Today in History-April 11
Paratrooper general Matthew Ridgway is renowned for wearing ahand-grenade
1951: MacArthur fired - Ridgway takes over
England have
US President Harry S Truman has dismissed General Douglas MacArthur as
commander of United Nations and US forces in the Far East after disagreements
over foreign policy in Korea.
General MacArthur will be replaced by Lieutenant-General Matthew Ridgway,
appointed as head of the 8th Army in Korea by General MacArthur himself last
December.
At 0100 local time, Washington issued the official announcement of the
general's dismissal along with several documents showing he had ignored orders
to refrain from making political statements.
The move has shocked the American public and angered Republican politicians
who revere General MacArthur as a distinguished soldier and leader.
In a broadcast to the nation tonight, the president acknowledged the
general was one of America's greatest military commanders. But he added: "The
cause of world peace is more important than any individual."
Last month, General MacArthur called for an attack on China itself unless
Communist forces laid down their arms in Korea.
Tonight President Truman re-affirmed his belief that extending the battle
beyond Korea could lead to a third world war if the Soviet Union decided to
enter the fray.
"A number of events have made it evident that General MacArthur did not
agree with that policy," he said. "I have therefore considered it essential to
relieve General MacArthur so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the
real purpose and aim of our policy."
He also made it clear he was ready to negotiate with the North Koreans on a
peace settlement as long as fighting stopped.
Republican leaders in Congress and the Senate expressed their anger saying
the dismissal had endangered national unity and they called for Congress to
investigate foreign policy in Korea.
General MacArthur's successor, Lt-General Ridgway, is a highly respected
paratrooper commander who jumped with his men in World War II during the
invasion of Sicily and on D-Day.
He earned many awards for bravery along with the nickname "the fighting and
jumping general".
Since his arrival in Korea last year, Lt-Gen Ridgway has regrouped
retreating allied forces, boosted army morale and hit back at the enemy in what
he calls a "limited offensive" pushing the Communists back north across the 38th
parallel.
British troops have compared him to General Montgomery in the way he
inspires his men on the battlefield.
His habit of wearing a hand grenade at his shoulder is as familiar to the
troops as Montgomery's beret.
Adolf Eichmann was captured in Argentina
1961: Nazi war crimes trial begins
Artificially 1969:
The
The trial has begun in Israel of the man accused of helping Hitler in his
plan toexterminatethe Jews.
Adolf Eichmann faces 15 charges, including crimes against humanity, crimes
against the Jewish people and war crimes.
He sat in a bullet-proof glass dock flanked by two guards specially chosen
because their families had not suffered directly at the hands of the Nazis.
The three judges hearing the case in Jerusalem were all refugees from the
Nazi regime in Germany.
The charges were read out in Hebrew by chief judge Mr. Justice Moshe Landau
and translated into German for the prisoner.
It took one hour and 15 minutes to list all the details of the charges
against Adolf Eichmann during which time the 55-year-old stoodstifflyin the
dock.
'No jurisdiction'
The first issue the court dealt with was its competence to hear the
Eichmann case at all.
His lawyer, Dr Robert Servatius, argued that as the state of Israel did not
exist at the time of the alleged offences it had no jurisdiction.
Dr Servatius said that his client was "free of guilt" and was being
prosecuted for things he was drawn into by the Nazi state.
Whatever the judgement, many say it is remarkable the case against Adolf
Eichmann has even been brought.
After the end of the Second World War he escaped from a prison camp and
avoided facing the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
In 1950 he arrived in Argentina which was a safe haven for many Nazi war
criminals.
However, last year a team of Israeli secret agents abducted him and
smuggled him to Israel.
Vocabulary:
exterminate:to get rid of by destroying completely; extirpate(消除，根除,灭绝)
stiffly:rigidly, inflexibly(呆板的，僵硬的)
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