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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

4 Aug

Famine is sweeping East Bengal, in British-controlled Indian Raj; British government is refusing to supply food to help starving population. Wartime inflation & rationing have left millions unable to buy enough food to stave off starvation.

Churchill blocks shipments of food to India, claims Europe more urgent: "starvation of anyhow underfed Bengalis is less serious than that of sturdy Greeks."

Natural disasters, including cyclones & flooding have left Bengal desperately short of food. Japanese invasion of Burma, coupled with British scorched-earth policy, has cut rice imports & sent prices spiralling upwards. 100,000s of Indians close to death.

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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

26 Jun

Racial violence has broken out in UK between white & black American servicemen stationed in Lancashire: "Battle of Bamber Bridge" starts as US military police attempted to arrest African American soldiers in a local pub, only to be attacked by British locals & other black troops.

British locals have rejected American attempts to import racial segregation: told that they shouldn't allow African Americans to mix with whites, three pubs in Bamber Bridge have put up "Black troops only" signs.

After white American MPs were driven out of the Ye Old Hob Inn, Lancashire, by black GIs, British locals & soldiers, they returned armed, driving a jeep mounted with a heavy machine gun. Ensuing firefight has seen 7 US soldiers injured & one black GI killed.

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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

16 May

The Nazi destruction of the Jewish ghetto in German-occupied Warsaw is complete. SS commander Jürgen Stroop reports: "The former Jewish quarter of Warsaw is no longer in existence... Total number of Jews dealt with 56,065." Survivors are sent to concentration camps.

For almost a month, resistance fighters in the Warsaw ghetto have fought against the SS "liquidators", killing or wounding over 100 Germans & their collaborators. It's the single largest Jewish revolt against the Nazis.

Warsaw's Jews hid in 1000s of "bunkers", concealed dugouts & secret chambers, forcing Nazis to burn down the ghetto block by block. SS commander Stroop celebrated today by personally blowing up the Warsaw Synagogue.

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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

15 May

The "Bat Bomb", a top-secret American experimental weapon, has had its first, disastrous test run at an airbase in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Bats fitted with incendiary bombs were accidentally released, burning down most of the base.

"Bat Bomb" project uses Mexican free-tailed bats, gluing on small napalm charge with a time fuse. Bats are meant to be parachuted over enemy cities, roost in buildings, then explode to cause uncontrollable fires.

Bat bomb was invented by Pennsylvanian dentist Lytle Adams, who wrote to President Roosevelt soon after Pearl Harbor, saying bats are the "lowest form of animal life", but were created "by God to await this hour to play their part". Roosevelt: "This man is not a nut."

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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

14 May

The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur has been attacked while sailing off the coast of Queensland. Brightly lit, & an illegal target under rules of war, she has been torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

Sister Ellen Savage, 1 of 12 nurses (& 332 medical staff) onboard: "Awakened by two terrific explosions & practically thrown out of bed… I registered mentally that it was a torpedo explosion. In that instant the ship was in flame."

"We ran into our commanding officer... who kindly said ‘That’s right girlies, jump for it now.’ The ship was commencing to go down. It all happened in 3 minutes." Sister Savage is the only nurse to survive. 268 passengers from Hospital Ship Centaur are dead.

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Second World War tweets from 1943

@RealTimeWWII

4 Mar

173 people have been killed in a disaster at Bethnal Green Tube Station, London. Packed crowds were descending stairs during an air-raid last night when a woman carrying a baby tripped, causing a cascade in the blackout. Most victims were crushed or asphyxiated by mass of bodies.

Panicked by noise of British anti-aircraft guns being tested in nearby Victoria Park, crowds piled into Bethnal Green tube, forcing 300 bodies into small dark stairwell. Most of the dead are women & children: worst single civilian loss of life during the Blitz.

Dr. Joan Martin treats victims from Bethnal Green: "The first wet, mauve, body was carried into the hospital. Wet, because when they pulled the bodies from the shelter all they did was to dump them on the pavement & throw water on them. Mauve, because they were all asphyxiated."

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Second World War tweets from 1943

Second World War tweets from 1943

Second World War tweets from 1943

Second World War tweets from 1943

Second World War tweets from 1943

Second World War tweets from 1943

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