September 1941

September

• 01

  • The Milan Nedić governmentOn 1 September 1941 General Milan Nedić broadcast as premier of the Government of National Salvation, set up by the Germans in occupied Serbia on 29 August.
  • The Star of David in the ReichOn 1 September 1941 Heydrich signed a decree requiring Jews aged six and over in the Reich and the Protectorate to wear a yellow “Jude” star from 19 September.
• 04

  • The USS Greer incidentOn 4 September 1941 U-652 fired torpedoes at the US destroyer Greer, which had been tracking it for hours. Both missed, and Roosevelt called it piracy.
• 06

  • The Wilno GhettoOn 6 September 1941 the Germans drove the Jews of Wilno into two ghettos in the Old Town. Thousands detained on the way were shot at Ponary.
  • The Imperial Conference of 6 SeptemberOn 6 September 1941 a conference attended by Hirohito decided that Japan would prepare for war with the US, Britain and the Netherlands if talks failed.
• 07

  • The RAF raid on Berlin of 7 SeptemberOn the night of 7–8 September 1941 the RAF sent 197 bombers to Berlin, its largest force yet. It lost 15 aircraft, and the results fell short of the reports.
• 08

  • Key eventThe siege of Leningrad beginsOn 8 September 1941 the Germans took Shlisselburg on Lake Ladoga and cut Leningrad off from the country. A blockade of almost two and a half years began.
  • The deportation of the Volga GermansA decree of 28 August 1941 condemned the Volga Germans to expulsion. From 3 to 20 September the NKVD deported some 440,000 people to Siberia and Kazakhstan.
• 10

  • The encirclement at KievOn 10 September 1941 Guderian's tanks entered Romny while Kleist prepared to strike from Kremenchuk. On 15 September the pincers closed near Lokhvytsia.
• 11

  • The shoot-on-sight orderOn 11 September 1941 Roosevelt announced that US ships would no longer wait for U-boats to strike first. Days later the navy began escorting British convoys.
• 15

  • Hjalmar Mäe’s Estonian Self-AdministrationOn 15 September 1941 the rear-area commander of Army Group North set up the Estonian Self-Administration under Hjalmar Mäe. Independence was not restored.
• 16

  • The abdication of Reza ShahOn 16 September 1941, as the Red Army marched on Tehran, Reza Shah abdicated for his son. The Allies then entered the capital and the new shah took his oath.
• 19

  • The Germans take KievOn 19 September 1941 the German 6th Army entered Kiev, abandoned by the Red Army. General Kirponos was killed the next day; by 26 September the pocket was gone.
• 27

  • The first Liberty shipOn 27 September 1941 the Patrick Henry, the first Liberty ship, was launched in Baltimore. By 1945 US shipyards had built 2,710 of these freighters.
  • The founding of EAMOn 27 September 1941 in Athens the communists and three small left-wing parties founded the National Liberation Front (EAM), the core of the Greek resistance.
• 28

  • Key eventBabi YarOn 28 September 1941 the Germans summoned Kiev’s Jews to assemble. On 29–30 September Sonderkommando 4a and German police shot 33,771 people at Babi Yar.
  • The Drama uprisingOn the night of 28–29 September 1941 Greeks around Drama rose against Bulgarian occupation. The Bulgarians crushed the revolt and shot thousands of civilians.