World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Friday January 31, 1941
Day 519

January 31, 1941: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 4: "Ersatz Whisky for the Danes"
(Three kinds of "replacement" whisky, plus for the rich, the real thing from Scotland, offered to the people of Denmark.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 2-3: "Butchers Beware!"
(The Minister of Food, Lord Woolton warning butchers to follow the rules or perhaps be put out of business.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the Western Mail and South Wales News, Cardiff, Wales.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at top right: "Pacific War Feared In Few Months"
(The report states possible war in two months. This was incorrect, but in 11 months. Dec. 7, 1941.
Only missed it by nine months.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline report at top right: "Knox Foresees Nazi Invasion In 90 Days"
[See "July 9 Is New Blitzkrieg Date" in the Manchester Evening News of July 4, 1940.]


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Southern Jewish Weekly, Jacksonville, Florida.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at top right: "Hundreds of Jews Slain In Rumanian Uprising"


January 31, 1941: Front page of The Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the San Mateo Times, San Mateo, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 6-7: "Poison Gas Use Seen On Large Scale: House Speeds Lease Lend"
[The report is concluded here.]
(Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox is quoted on page 2 as saying:

"Invasion 60-90 days." "Present indications are that the invasion will be accompanied by the use of [poison] gas on a large scale."

These are the type of statements people make when they are scared, or want to scare others. While there were many hundreds of tons of poison gas munitions manufactured (by all nations) but only the Japanese used it in combat during World War II.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. Hitler Ankündigung zündet in aller Welt.
(Hitler's announcement ignites the world.)
2. Fliegersirenen heulten in Kairo.
(Air raid sirens wailed in Cairo.)


January 31, 1941: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Der Führer warnt alle Kriegsverlängerer - Zum entscheidenden Schlag bereit!
(The Führer warns all who prolong the war - Prepare for the decisive blow.)
2. Ganz Deutschland hörte die Rede des Führers zum 30. Janner.
(All of Germany heard the Führer's speech on Jan. 30th.)



   
Page published January 31, 2022