Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology

Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.

Compiled by Ulli Diemer

January 18, 1943
Beginning of the first phase of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. As Nazi forces prepare to ship more Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to extermination camps, Jewish resistance forces, organized in the Jewish Military Union and the Jewish Combat Organization launch an insurgency. Numbering between 400 and 1000 fighters, they build fighting posts, engage German forces in combat, and execute collaborators. The second phase of uprising begins on April 19, when German forces enter the Ghetto, and continues until early May, when the resistance is finally crushed. Further Reading: Marek Edelman: The Ghetto Fights Jewish resistance under Nazi rule Related Topics: Anti-Nazi Resistance – Resistance – Warsaw Ghetto
January 18, 1962
The U.S. military begins widespread spraying of herbicides in Vietnam in an effort to eliminate trees that provide cover for Vietnamese guerrillas. The U.S. ultimately drops more than 20 million gallons of defoliants, in violation of international treaties against using chemical weapons. Many of the herbicides, particularly Agent Orange, manufactured by Dow Chemical, Monsanto and others, cause birth defects and cancer in humans. Vietnam continues to suffer high rates of birth defects and illnesses caused by the American chemical warfare up to the present day. Further Reading: Resisting Agent Orange Related Topics: Biological & Chemical Warfare – Chemical Weapons – Counter-Insurgency – Vietnam War
January 18 - 19, 1975
Founding conference of the Coalition for Gays Rights in Ontario, at the Don Vale Community Centre in Toronto. Related Topics: Gay & Lesbian History