The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (founded May 1944) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Nazi Party that served alongside the German armed forces during World War II. Composed of Muslim Albanians with mostly German and ethnic German Yugoslav officers and non-commissioned officers, it was named for medieval Albanian lord George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, who had defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire. The division committed numerous atrocities in predominantly Serb areas, and rounded up Jews in Pristina for deportation to the Bergen- Belsen concentration camp on 14 May 1944. Its only significant military actions took place during a German anti-Partisan offensive in the German occupied territory of Montenegro in June and July. It was then deployed as a guard force in Kosovo, where it was quickly overrun by the Partisans. Reinforced by German Kriegsmarine (navy) personnel and with less than 500 Albanians remaining in its ranks, it was disbanded on 1 November 1944. Divisional commander SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS August Schmidhuber was later found guilty of war crimes by a Belgrade court and executed in 1947.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Waffen_Mountain_Division_of_the_SS_Skanderbeg_(1st_Albanian)
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1264:
Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle of Lewes and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort (statue pictured) the de facto ruler of England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Lewes
1787:
Delegates from the thirteen U.S. states convened the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the intention of revising the Articles of Confederation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)
1931:
Five people were killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers opened fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85dalen_shootings
1940:
World War II: The bulk of Dutch forces surrendered to the Wehrmacht, ending the Battle of the Netherlands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands
1961:
In Anniston, Alabama, US, a mob of Ku Klux Klansmen attacked the buses of the Freedom Riders, who were riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups to challenge local segregation laws. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Riders
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
sumptuous: Magnificent, luxurious, splendid. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sumptuous
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is the interest of the individual and of all society, that he should be made, at the earliest period, to understand his own construction, the proper use of its parts, and how to keep them at all times in a state of health. --Robert Owen https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Owen