References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 April 30.

1941 January 1 Netherlands begins taxing wages. [1] Russian General Zhukov appointed chief of General staff. [1] January 2 Mischa Levitzki composer, dies at 42. [1] January 3 Canada and US acquire air bases in Newfoundland (99 year lease). [1] British forces assault the Italian army at Bardia, inside the Libyan frontier. They capture 45,000 troops, 129 tanks, 400 guns, and 706 trucks. [10] Italian counter offensive in Albania. [1] Sergei Rachmaninov's "Symphonic Dances" premieres in Philadelphia. [1] January 4 Henri Bergson French philosopher (Le Rire, Nobel Prize 1928), dies at 81. [1] Resistance fighters counter d'Estienne d'Orves/Jan Doornik, first meet. [1] Sergey Rachmaninov's "Symphonie Dances" premieres in Philadelphia. [1] January 5 British/Australian troops conquer Bardia Lybia. [1] January 6 Franklin Roosevelt's "4 Freedoms" speech (speech, worship, from want and from fear). [1] Franz Hessel writer, dies at 60. [1] January 8 British Air Marshal Richard Peirse resigns. [1] Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scout movement, dies at 83. [1] January 9 6,000 Jews exterminated in pogrom in Bucharest Romania. [1] Ko Boezeman Dutch resistance fighter, dies. [1] Maiden flight by Canada's Avro Lancaster military plane. [1] January 10 Frank Bridge English violinist/composer (Sea), dies at 61. [1] Joseph Kesselring's "Arsenic and Old Lace" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] Joseph Schmidlin German church historian, murdered at 67. [1] Seyss-Inquart begins registration of Jews. [1] Graf von Schulenburg of the German Government and V. Molotov of the USSR sign a secret protocol transferring a small piece of Lithuanian territory to the USSR for 31.5 million reichmarks (US$7.5 million). [10] January 11 Princess Irene Brigade established in Congleton. [1] January 13 James Joyce novelist (Ulysses), dies in Zürich Switzerland, at 58. [1] January 16 US vice admiral Bellinger warns of an assault on Pearl Harbor. [1] War Department forms first Army Air Corps squadron for black cadets. [1] January 17 José Leite de Vasconcelos Portuguese scholar (Etnografia), dies at 82. [1] (morning) French forces with one old light cruiser and four old gunboats, attack Siam along the Koh-Chang island anchorage. They sink the new battleship Dhonburi, force the new battleship Ayuthia to run aground, and sink three small destroyers. [10] January 19 British offensive in Eritrea. [1] British troops occupy Kassalaf Sudan. [1] January 20 Béla Bartók's 6th string quartet, premieres in New York City, New York. [1] January 21 First anti-Jewish measures in Bulgaria. [1] First commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater, Freeport Texas. [1] Australian infantry with 16 Matilda tanks attack Tobruk, Libya, forcing the surrender of 25,000-30,000 Italians and 87 tanks. [10] British communist newspaper "Daily Worker" banned. [1] January 22 First mass killing of Jews in Romania. [1] British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians. [1] January 23 Dobri Khristov composer, dies at 65. [1] Ground breaking for NACA (now NASA) Lewis Research Center. [1] WOR-AM in Newark New Jersey moves to New York City. [1] January 24 British troops march into Abyssinia. [1] January 27 Iver Paul Fredrik Holter composer, dies at 90. [1] Peruvian agent Rivera-Schreibér warns of Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor. [1] January 28 Vichy France ceases hostilities with Siam. [10] January 29 Greek Prime Minister General Ioannis Metaxas dies unexpectedly. The new Greek prime minister invites British forces in for protection against Germany and Italy. [1] [10] January 30 Australian troops conquer Derna Libya. [1] January 31 21 U boats sunk this month (127,000 ton). [1] Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem Netherlands. [1] A formal armistice is signed by Siam and Indochina. [10] February 2 Johannes Schlaf writer, dies at 78. [1] February 3 Supreme Court upheld Federal Wage and Hour law, sets minimum wages and maximum hours. [1] February 4 British tanks occupy Maus Libya. [1] Former Dutch premier De Geer flies to Berlin. [1] Johann Peter Kirsch Luxembourg church historian, dies at 79. [1] United Service Organization (USO) founded. [1] February 5 Dutch Premier De Geer returns from Lisbon to Netherlands. [1] February 6 Battle of Beda Fomm Italian 10th army destroyed. [1] British troops conquer Bengazi, Libya. [1] Adolf Hitler puts Erwin Rommel in command of the new Deutsches Afrika Korps (German Africa Corps) with 15th Panzer Division and 5th Light Motorized Division, to rescue the Italians in North Africa. [10] Maximilien Luce French painter, dies at 82. [1] February 7 Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey Orchestra record "Everything Happens to Me". [1] February 8 Japanese armored barges cross Strait of Johore to attack Singapore. [1] NSB'er Max Blokzijl begins Nazi propaganda on Dutch radio. [1] February 9 British troops conquer El Agheila. [1] Nazi collaborators destroy pro-Jewish café Alcazar Amsterdam (Alcazar refused to hang "No Entry for Jews" signs in front of cafe). [1] February 10 First highway post office makes first trip, Washington DC-Harrisonburg, Virginia. [1] Anti-Nazi "Het Parool" begins publishing in Netherlands. [1] February 11 First Gold record presented (Glenn Miller-Chattanooga Choo Choo). [1] Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli. [1] Rudolf Hilferding German economist/Minister of Finance (SPD), suicide at 63. [1] Sicherheitsdienst complains about Dutch anti German sentiments. [1] February 12 Jewish Council for Amsterdam forms, under Ascher/Cohen. [1] Occupation Police arrest "Jewish Foursome". [1] February 13 Naomi Uemura Japanese mountain climber, dies on Mount McKinley. [1] Nazi leaders attack Dutch Jewish Council. [1] February 14 1,000,000th vehicle traverses the New York Midtown Tunnel. [1] Carson McCuller's "Reflections in a Golden Eye" published. [1] Cebrie Park in the Bronx renamed Halsey Street. [1] German Africa Corps lands in Tripoli, Libya. [1] February 15 Duke Ellington first records "Take the A Train". [1] February 19 Hamilton Hamilton Harty composer/conductor, dies at 61. [1] Nazis raid Koco Amsterdam and round up 429 young Jews for deportation. [1] February 20 First transport of Jews to concentration camps leave Plotsk Poland. [1] Nazis order Polish Jews barred from using public transportation. [1] Romania breaks relations with Netherlands. [1] February 21 US Senate accepts Omar Bradley's demotion to Brigadier-General. [1] February 22 Arthur T "Bomber" Harris becomes British Air Marshal. [1] German assault on El Agheila Libya. [1] I G Farben decides building Buna-Werke in Auschwitz Concentration Camp. [1] Nazi SS begin rounding up Jews of Amsterdam. [1] Paul Creston's first Symphony, premieres. [1] Roy Harris' "Ballad of a Railroad Man" premieres. [1] February 24 43 Geuzen resistance fighter trial opens in the Hague. [1] Anti Nazi meeting at Noordermarkt Amsterdam. [1] Oskar Loerke German director (Longest Day-1926), dies at 56. [1] February 25 February strike against persecution of Jews, in Amsterdam. [1] February 26 Cowboys' Amateur Association of America organized (California). [1] Jan Keizer Zaanse February striker, shot to death. [1] Utrecht and Zaandam strike against raid on Jews. [1] Vichy-France makes religious education in school mandatory. [1] February 28 39 U Boats (197,000 ton) sunk this month. [1] Alfonso XIII de Borbón King of Spain (1902-31), dies. [1] British-Italian dogfight above Albania. [1] March 1 "Captain America" appears in a comic book. [1] First US commercial FM radio station goes on the air, Nashville Tennessee. [1] Bulgaria formally agrees to adhere to the Tripartite Pact of the Axis powers. German troops enter the country. [10] Himmler inspects Auschwitz concentration camp. [1] March 3 Constant W L Scheurleer archaeologist/banker/art expert, dies at 59. [1] Ernst Cahn owner of Amsterdam Koco ice cream parlor, executed. [1] Netherlands NSB-leader Mussert visits Göring in Berlin. [1] March 4 Eighteen Geuzen resistance fighters sentenced to death in The Hague. [1] Edoardo Mascheroni composer, dies at 81. [1] Serbian Prince Paul visits Hitler. [1] British commandos make a large-scale raid on Lofoten Islands, Norway. The raid is a complete success, capturing 225 prisoners and evacuating 315 Norwegian volunteers. [10] March 5 Ludwig Quidde German historian/politician (Nobel Prize 1927), dies at 82. [1] March 6 John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum sculptor (Mount Rushmore), dies at 73. [1] Leen Schijvenschuurder Dutch February strike leader, executed. [1] March 7 Third largest snowfall in New York City, New York history (18.1"). [1] 50,000 British soldiers lands in Greece. [1] Arnold Schering German musicologist, dies at 63. [1] British troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia). [1] Günther Prien German commandant (U-47), dies in battle. [1] March 8 Jose Serrano Simeon composer, dies at 67. [1] Sherwood Anderson US writer/publisher (Winesburg Ohio), dies at 64. [1] March 9 Carlos Pedrell composer, dies at 62. [1] March 11 In the United States, Congress passes "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", known as the Lend-Lease Act, authorizing the President to sell, lease, lend, transfer, or exchange war supplies to any nation deemed vital to defence of the US. Total value is US$1.3 billion. [10] Walford Davies British organist/composer, dies at 71. [1] March 12 Charles Sanford Skilton composer, dies at 72. [1] German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands. [1] March 13 A Bougne forms AGRA (Amis du Grand Reich Allemand). [1] A Coenradi Dutch resistance fighter, executed. [1] Bernard Ijzerdraat Dutch resistance fighter, executed. [1] E Hellendoorn Dutch resistance fighter, executed. [1] Isaak E Babel Russian writer (Zakat, Marija), executed at 46. [1] J Eyl Dutch resistance fighter, executed. [1] March 14 Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies. [1] Xavier Cugat and his Orchestraestra record "Babalu". [1] March 15 Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151. [1] March 16 Blizzard hits North Dakota and Minnesota killing 60. [1] Dmitri Shostakovich receives the Stalin Prize. [1] John Murray Canada oceanographer (Challenger), dies at 73. [1] National Gallery of Art opens in Washington DC. [1] March 17 Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel Russian writer (Crvena Konjica), executed at 46. [1] Joachim Schepke German commandant (U-100), dies in battle. [1] National Gallery of Art, Washington DC opens. [1] March 19 Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestraestra record "Green Eyes" and "Maria Elena". [1] March 20 D A van den Bosch anti-Nazi clergyman (Amersfoort Camp), dies. [1] Nazi-German/Yugoslav pact drawn. [1] March 21 Robert Liefmann German economist (Kartelle und Trusts), dies at 67. [1] March 22 Grand Coulee Dam in Washington goes into operation. [1] March 24 British troops defeat British Somalia. [1] German troops occupy El Agheila Libya. [1] Glenn Miller begins work on his first movie for 20th Century Fox. [1] Richard Wright and Paul Green's "Native Son" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] March 25 Carolina Paprika Mills, Dillon South Carolina, incorporated. [1] In Vienna, Austria, Yugoslav premier Prince Paul and foreign minister sign on to the Tripartite Pact in the presence of Adolf Hitler and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. [10] March 26 (0020 hours) A military revolt in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, lead by General Dusan Simovic, overthrows the Regency and pro-Axis government. [10] March 27 Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years. [1] Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 25, ordering the military annihilation of Yugoslavia in retaliation for its coup. Operation Barbarossa, the planned attack on the Soviet Union, is postponed from May 15 for at least a month. Yugoslavia and Greece are to be attacked on April 6. [10] March 28 Sea battle at Cape Matapan: British fleet under Cunningham defeats Italy. [1] Virginia [Adeline] Woolf-Stephen; author (To Lighthouse), commits suicide at 59. [1] [5] March 29 First performance of Benjamin Britten's "Symphony da Requiem". [1] WPAT radio in New Jersey begins broadcasting (country music format). [1] March 30 German counter offensive in North-Africa. [1] March 31 Ground broken for Union Square Garage, San Francisco. [1]