Timeline May 1940

Events in May 1940 19

• 1859 – 1940 George Lansbury (1859-1940) Died 7 May 1940, aged 81 British Labour politician, pacifist and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935.
• 1869 – 1940 Emma Goldman (1869-1940) Died 14 May 1940, aged 70 Anarchist writer and activist, born in the Russian Empire, who campaigned in the United States for free speech, birth control and workers' rights. She was deported in 1919 and died in Toronto.
• 1940 Katyń Massacre War Crime Mass execution of Polish officers and intelligentsia by the Soviet NKVD.
• 1940 Katyn massacre Soviet NKVD executes about 22,000 Polish prisoners Between April and May the Soviet NKVD shot about 22,000 Polish officers, police and members of the intelligentsia in the Katyn Forest and at other sites. The Soviet Union blamed Nazi Germany for the killings until 1990. The massacre remains a defining grievance in Polish-Russian relations.
• 1940 Battle of France Germany overruns France and the Low Countries in six weeks On 10 May Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, and armoured forces broke through the Ardennes at Sedan. Allied armies were split and pushed back to the Channel coast. France signed an armistice on 22 June, which came into effect on 25 June.
• 1940 British invasion of Iceland Britain occupies Iceland to forestall Germany British forces landed at Reykjavík on 10 May to stop Germany from seizing Iceland and to secure North Atlantic routes. The Icelandic government protested but did not resist. United States forces later took over most of the occupation.
• 1940 Churchill becomes Prime Minister Replaces Chamberlain on same day Germany invades Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister on May 10, 1940 — the same day Germany launched its western offensive. His first speech promised "blood, toil, tears and sweat".
• 1940 – 1945 German occupation in WWII Hongerwinter & liberation Nazi Germany occupies the neutral Netherlands from 1940; the country endures the deportation of its Jewish population and the 1944–45 "Hunger Winter" before liberation in May 1945.
• 1940 – 1944 German occupation in WWII Neutrality overrun Despite its neutrality, Luxembourg is invaded and annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940; resistance and a 1941 census boycott assert national identity before liberation in 1944.
• 1940 – 1945 German occupation of the Netherlands World War II occupation Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands during World War II while Queen Wilhelmina led the government-in-exile.
• 1940 – 1944 Nazi occupation & resistance A census of defiance Germany occupies and annexes Luxembourg; a 1941 census in which citizens overwhelmingly declare their language and nationality "Luxembourgish" becomes a famous act of resistance.
• 1940 – 1944 Occupation in WWII Invaded again Germany overruns Belgium once more in 1940; the country endures four years of occupation, resistance and the deportation of its Jews before liberation in 1944.
• 1940 Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister Churchill replaces Chamberlain on the day Germany invades the West Neville Chamberlain resigned after the failed Norwegian campaign and the Norway Debate in the Commons. Winston Churchill was appointed Prime Minister on 10 May and formed an all-party coalition government. He led Britain for the rest of the war.
• 1940 Rotterdam Blitz German bombers destroy the centre of Rotterdam On 14 May the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam during surrender negotiations, destroying the historic city centre and killing about 850 people. Germany threatened to bomb Utrecht next, and the Netherlands capitulated the following day.
• 1940 – 2017 Roger Ailes (1940-2017) Died 18 May 2017, aged 77 American media executive who founded and ran Fox News, transforming it into the dominant force in cable news and conservative media. He resigned in 2016 following multiple sexual harassment allegations. He died following complications from a fall.
• 1940 – present Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum The site of the former Nazi death camp, now a solemn memorial and museum.
• 1940 Dunkirk evacuation Operation Dynamo rescues 338,000 Allied troops Between 26 May and 4 June more than 338,000 British and French soldiers were evacuated from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk. Naval ships were joined by hundreds of civilian craft, the "little ships". The operation saved the core of the British Army, though almost all of its heavy equipment was left behind.
• 1940 – 2012 Levon Helm (1940-2012) Died 19 April 2012, aged 71 American musician and drummer-vocalist for the roots-rock group the Band. He died of complications from throat cancer.
• 1940 Belgium surrenders King Leopold III capitulates to Germany After eighteen days of fighting, King Leopold III surrendered the Belgian army on 28 May against the advice of his government. The government continued the war from exile in London. The surrender made the king a divisive figure in Belgium after the war.