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Artur Phleps (29 November 1881 – 21 September 1944) was an Austro-Hungarian, Romanian and Nazi officer who was an SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was an Austro-Hungarian Army officer before and during World War I. During the interwar period, he joined the Romanian Army and became an adviser to King Carol. After he spoke out against the government, he was made to leave the army. In 1941 he joined the Waffen-SS. He saw action on the Eastern Front before raising two Waffen-SS mountain divisions and one corps in occupied Yugoslavia. Units under his command committed many crimes against the civilian population of the Independent State of Croatia. This became controversial when his onetime translator, Kurt Waldheim, successfully ran for the Austrian presidency in the 1980s. In addition to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Phleps was awarded the German Cross in Gold, and, posthumously, was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. (Full article...)

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On this day

September 21: International Day of Peace

The Great Fire of New York

1170 – Norman invasion of Ireland: English and Irish forces conquered Dublin, forcing Ascall mac Ragnaill, the last Norse–Gaelic king of Dublin, into exile.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York (depicted) broke out during the British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000 buildings.
1918 – World War I: The Battle of Nazareth ended with the British Empire victorious over the Ottomans.
1958 – The first section of Interstate 80 in Iowa opened in the Des Moines metropolitan area.
2001 – Several British Muslim youths in Peterborough, England, murdered 17-year-old Ross Parker, leading to debate over whether the British media failed to cover racially-motivated crimes with white victims.

Andrew II of Hungary (d. 1235)
Barbara Longhi (b. 1552)
Kay Ryan (b. 1945)
Florence Griffith Joyner (d. 1998)

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The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between 5 and 10 m (16 and 33 ft) tall. The pomegranate was originally found only throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduced into Spanish America in the late 16th century and into California by Spanish settlers in 1769. This photograph shows a number of sarcotesta seedcoats from a pomegranate. This image is a focus-stacked image consisting of 31 images.

Photograph credit Ivar Leidus

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