This week in history - Sept 14th – Sept 20th

The Mayflower II, a replica of the ship which carried the pilgrims to the New World in 1620, is docked in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts.(Michael Springer/Getty Images)

Sept 16th 1620
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims aboard. Its original destination was the Hudson River, Virginia, USA but after going off course due to inclement weather, it landed at Massachusetts. The journey took 66 days and due to plague and sickness, only 53 passengers survived and only half the crew. Most of the pilgrims left England due to religious persecution, others were hired hands and labourers. They became the earliest European settlers in New England.

Sept 15th 1935
The swastika was made Nazi Germany’s official symbol by Adolf Hitler. Evidence of swastika shaped ornaments date back to the Neolithic period, being found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian subcontinent. The word swastika comes from Sanskrit and widely means “lucky”. It has commonly been used in many religions, such as Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Due to the Nazi‘s use of this symbol it has been stigmatized in the western world and associated with WWII.

Sept 14th 1942
The Battle of Stalingrad in WWII. Historians consider this battle as the turning point in WWII with the first large-scale German land defeat. It is also considered the bloodiest in modern history with over 2 million casualties, both army and civilian. Fought between Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin. The conflict was from July 17th 1942 – Feb 2nd 1943. Germany was in full retreat after this bloody battle.

Sept 19th 1984
Britain and China complete the Joint Sino-British Declaration. This historic agreement to return Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China was signed by English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Ziyang. The agreement returned the British Colony of Hong Kong back to China on July 1st 1997 for a 50 year term. This ended 155 years of British sovereignty.