World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Wednesday, December 6, 1939
Day 97

December 6, 1939: Front page of The Midland Daily Telegraph, Coventry, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
(In the headline story, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, argues that the British are sinking more U-boats than Germany can produce. He states "In the last week we think that five U-boats met their fate either from out flotillas or R.A.F." Making speeches like this is called morale building or just propaganda. Only one U-boat had been sunk in the last week and only one U-boat was sunk in the whole of the previous month. It is difficult to ascertain whether a submarine was sunk in an attack or not unless there are survivors to confirm the loss. During the war many an attack was considered to have been successful even when there was little evidence.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of the North-Eastern Gazette, Middlesbrough, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 5: "Nazis Will Make Poles Serfs"


December 6, 1939: Front page of the Cambridge Daily News, Cambridge, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 6: "Tragedy Of Ship's Captain"


December 6, 1939: Front page of The News, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 1: "Was Doric Star's Radio Jammed"
(Doric Star had been sunk by the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee on Dec. 2, not by the Admiral Scheer as stated in the report.)
Also note the report in column 2: "Japan Taxes Cats And Canaries"


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of Het Volksdagblad, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Dutch communist paper.)
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
[Note that Churchill's statement about U-boat sinkings has made it across the Atlantic.]
 
Note the report in column 1: "Tokio [sic] Depicts U.S. As Foe In Future Conflict"
(One of the first public war warnings made by the Japanese.)
Also note the report in column 7: "German Consul's Aide Slain In New York'
(This was the first report of the murder of Dr. Walter Engelberg. This story will continue until the conviction of his killer in March of 1940. It is a story worth following.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Ogden Standard Examiner, Ogden City, Utah.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "British Vessel Is Feared Lost"
(This is the first report of the loss of the Huntsman. The ship had been captured by the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee on Oct. 10th, but not sunk until Oct. 17th.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of the Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk, New York.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "Bund's No. 1 Man is No. 97,362 In Sing-Sing Now"


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Lowell Sun, Lowell, Massachusetts.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of The Helena Independent, Helena, Montana.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 6, 1939: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Britische Sabotageakte auch in Rumänien.
(British also committing acts of sabotage in Romania.)
2. Holländische Reedereien lassen Ladungspapiere von England beglaubigen.
(Dutch shipping companies have cargo documents certified by England.)



   
Page published Dec. 6, 2020