June 22 Birthday
On June 22, 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa — the invasion of the Soviet Union. Three million Axis soldiers crossed the border along a 1,800-mile front. It was the largest military operation in history. Hitler had signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin in 1939, and the invasion caught the Soviets by surprise. Stalin reportedly locked himself in his room for three days. The German army advanced 200 miles in the first week. But the invasion was too late in the year, the supply lines were too long, and the winter came. The Eastern Front would kill 30 million people and destroy the German army. Hitler's decision to invade Russia was the same mistake Napoleon had made 129 years earlier. The GI Bill was signed on June 22, 1944, providing education, unemployment benefits, and home loans to World War II veterans. By 1956, 7.8 million veterans had used the education benefits, transforming American higher education from an elite to a mass system. The GI Bill created the modern middle class — veterans who would have been laborers became engineers, teachers, and accountants. The bill was racially discriminatory in practice — Black veterans were denied benefits at segregated colleges and redlined neighborhoods. People born on June 22 fall under the zodiac sign of Cancer. The birthstone is Pearl and the birth flower is Rose. Historical events on June 22 include 1941: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), 1944: GI Bill signed into law by President Roosevelt, 1611: Henry Hudson set adrift in Hudson Bay by mutinous crew. Famous people born on June 22 include Meryl Streep (1949), Kris Kristofferson (1936), Cyndi Lauper (1953).