MARCH 24 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

MARCH 24

1794

Kościuszko's Proclamation was a speech given by Tadeusz Kościuszko against the forces of Imperial Russia occupying Poland. At approximately 10 am at Krakows Old Town Square, the Act of Insurrection was read by Kraków's Sejm representative.  It gave Tadeusz Kościuszko command over the National Armed Forces after which he vowed to convene a Supreme National Council.  Kosciuszko stepped forward and recited his oath, " I,  Tadeusz Kościuszko, hereby swear by the God to the entire Polish Nation, that I shall not use the powers vested in me for anyone's oppression, but for defence of the integrity of the borders, recuperation of Nation's sovereignty and strengthening the universal freedom. So help me God and the innocent passion of His Son! "

1933

German Parliament passed the Enabling Act giving Hitler dictatorial powers.  The Enabling Act  was a 1933 Weimar Constitution amendment that gave the German Cabinet – in effect, Chancellor Adolf Hitler – the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. It passed in both the Reichstag and Reichsrat on March 24, 1933, and was signed by President Paul von Hindenburg later that day. The act stated that it was to last four years unless renewed by the Reichstag, which occurred twice. The Enabling Act gave Hitler plenary powers. It followed on the heels of the Reichstag Fire Decree, which abolished most civil liberties and transferred state powers to the Reich government. The combined effect of the two laws was to transform Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship.  Hitler attempted to give his dictatorship a semblance of legality, and thus renewed the Enabling Act twice, in 1937 and 1941.  However, its renewal was practically assured since all other parties were banned. German voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and Nazi-approved "guest" candidates under "far-from-secret conditions". In 1942, the Reichstag passed a law giving Hitler power of life and death over every citizen, effectively extending the provisions of the Enabling Act for the duration of the war

1938

In Brzezany (Ukraine) five members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists were sentenced to several years in prison. The OUN was a political organization comprising the Ukrainian Military Organization, smaller radical right-wing groups, and right-wing Ukrainian nationalists.  Their objective was to achieve Ukrainian independence by violence and terrorism against perceived foreign and domestic enemies, in particular Poland, Czechoslovakia and Russia.

1942

Nazi Germans deported 426 Jews from Nuremberg to the ghetto of Izbica in Eastern Poland. There were no survivors.

1944

Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, a Polish husband and wife, living in Markowa near Rzeszów in south-eastern Poland were the Righteous who attempted to rescue Polish Jewish families by hiding them in their own home during the Nazi-occupation of Poland. The Ulma family, husband, wife and children were summarily executed on March 24,  1944 for having helped the Jews.  (The Rescue of Jews by Poles During the Holocaust)

1945

As part of Operation Plunder, American, British and Canadian troops carried out Operation Varsity, an airborne drop around Wesel, Germany. It involved more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft.  Its objective was to help the surface river assault troops secure a foothold by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the village of Hamminkeln and the town of Wesel. The Operation was the largest one of its kind in history to be conducted in one location on a single day.  Operation Varsity was a success and the airborne troops achieved their objectives to capture enemy strongholds.  Allied casualties were very high between 2,300 and 2,700 killed, wounded or missing. (Winston Churchill, and Field Marshal Montgomery, watched the landings on this day.)