World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Friday May 30, 1941
Day 638

May 30, 1941: Front page of the Nottingham Evening Post, Nottingham, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 3: "Schmeling Is Alive"
(Former world heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, reportedly killed in Crete, is now reported to be alive. That was true, in fact, he lived until 2005, only eight months short of 100 years.
 
Also note the report in column 3: "Ex-Kaiser Dying?"


May 30, 1941: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of the Western Mail and South Wales News, Cardiff, Wales.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 4-5: "Nazis' Savagery In Poland"
(Other than reporting more Nazi atrocities, this report is significant due to the fact that it mentions the "notorious Oswiecim concentration camp." The first time it's mentioned as the destination for some of those arrested by the SS. The second time Oswiecim is mentioned it states; "Many prisoners are eventually sentenced to hard labor at Oswiecim where, during the winter, 20 to 25 per cent of the Polish prisoners died each month." This indicates that even the press were aware of the concentration camp known to the Germans as Auschwitz. Even though it only opened only one year earlier in May of 1940, it was already known as "notorious" to the press and it was known as place with a very high death rate.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of the Evening Telegraph and Post, Dundee, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 5: "British Destroyer Blown Up - 229 Rescued"
(The report states that HMS Harewood was attacked and blew up. The details are correct, but the name of the ship is not. It was actually HMS Herward. What is not mentioned is that on the same day HMS Imperial was also sunk, HMS Decoy and HM cruisers Dido and Orion were damaged, all during the evacuation of Crete. These were the final British naval casualties from the Crete action.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 2-3: "Freyberg, Crete Commander Reported Killed in Crash"


May 30, 1941: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of The Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada.
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May 30, 1941: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. Frankreichs Erregung über England wächst.
(France's excitement at England grows.)


May 30, 1941: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Wenn wir Kreta verlieren...
(If we lose Crete...)
2. Angstgeheul der britischen Presse um das Sperrfort im Mittelmeer.
(Howls of fear from the British press about the fort in the Mediterranean.)



   
Page published May 30, 2022