Events Date 1944 December | History by KabAstro

Bartòk's Concerto for Orchestra

Dec 1 Béla Bartòk's Concerto for orchestra, premieres in Symphony Hall, Boston, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

Dec 1 Mail routing resumes in free South Netherlands
Dec 2 10th Heisman Trophy Award: Les Horvath, Ohio State (QB)

Event of Interest

Dec 2 French General Charles De Gaulle arrives in Moscow, USSR

Dec 2 German troops seize dikles in Betuwse, Netherland
Dec 2 US 95th Infantry division occupies bridge at Saar, GErmany
Dec 3 Britain's Home Guard ('Dad's Army') is officially stood down at a special farewell parade in Hyde Park, London.
Dec 3 British order to disarm causes general strike in Greece
Dec 3 Hungarian death march of Jews ends
Dec 3 Mussert puts Seyss-Inquart plan for small Nazi-Europe
Dec 3 Temporary merger of 2 NFL teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals, dissolves at finish of season; WWII ends before start of 1945 season, so both teams resume normal operations
Dec 3 The Greek Civil War breaks out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists
Dec 3 US 5th Armoured division occupies Brandenburg Hurtgenwald
Dec 4 Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded
Dec 5 German troops steal all the silver coin in Utrecht
Dec 6 US 95th Infantry division reaches Westwall
Dec 7 Convention on International Civil Aviation drawn up in Chicago
Dec 7 General Radescu forms Romanian government
Dec 10 9 Dutch citizens hanged by Nazis
Dec 10 German counterattack at Dillingen bridgehead on the Saar
Dec 11 Surprise attack on House of Keeping Axe, 29 prisoners freed
Dec 13 Japanese kamikaze crashes into US cruiser Nashville, kills 138
Dec 13 Norman Krasna's "Dear Ruth" premieres in NYC
Dec 14 Beginning of Liese-Aktion: Germany tries to recruit Dutch men for the Germany labor force
Dec 14 German occupiers forbid use of electricity in parts of Holland
Dec 14 US Congress establishes rank of General of Army (5-star General)

Glenn Miller MIA

Dec 15 American bandleader Major Glenn Miller, lost over the English Channel

Big Band Leader and Jazz Composer Glenn Miller

Dec 15 Hizbu'allah (Arm forces for Allah) forms

Eisenhower's 5th Star

Dec 15 US Congress gives General Eisenhower his 5th star

34th US President and WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dec 15 US troops land on Mindoro (Philippines)
Dec 16 German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill)
Dec 16 Nazi Germany launches a counteroffensive against the Allies in the Ardennes region of Belgium, beginning the 'Battle of the Bulge'
Dec 16 US 2nd Infantry division occupies "Heartbreak Crossroads" Wahlerscheid

Packers 6th League Title

Dec 17 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 14-7 for 6th and final league title under long-time coach Curly Lambeau

Dec 17 San Francisco M-Ocean View streetcar resumes service & is extended to Market St
Dec 17 US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast, detainees released
Dec 17 US destroyers sink in storm off Philippines, 790 killed
Dec 18 Nazi occupiers of Amsterdam destroy electricity plants
Dec 18 US Destroyers Hull, Spence & Monaghan sink in typhoon (Philippines)
Dec 20 Archbishop De Young & bishop Huibers condemn black market
Dec 20 Battle of Bastogne: Nazis surround 101st Airborne (NUTS!)
Dec 20 Bishop forbids membership of non Catholic unions

"O Mistress Mine"

Dec 20 Terence Rattigan's comedic play "O Mistress Mine" premieres in London

Dec 21 Cards' Marty Marion wins NL MVP
Dec 22 Germans demand surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium
Dec 22 Sub Swordfish departs Pearl Harbor for Japan
Dec 23 Beginning of 'the harsh winter', contributes to the famine that develops in the Netherlands

Battle of Bastogne

Dec 26 Battle of Bastogne: US General George S. Patton's 3rd Army repulses German forces

Dec 26 Budapest surrounded by the Soviet army

"The Glass Menagerie"

Dec 26 Tennessee Williams' 1st successful play "The Glass Menagerie" premieres in Chicago

Dec 27 Greece: British premier Winston Churchill flies back to London
Dec 28 Dutch Resistance fighter Corrie ten Boom is accidentally released from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, living to speak and educate of her experience in "The Hiding Place"
Dec 28 Eisenhower & Montgomery meet in Hasselt, Belgium
Dec 28 Former Wash 3rd baseman Buddy Lewis wins Distinguished Flying Cross

"On the Town"

Dec 28 Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolf Green's musical "On the Town", with choreography by Jerome Robbins, opens at the Adelphi Theater, NYC; runs for 462 performances

Conductor and Composer Leonard Bernstein

Choreographer, Director and Theater Producer Jerome Robbins

Richard 8 Point Game First

Dec 28 Montreal right wing Maurice 'Rocket' Richard becomes first player in NHL history to score 8 points in one game with 5 goals and 3 assists in the Canadiens' 9-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings

Dec 29 Belgian Walloon Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle sentenced to death
Dec 29 General Eisenhower's train returns to Versailles
Dec 30 King George II of Greece, abdicates his throne, appointing Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens as Regent in 1945
Dec 30 Sergei Prokofjev's 8th Piano sonata, premieres in Moscow
Dec 31 48 people die in a train accident in Ogden, Utah
Dec 31 Japanese army evacuates harbor city Akyab
Dec 31 World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany.