Date in year · 1945 · The 1940s

May 23, 1945

On May 23, 1945, world War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody. Bernard Arcand, Eddy Baldewijns, Gopalkrishna Gandhi would arrive in the same year.

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1945

1940s

Featured · May 23, 1945

World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a German Nazi politician and military leader. He was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel from 1929 to 1945. He was a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful figures in Nazi Germany.

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Around 1945

The year in brief

1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1945th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 945th year of the 2nd millennium, the 45th year of the 20th century, and the 6th year of the 1940s decade.

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What happened

On May 23, 1945

  1. 1945 World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.

    German Nazi leader of the SS (1900–1945)

    Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a German Nazi politician and military leader. He was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel from 1929 to 1945. He was a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful figures in Nazi Germany.

  2. 1945 World War II: Germany's Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.

    Short-lived government of Nazi Germany

    The Flensburg Government, also known as the Flensburg Cabinet, the Dönitz Government, or the Schwerin von Krosigk Cabinet, was the rump government of Nazi Germany during a period of three weeks around the end of World War II in Europe. The government was formed following the suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945 during the Battle of Berlin. It was headed by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as Reichspräsident and Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk as the Leading Minister.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1945

The class of 1945

Others born in 1945

Bernard Arcand 1945– Canadian anthropologist and author (died 2009)
Eddy Baldewijns 1945– Belgian politician
Gopalkrishna Gandhi 1945– Indian civil servant and politician, 22nd Governor of West Bengal
Demetrio Stratos 1945– Greek-Egyptian singer-songwriter (died 1979)
Jim Gordon 1945– American rock drummer and convicted murderer (died 2023)
Wolfgang Schüssel 1945– Austrian lawyer and politician, 26th Chancellor of Austria

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