forces, and through his command of ETOUSA had administrative command of all U.S. forces on the Western Front north of the Alps. He was ever mindful of the inevitable loss of life and suffering that would be experienced on an individual level by the troops under his command and their families. This prompted him to make a point of visiting every division involved in the invasion. Eisenhower's sense of responsibility was underscored by his draft of a statement to be issued if the invasion failed. It has been called one of the great speeches of history: Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.


  • Tunisia
    Tuesday May 8, 1945
    Charles de Gaulle

    Serious riots were in French Tunisia

    Tunisia
    Tuesday May 8, 1945

    On VE Day, there were also serious riots in French Tunisia.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Tuesday May 8, 1945
    Buckingham Palace

    Victory in Europe Day

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Tuesday May 8, 1945

    On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations. The King, the Queen, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen), and Princess Margaret appeared on the balcony, with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to cheers from a vast crowd in The Mall. The damaged Palace was carefully restored after the war by John Mowlem & Co. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1970.


  • Paris, France
    May, 1945
    Charles de Gaulle

    De Gaulle refused to allow any British participation in the victory parade in Paris

    Paris, France
    May, 1945

    In May 1945 the German armies surrendered to the Americans and British at Rheims, and a separate armistice was signed with France in Berlin. De Gaulle refused to allow any British participation in the victory parade in Paris.


  • Yugoslavia
    Monday May 14, 1945
    Josip Broz Tito

    Tito dispatched a telegram to the supreme headquarters Slovene Partisan Army prohibiting the execution of prisoners of war

    Yugoslavia
    Monday May 14, 1945

    On 14 May, he dispatched a telegram to the supreme headquarters Slovene Partisan Army prohibiting the execution of prisoners of war and commanding the transfer of the possible suspects to a military court.


  • Damascus, Syria
    Sunday May 20, 1945
    Charles de Gaulle

    French artillery and warplanes fired on demonstrators in Damascus

    Damascus, Syria
    Sunday May 20, 1945

    On 20 May, French artillery and warplanes fired on demonstrators in Damascus. After several days, upwards of 800 Syrians lay dead.


  • Okinawa, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1945
    Desmond Doss: Hacksaw Ridge

    Being Wounded

    Okinawa, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1945

    Doss was wounded four times in Okinawa and was evacuated on May 21, 1945, aboard the USS Mercy. Doss suffered a left arm fracture from a sniper's bullet and at one point had seventeen pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Okinawa.


  • Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Monday May 21, 1945
    Heinrich Himmler

    Himmler was arrested

    Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Monday May 21, 1945

    On 21 May, Himmler and two aides were stopped and detained at a checkpoint in Bremervörde set up by former Soviet POWs. Over the following two days, he was moved around to several camps.


  • England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday May 23, 1945
    Winston Churchill

    Churchill resigned as Prime Minister

    England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday May 23, 1945

    With a general election looming (there had been none for almost a decade), and with the Labour Ministers refusing to continue the wartime coalition, Churchill resigned as Prime Minister on 23 May 1945. Later that day, he accepted the King's invitation to form a new government, known officially as the National Government, like the Conservative-dominated coalition of the 1930s, but sometimes called the caretaker ministry.


  • Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Wednesday May 23, 1945
    Heinrich Himmler

    Himmler's death

    Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Wednesday May 23, 1945

    Himmler bit into a hidden potassium cyanide pill and collapsed onto the floor. He was dead within 15 minutes. Shortly afterward, Himmler's body was buried in an unmarked grave near Lüneburg. The grave's location remains unknown.


  • Washington, D.C., U.S.
    May, 1945
    Patch Adams

    Adams birth

    Washington, D.C., U.S.
    May, 1945

    Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Anna Campbell Stewart (née Hunter) and Robert Loughridge Adams.


  • Damascus, Syria
    Thursday May 31, 1945
    Charles de Gaulle

    Churchill told de Gaulle "immediately to order French troops to the ceasefire"

    Damascus, Syria
    Thursday May 31, 1945

    On 31 May, Churchill told de Gaulle "immediately to order French troops to cease fire and withdraw to their barracks". British forces moved in and forced the French to withdraw from the city; they were then escorted and confined to barracks.


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