Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
What Time is It? It is flow of a sandstorm that will on each day compress somewhere into a structure – sandstone, selected and only remembered in the longue durée.
On Sunday, 4 April 1920, 1920 Palestine riots: Violence erupts between Arab and Jewish residents in Jerusalem; 9 are killed, 216 injured.
On Wednesday, 4 April 1945, WWII: American troops liberate their first Nazi concentration camp, Ohrdruf extermination camp in Germany.
On Wednesday, 4 April 1945, The Red Army enters Bratislava and pushes to the outskirts of Vienna, taking it on April 13 after several days of intense fighting.
On Monday, 4 April 1960, At the 32nd Academy Awards ceremony, Ben-Hur wins a record number of Oscars, including Best Picture.
On Monday, 4 April 1960, Elvis Presley’s song “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” is recorded for the first time.
On Saturday, 4 April 1970, Fragments of burnt human remains believed to be those of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels and the Goebbels children are crushed and scattered in the Biederitz river at a KGB center in Magdeburg, East Germany.
On Tuesday, 4 April 1995, New South Wales Premier Bob Carr assumes the Arts and Ethnic Affairs portfolio and Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge assumes Health and Aboriginal Affairs.
On Tuesday, 4 April 1995, Peter Collins replaces John Fahey as New South Wales Liberal leader. Ron Phillps beats incumbent Kerry Chikarovski as Deputy Leader by 19:10.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch
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