Today in News History

On June 20, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1847, Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women's rights activist (died 1916) was born. In 1942, The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1944, World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses. In 1945, The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip. In 1948, The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later. In 1951, Sheila McLean, Scottish scholar and academic was born. In 1963, Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called "red telephone" link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow. In 1971, Annik Van den Bosch, Belgian politician was born. In 1982, The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide opens in Tel Aviv, despite attempts by the Turkish government to cancel it, as it included presentations on the Armenian genocide. In 2019, Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.