MAY 21 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

MAY 21

1674

General John Sobieski was elected King of Poland: John III Sobieski was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696, and was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Sobieski's leadership prowess was demonstrated in wars in which he defeated the Ottoman Empire. Sobieski's 22-year reign marked a period of stabilization in the Commonwealth, much needed after the upheaval of the Deluge and the Khmelnytsky Uprising. King Sobieski was popular among his subjects. He was an extraordinary military commander, most famous for his victory over the Turks at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. The Ottoman's named him, the "Lion of Lechistan", and the Pope hailed him as the savior of Christendom. John III Sobieski was a hero of Poland.

1935

Nazis banned Jews from serving in the military. The Germans used the word "Mischling" to denote persons of mixed heritage or mixed blood, (those having Aryan and Jewish ancestry) and imposed strict racial tests to determine the degree of a person's "Jewishness".   A person was Jewish if they had two Jewish grandparents, or was married to a Jew, or was the offspring from a mixed marriage with a Jew (in or out of wedlock).   Despite these strident conditions and scrutiny,  Hitler personally approved or denied any request for reclassification of ethnicity. Despite these laws, there were about 100,000 Jewish soldiers (Mischlings) serving in the German armies.  There were many "Mischlings" who attained high rank in Hitlers Reich: 2 Field Marshals, 15 Generals, 2 full Generals, 8 Lieutenant Generals, and 5 Major Generals. Former Mischlings were Nazi party members – 4 were full Jews, 15 were half Jews and 7 were quarter Jews. For example:   Field Marshall Erhard Milch (a half-Jew);  General Helmut Wilberg  (a half-Jew); General Johannes Zuckertort (a half-Jew);  Col. Walter H. Hoellander (a half-Jew);  Commander Paul Ascher (a half-Jew); Admiral Bernhard Rogge, 1st Officer on the Bismarck (a quarter-Jew).

1945

Attack on the NKVD Camp in Rembertów took place on the outskirts of Warsaw. A unit of the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK)  freed all Polish political prisoners from the Soviet NKVD camp.  Hundreds of Polish Citizens had previously been imprisoned at Rembertów and systematically deported to Siberia,  including members of the Home Army and other Polish underground fighters.