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)>
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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>
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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>
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