Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (d. 1942)
Walter Karl Ernst August von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Reichenau commanded the 6th Army, during the invasions of Belgium and France. During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, he continued to command the 6th Army as part of Army Group South as it captured Ukraine and advanced deep into Russia.
While in command of the 6th Army during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, he issued the notorious Severity Order which encouraged German soldiers to murder Jewish civilians on the Eastern Front. Reichenau's troops cooperated with the SS Einsatzgruppen in the commission of the massacre of over 33,000 Jews at Babi Yar, and assisted with other crimes against humanity that occurred in areas under his command during the Holocaust.
1884Oct, 8
Walther von Reichenau
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Events on 1884
- 27Mar
Cincinnati riots of 1884
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse. - 20Apr
Humanum genus
Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus. - 14Oct
Photographic film
American inventor George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film. - 22Oct
Prime meridian (Greenwich)
The Royal Observatory in Britain is adopted as the prime meridian of longitude by the International Meridian Conference. - 10Dec
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.