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United States Department of Veterans Affairs
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United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Seal of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Flag of the Department of Veterans Affairs

Washington DC Headquarters
Agency overview
Formed
July 21, 1930; 87 years ago (1930-07-21)
(Cabinet rank March 15, 1989)
Preceding agency
Veterans Administration
Jurisdiction
United States federal government
Headquarters
810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, D.C., U.S.
38°54′3.25″N 77°2′5.36″W / 38.9009028°N 77.0348222°W / 38.9009028; -77.0348222Coordinates: 38°54′3.25″N 77°2′5.36″W / 38.9009028°N 77.0348222°W / 38.9009028; -77.0348222
Employees
377,805 (2016)
Annual budget
$180 billion (FY2017)
Agency executives
David Shulkin, Secretary
Thomas G. Bowman, Deputy Secretary
Child agency
Several
Website
www.VA.gov
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country; several non-healthcare benefits including disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance; and provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
While veterans benefits have been provided since the American Revolutionary War, an exclusively veteran-focused federal agency, the Veterans Administration, was not established until 1930, and became the cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989.
VA employs 377,805 people[1] at hundreds of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, clinics, benefits offices, and cemeteries. In Fiscal Year 2016 (1 Oct 2015 - 30 Sep 2016), net program costs for the department were $273 billion, which includes VBA Actuarial Cost of $106.5 billion for compensation benefits.[2][3] The long-term actuarial accrued liability (total estimated future payments for veterans and their family members) is $2.491 trillion for compensation benefits; $59.6 billion for education benefits; and $4.6 billion for burial benefits.[4]
The agency is led by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who—being a cabinet member—is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.[5][6]
VA Medical Center in Manhattan, New York City
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Continental Congress
1.2 After the American Civil War
1.3 World War I
1.4 World War II
1.5 Korean War through 2001
1.6 Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014
2 Functions
3 Organization
4 Benefits
5 Costs for care
6 The New GI Bill
7 National Cemetery Administration
8 Freedom of Information Act processing performance
9 Labor Force
10 Related legislation
10.1 Proposed
11 See also
12 Notes and references
13 Further reading
14 Policy Changes
15 External links
History[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Continental Congress[edit]
The Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistments during the American Revolutionary War by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled. Direct medical and hospital care given to veterans in the early days of the U.S. was provided by the individual states and communities. In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the federal government, but not opened until 1834. In the 19th century, the nation's veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans, but also their widows and dependents.
After the American Civil War[edit]
After the end of the American Civil War in 1865, many state veterans' homes were established. Since domiciliary care was available at all state veterans homes, incidental medical and hospital treatment was provided for all injuries and diseases, whether or not of service origin. Indigent and disabled veterans of the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish–American War, and Mexican Border period as well as discharged regular members of the Armed Forces were cared for at these homes.
World War I[edit]
Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for servicepersons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
The establishment of the Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the president to "consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans". The three component agencies became bureaus within the Veterans Administration. Brigadier General Frank T. Hines, who directed the Veterans Bureau for seven years, was named as the first Administrator of Veterans Affairs, a job he held until 1945.
World War II[edit]
The close of World War II resulted in not only a vast increase in the veteran population, but also a large number of new benefits enacted by Congress for veterans of the war. In addition, during the late 1940s, the VA had to contend with aging World War I veterans. During that time, "the clientele of the VA increased almost fivefold with an addition of nearly 15,000,000 World War II veterans and approximately 4,000,000 World War I veterans".[7] Prior to World War II, in response to scandals at the Veterans Bureau, programs that cared for veterans were centralized in Washington, D.C. This centralization caused delays and bottlenecks as the agency tried to serve the World War II veterans. As a result, the VA went through a decentralization process, giving more authority to the field offices.[8]
The World War II GI Bill was signed into law on June 22, 1944, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[9]
"The United States government began serious consolidated services to veterans in 1930. The GI Bill of Rights, which was passed in 1944, had more effect on the American way of life than any other legislation - with the possible exception of the Homestead Act."[10]
The VA health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to include 153 medical centers; more than 700 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 domiciliaries. VA health care facilities provide a broad spectrum of medical, surgical, and rehabilitative care. The responsibilities and benefits programs of the Veterans Administration grew enormously during the following six decades.
Korean War through 2001[edit]
Further educational assistance acts were passed for the benefit of veterans of the Korean War, the Vietnam Era, the introduction of an "all-volunteer force" in the 1970s (following the end of conscription in the United States in 1973), the Persian Gulf War, and those who served following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 (Pub.L. 100–527) changed the former Veterans Administration, an independent government agency established in 1930, primarily to see to the needs of World War I veterans, into a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs. It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 25, 1988, but actually came into effect under the term of his successor, George H. W. Bush, on March 15, 1989.
The Department of Veterans Affairs was created due to nearly one third of the population being eligible for veterans benefits. Its proponents argued that due to the large number of Americans affected by the VA, it needed an administrator who had direct access to the president.[11]
In their major reform period of 1995–2000, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implemented universal primary care, closed 55% of their acute care hospital beds, increased patients treated by 24%, had a 48% increase in ambulatory care visits, and decreased staffing by 12%. By 2000, the VHA had 10,000 fewer employees than in 1995 and a 104% increase in patients treated since 1995, and had managed to maintain the same cost per patient-day, while all other facilities' costs had risen over 30% to 40% during the same period.
Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014[edit]
Main article: Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014
In May 2014, major problems with scheduling timely access to medical care became public. As of May 2014, at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died waiting for care at the Phoenix, Arizona Veterans Health Administration facilities, and an investigation of delays in treatment throughout the Veterans Health Administration system was conducted by the Veterans Affairs Inspector General.[12][13] On May 30, 2014, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki resigned from office due to the fallout from the scandal,[14] saying he could not explain the lack of integrity among some leaders in VA healthcare facilities. "That breach of integrity is irresponsible, it is indefensible, and unacceptable to me. I said when this situation began weeks to months ago that I thought the problem was limited and isolated because I believed that. I no longer believe it. It is systemic. I was too trusting of some and I accepted as accurate reports that I now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times," Shinseki said in a statement. He said he could not defend what happened because it was indefensible, but he could take responsibility for it and he would.[15]
VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, California
Functions[edit]
The VA's primary function is to support veterans in their time after service by providing benefits and support. A current initiative in the Department is to prevent and end veterans' homelessness.[16] The VA works with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to address these issues. The USICH identified ending veterans' homelessness by 2015 as a primary goal in its proposal Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, released in 2010; amendments to the 2010 version made in 2015 include a preface written by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez that cites a 33% reduction in veteran homelessness since the creation of the Opening Doors initiative.[17]
Organization[edit]
The Department of Veterans Affairs is headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The current Secretary of Veterans Affairs is David Shulkin. The third listed executive on the VA's official web site is its Chief of Staff (currently Jose D. Riojas); the Chief of Staff position does not require Senate confirmation. In addition to Secretary and Deputy Secretary, the VA has at least nine more positions requiring presidential appointment and Senate approval.
The Department has three main subdivisions, known as Administrations, each headed by an Undersecretary:
Veterans Health Administration (VHA): responsible for providing health care in all its forms, as well as for biomedical research (under the Office of Research and Development), Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and Regional Medical Centers
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA): responsible for initial veteran registration, eligibility determination, and five key lines of business (benefits and entitlements): Home Loan Guarantee, Insurance, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, Education (GI Bill), and Compensation & Pension
National Cemetery Administration: responsible for providing burial and memorial benefits, as well as for maintenance of VA cemeteries
There are Assistant Secretaries of Veteran Affairs for: Congressional and Legislative Affairs; Policy and Planning; Human Resources and Administration; and Operations, Security and Preparedness. Other Senate-approved presidential nominees at the VA include: Chief Financial Officer; Chair, Board of Veterans' Appeals; General Counsel; and Inspector General.[18]
Benefits[edit]
For VA benefits for PTSD, see Veterans benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States.
The VA, through its Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), provides a variety of services for veterans including disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational, rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, health care, and burial benefits.[19]
The Department of Labor (DOL) provides job development and job training opportunities for disabled and other veterans through contacts with employers and local agencies.
Costs for care[edit]
As is common in any time of war, recently there has been an increased demand for nursing home beds, injury rehabilitation, and mental health care. The VA categorizes veterans into eight priority groups and several additional subgroups, based on factors such as service-connected disabilities, and their income and assets (adjusted to local cost of living).[20]
Veterans with a 50% or higher service-connected disability as determined by a VA regional office “rating board” (e.g., losing a limb in battle, PTSD, etc.) are provided comprehensive care and medication at no charge. Veterans with lesser qualifying factors who exceed a pre-defined income threshold have to make co-payments for care for non-service-connected ailments and prescription medication.[dubious – discuss] VA dental and nursing home care benefits are more restricted.[citation needed]
VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California
Reservists and National Guard personnel who served stateside in peacetime settings or have no service-related disabilities generally do not qualify for VA health benefits.[21]
The VA's budget has been pushed to the limit in recent years by the War on Terrorism.[22] In December 2004, it was widely reported that VA’s funding crisis had become so severe that it could no longer provide disability ratings to veterans in a timely fashion.[23] This is a problem because until veterans are fully transitioned from the active-duty TRICARE healthcare system to VA, they are on their own with regard to many healthcare costs.
The VA's backlog of pending disability claims under review (a process known as "adjudication") peaked at 421,000 in 2001, and bottomed out at 254,000 in 2003, but crept back up to 340,000 in 2005.[24]
No copayment is required for VA services for veterans with military-related medical conditions. VA-recognized service-connected disabilities include problems that started or were aggravated due to military service. Veteran service organizations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans, as well as state-operated Veterans Affairs offices and County Veteran Service Officers (CVSO), have been known to assist veterans in the process of getting care from the VA.
In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2009, President George W. Bush requested $38.7 billion—or 86.5% of the total Veterans Affairs budget—for veteran medical care alone.
In the 2011 Costs of War report from Brown University, researchers projected that the cost of caring for veterans of the War on Terror would peak 30–40 years after the end of combat operations. They also predicted that medical and disability costs would ultimately total between $600 billion and $1 trillion for the hundreds of thousands treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.[25]
The New GI Bill[edit]
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Dayton Ohio
The new GI Bill authored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) doubled GI Bill college benefits while providing a 13-week extension to federal unemployment benefits. The new GI Bill doubled the value of the benefit to roughly $90,000 up from $40,000. In-state public universities essentially are covered to provide full scholarships for veterans under the new education package. For those veterans who served at least three years a monthly housing stipend was also added to the law.
Upon passage of the new GI Bill President George W. Bush stated "Our nation has no greater responsibility than to support our men and women in uniform—especially because we're at war... This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to support our troops and their families", which highlighted that the new GI Bill had been overwhelmingly supported by both parties in the U.S. Congress.[26]
Congress and President Barack Obama extended the new GI Bill in August 2009 at the cost of roughly $70 billion over the next decade. Upon passing the GI Bill extension President Obama stated his support of the fighting forces of the United States by saying "Over the last eight years, they have endured tour after tour of duty in dangerous and distant places... They've experienced grueling combat, from the streets of Fallujah to the harsh terrain of Helmand province. They've adapted to complex insurgencies, protected local populations and trained foreign security forces."
The Pentagon worked closely with Congressional lawmakers to ensure military families were protected in the expansion of the law. In doing so, military officials worked non-stop to add a provision to extend the GI Bill to the surviving spouse and children of servicemembers killed while in combat.
This provision was highly favored by the Pentagon which authorized the Department of Defense (DoD) to allow individuals who, on or after August 1, 2009, have served at least 6 years in the Armed Forces and who agree to serve at least another 4 years in the U.S. Armed Forces to transfer unused entitlement to their surviving spouse. Servicemembers reaching 10 year anniversaries could choose to transfer the benefit to any dependent(s) (spouse, children).[27]
National Cemetery Administration[edit]
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In 1973, the Veterans Administration assumed another major responsibility when the National Cemetery System (NCS) (except for Arlington National Cemetery) was transferred to the Veterans Administration from the Department of the Army.
In 1978, Congress established the State Cemetery Grants Program (Public Law 95-476). This act is administered by the National Cemetery Administration to aid States and U.S. territories in the establishment, expansion and improvement of veterans cemeteries.[28] The VA was charged with the operation of the NCS, including the marking of graves of all persons in national and State cemeteries (and the graves of veterans in private cemeteries, upon request) as well and administering the State Cemetery Grants Program. The VA's National Cemetery Administration maintains 131 national cemeteries in 39 states (and Puerto Rico) as well as 33 soldier's lots and monument sites.
The Department of the Army maintains two national cemeteries, the Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers' & Airmen's Home National Cemetery. Many states have established state veterans cemeteries. The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains 25 overseas military cemeteries that serve as resting places for almost 125,000 American war dead; on Tablets of the Missing that memorialize more than 94,000 U.S. servicemen and women; and through 25 memorials, monuments and markers. Fourteen national cemeteries are maintained by the National Park Service.
Freedom of Information Act processing performance[edit]
In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (United States) (FOIA) requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the VA earned a D by scoring 64 out of a possible 100 points, i.e. did not earn a satisfactory overall grade.[29]
Labor Force[edit]
The VA employs 377,805 people, of which 338,205 are nonseasonal full-time employees.[30] The American Federation of Government Employees represents 230,000 VA employees,[31] with VA matters addressed in detail by the National VA Council.[32]
Related legislation[edit]
1944: Mustering-out Payment Act PL 78-225
1944: Servicemen’s Readjustment Act PL 78-346
1944: Veterans' Preference Act PL 78-359
1952: Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act PL 82-550
1974: Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act
1988: Department of Veterans Affairs Act PL 100-527
2006: Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 PL 109-461
2013: FOR VETS Act of 2013 Pub.L. 113–26
2013: Veterans Paralympic Act of 2013 (H.R. 1402; 113th Congress) Pub.L. 113–59
2014: Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3230; 113th Congress) Pub.L. 113–146
Proposed[edit]
2013: To establish a commission or task force to evaluate the backlog of disability claims of the Department of Veterans Affairs (H.R. 2189; 113th Congress)
2013: Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2013 (H.R. 2072; 113th Congress)
2014: Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 4031; 113th Congress)
See also[edit]
Government of the United States portal
Benefits for US Veterans with PTSD
DD Form 214
Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary's Award in Health Services Research
EBenefits
List of veterans' organizations
Old soldiers' home
United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police
United States military veteran suicide
Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA)
Notes and references[edit]
Jump up ^ "FedScope - Federal Human Resources Data" (IBM Cognos PowerPlay Studio). Office of Personnel Management (data cube). March 2017. Cube path: storeID("iADB7BB71D42D4272B4C2DAB1A37A986F") - Data source connection: Employment - March 2017. Retrieved 13 Jun 2017.
Jump up ^ "2016 VA Agency Financial Report, Section II - Financial Statements, Net Program Costs By Administration Before Changes In Veterans Benefits Actuarial Liability Assumptions" (PDF). Department of Veterans Affairs. 15 Nov 2016. p. 36. Retrieved 12 Jun 2017. VA expends a substantial amount of its budgetary resources on medical care for Veterans and also disburses large cash amounts for Veteran’s compensation and education benefits programs.
Jump up ^ "2016 VA Agency Financial Report, Section I – Analysis of Entity’s Financial Statements and Stewardship Information, Net Cost of Operations, Chart 5: FY 2016 Program Costs (Gross)" (PDF). Department of Veterans Affairs. 15 Nov 2016. p. 30. Retrieved 12 Jun 2017.
Jump up ^ "2016 Financial Report of the United States Government, Notes to the Financial Statements, Note 12. Federal Employee and Veteran Benefits Payable" (PDF). Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury. 12 Jan 2017. pp. 101–109. Retrieved 13 Jun 2017. The Government compensates disabled veterans and their survivors. Veterans' compensation is payable as a disability benefit or a survivor’s benefit. Entitlement to compensation depends on the veteran’s disabilities having been incurred in, or aggravated during, active military service; death while on duty; or death resulting from service-connected disabilities, if not on active duty. ¶ Eligible veterans who die or are disabled from military service-related causes, as well as their dependents, receive compensation benefits. Also, veterans are provided with burial flags, headstones/markers, and grave liners for burial in a VA national cemetery or are provided a burial flag, headstone/marker and a plot allowance for burial in a private cemetery. These benefits are provided under 38 U.S.C., Part 2, Chapter 23 in recognition of a veteran’s military service and are recorded as a liability in the period the requirements are met. ¶ The liability for veterans’ compensation and burial benefits payable is based on an actuarial estimate of future compensation and burial payments and increased by $477.7 billion in fiscal year 2016. The $477.7 billion increase is primarily attributable to assumption changes and experience. The major actuarial assumption changes and experience impacts include growth in compensation counts, new mortality rates, changes in the discount rate, and an increase in beneficiary counts. ¶ Several significant actuarial assumptions were used in the valuation of compensation and burial benefits to calculate the present value of the liability. A liability was recognized for the projected benefit payments to: 1) those beneficiaries, including veterans and survivors, currently receiving benefit payments; 2) current veterans who will in the future become beneficiaries of the compensation program; and 3) a proportional share of those in active military service as of the valuation date who will become veterans in the future. Future benefit payments to survivors of those veterans in classes 1, 2, and 3 above are also incorporated into the projection. The projected liability does not include any administrative costs. ¶ The veterans' compensation and burial benefits liability is developed on an actuarial basis. It is impacted by interest on the liability balance, experience gains or losses, changes in actuarial assumptions, prior service costs, and amounts paid for costs included in the liability balance.
Jump up ^ U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 2.
Jump up ^ Department of Veterans Affairs Act § 18(b), 38 USC § 301 (2017).
Jump up ^ Kammerer, Gladys 1948. "The Veterans Administration in Transition". Public Administration Review Vol. 8, No. 2, pp 104.
Jump up ^ Kammerer, Gladys 1948. "The Veterans Administration in Transition". Public Administration Review Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 103–109.
Jump up ^ "Welcome to". Ourdocuments.gov. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ U.S. Senior Vets. "U.S. Senior Vets, Serving Those Who Sacrificed, Veterans Aid and Attendance". Usseniorvets.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ "VA History In Brief" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ Scott Bronstein and Drew Griffin. "A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list". CNN. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
Jump up ^ "Obama vows action on any VA 'misconduct'". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
Jump up ^ "Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki resigns after report". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
Jump up ^ "US president accepts with 'regret' Veterans Affairs chief's resignation". Chicago Chronicle. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
Jump up ^ Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. "Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs". Va.gov. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ Opening Doors | United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Usich.gov (2010-06-22). Retrieved on 2013-07-23.
Jump up ^ "Executive Biographies", Department of Veterans Affairs official web site, Retrieved 2014-05-29
Jump up ^ "Benefits: Links - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs". Va.gov. 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs (2016-12-29). "Priority Groups Page". Va.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
Jump up ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs (2014-07-23). "Health Benefits Home". Va.gov. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ Dennis Camire, “New fees, limits face ailing veterans,” Albany Times Union, 10 February 2003, A1.
Jump up ^ Cheryl L. Reed, “VA chief orders inspector to probe disability rating system,” Chicago Sun-Times, 11 December 2004, A3.
Jump up ^ Cory Reiss, "VA fighting losing battle against backlog of veterans’ claims", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 27 May 2005, A7.
Jump up ^ "Caring for US Veterans". Costs of War. Brown University. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
Jump up ^ Feller, Ben (2008-06-30). "President Bush Signs GI Bill - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ Military.com (n.d.). "Post-911 GI Bill Transferability Fact Sheet". U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Jump up ^ "Veterans Memorial Cemetery | Department of Military and Veterans Affairs". www.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
Jump up ^ Making the Grade: Access to Information Scorecard 2015 March 2015, 80 pages, Center for Effective Government, retrieved 21 March 2016
Jump up ^ "FedScope - Federal Human Resources Data" (IBM Cognos PowerPlay Studio). Office of Personnel Management (data cube). March 2017. Cube path: storeID("iADB7BB71D42D4272B4C2DAB1A37A986F") - Data source connection: Employment - March 2017. Retrieved 13 Jun 2017.
Jump up ^ "AFGE | VA Employees Hold Rallies Across the Country". www.afge.org. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
Jump up ^ "AFGE National VA Council » fighting for the jobs & future of federal employees". afgenvac.org. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
Further reading[edit]
In 1998, the Institute of Medicine began a series of studies to respond to requests from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress for an examination of the health effects of potentially harmful agents to which Gulf War veterans might have been exposed.
Jan. 1, 2000: Gulf War and Health: Volume 1. Depleted Uranium, Sarin, Pyridostigmine Bromide, and Vaccines
Feb. 18, 2003: Gulf War and Health Volume 2: Insecticides and Solvents
Aug. 20, 2004: Gulf War and Health: Updated Literature Review of Sarin
Dec. 20, 2004: Gulf War and Health: Volume 3. Fuels, Combustion Products, and Propellants
Sep. 12, 2006: Gulf War and Health: Volume 4. Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War
Oct. 16, 2006: Gulf War and Health: Volume 5. Infectious Disease
Nov. 15, 2007: Gulf War and Health: Volume 6. Physiologic, Psychologic, and Psychosocial Effects of Deployment-Related Stress
Jul. 30, 2008: Epidemiologic Studies of Veterans Exposed to Depleted Uranium: Feasibility and Design Issues
Jul. 30, 2008: Gulf War and Health: Updated Literature Review of Depleted Uranium
Dec. 4, 2008: Gulf War and Health: Volume 7. Long-term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury
Policy Changes[edit]
In September 2017, the Trump Administration proposed to remove conflict of interest regulations between VA officials and for-profit colleges. [1]
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Official website
Department of Veterans Affairs in the Federal Register
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Lying in state
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the band, see Lying in States.
Philip IV of France lying in state
Mahatma Gandhi lying in state
Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a dead official is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country, state, or city. While the practice differs among countries, a viewing in a location other than the principal government building may be referred to as lying in repose.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Canada
2 North Korea
3 Russia
4 Singapore
5 South Africa
6 United Kingdom
7 United States
7.1 Lain in state
7.2 Lain in honor
7.3 Lain in repose
7.4 States and cities
8 Vatican City
9 Coptic Patriarchate
10 Other notable funerals
11 See also
12 References
Canada[edit]
In Canada, official lying in state is a part of a state funeral, an honor generally reserved for former Governors General and former Prime Ministers. It is held in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill, in the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. Ex-governors general lie in state in the Senate Chamber while former prime ministers lie in the Hall of Honour. During the period of lying in state, the coffins are flanked at each corner by a Guard of honour, made up of four members drawn from the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as members of the Governor General's Foot Guards for former governors general, and guards from the parliamentary security forces for former prime ministers. Guards stand at each corner with heads bowed and weapons inverted (resting on Arms reversed) with their backs turned towards the casket.
Provinces may also mount state funerals and have a lying in state for a distinguished former resident. For instance, Maurice Richard, nationally known hockey player, was given a state funeral by the province of Quebec when he died in 2000; his coffin lay in state at the Molson Centre.[2] This process was repeated for fellow Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau in December 2014.
Municipalities may offer civic funerals to prominent deceased current or former politicians.
North Korea[edit]
In North Korea, the body of the late leader Kim Jong-il was displayed in a glass coffin surrounded with red flowers at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang prior to his funeral, which began and ended at the palace. An honor guard armed with AK-47s was present. Jong-il's father Kim Il-sung, the founding president, is on display elsewhere in the palace.[3]
Russia[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
In Russia, during the time of the Soviet Union (1917–1991), the state funerals of the most senior political and military leaders, such as Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko all followed the same basic outline. They took place in Moscow, beginning with a public lying in state of the deceased in the House of the Unions, and ending with an interment at Red Square.
For the lying in state at the House of the Unions, the coffin would be placed on display in the Column Hall, which would be decorated by flowers, numerous red flags and other communist symbols. The mourners, which usually would be brought in by the thousands, shuffled up a marble staircase beneath chandeliers draped in black gauze. On the stage at the left side of the Column Hall, a full orchestra in black tailcoats played classical music. The deceased's embalmed body, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and a tie, was displayed in an open coffin on a catafalque banked with carnations, red roses and tulips, facing the queue of mourners. A small guard of honour would be in attendance in the background. At the right side of the hall, seats were placed for guests of honour, with the front row reserved for the dead leader's family.
On the day of the funeral, a military funeral parade would take place during which the coffin would be conveyed from the House of the Unions to Red Square where burial would take place. Lenin and Stalin were placed inside the Lenin Mausoleum, while Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko were interred in individual graves in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
Singapore[edit]
At state funerals in Singapore, the national flag is put on the coffin. The vigil guard may be deployed during the public lying in state of the deceased person at Parliament House. The deployment of the vigil guard is the highest form of respect accorded by the nation to the deceased. Similar to British traditions, the vigil guard is composed of groups of five commissioned officers from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) who stand guard around the clock in shifts of 30 minutes. One of the five officers stands facing outward at each of the four corners of the casket, while the fifth and most senior one stands in front and faces inward. Their heads are bowed and their ceremonial swords are inverted.[4]
Vigil guards were stationed at the public lying in state of Goh Keng Swee in May 2010,[5] Lee Kuan Yew in March 2015 [6] as well as S R Nathan in August 2016. [7]
South Africa[edit]
Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected president to lie in state in South Africa.[citation needed] The event took place at the Union Buildings, the same site where he was inaugurated as the President of South Africa on May 10, 1994. The body of Mandela was lying in State for three days, starting on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 and ending Friday, December 13. The body was viewed by thousands of South Africans before it was airlifted to Qunu in the Eastern Cape where Mandela was buried on December 15, 2013.
United Kingdom[edit]
See also: State funerals in the United Kingdom and Vigil of the Princes
In state and ceremonial funerals in the United Kingdom, the lying-in-state takes place in Westminster Hall. The coffin is placed on a catafalque and is guarded, around the clock, by detachments, each of four men, from the following units:
Sovereign's Bodyguard
Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
The Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard
The Royal Company of Archers, The Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland
Household Cavalry
The Life Guards
The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)
Foot Guards
Grenadier Guards
Coldstream Guards
Scots Guards
Irish Guards
Welsh Guards
Each unit mans the guard for a total of six hours, with each detachment standing post for twenty minutes. The four men stand at each corner with heads bowed and weapons inverted; their backs are turned towards the coffin.
On two occasions, the guard has been mounted by four male members of the Royal Family. At the lying in state of King George V in 1936, the guard was mounted by his four sons King Edward VIII, the Duke of York (George VI), the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. For Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's lying-in-state in 2002, the guard was mounted by her four grandsons, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, and Viscount Linley.[8]
United States[edit]
See also: State funerals in the United States
Representative Thaddeus Stevens lying in state in the Capitol rotunda on August 13, 1868. Because of his prominence as an abolitionist, members of the Butler Zouaves, an African-American company of the District of Columbia, served as honor guards. A plaster statue of President Abraham Lincoln, likely submitted for a commission, was credited to Henry J. Ellicott.
John J. Pershing saluting the Unknown Soldier of World War I, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on November 9, 1921.
Lyndon B. Johnson and members of Congress honor President John F. Kennedy, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on November 24, 1963.
Richard Nixon and members of Congress honor Lyndon B. Johnson who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on January 24, 1973.
The U.S. Joint Service Color Guard and members of Congress honor President Ronald Reagan, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on June 10, 2004.
Dick Cheney and members of Congress honor President Gerald Ford, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on December 30, 2006.
Lying in state is the rare honor granted by the United States to a deceased official whereby his or her remains are placed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., for public viewing. The casket is guarded by members of the armed forces. By regulation and custom, only Presidents, military commanders, and members of Congress are granted the honor of lying in state. Except for Presidents and former Presidents, the honor is not automatic. Not all those entitled to the honor have it accepted by their survivors. The first leader to receive this honor was Henry Clay, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, when he died in 1852. Since then, the honor has been extended to 29 people, including eleven Presidents.
The process of lying in state at the Capitol is as follows. The coffin or casket is usually placed on a catafalque, usually the Lincoln catafalque, so named as it was constructed for lying in state upon the death of Abraham Lincoln, after his assassination in 1865. The casket is guarded at each of its corners by a serviceperson from each of the branches of the armed forces. In contrast to the practice in the United Kingdom and other countries of the Commonwealth, guards at the Capitol face the casket, hold their rifles with their right hand, and keep the rifle butt resting on the floor. After the viewing and ceremony at the Capitol, the remains are taken to the burial location.
Lain in state[edit]
1852 – Henry Clay, long-serving Senator and Representative, Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, and three-time presidential candidate
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in office
1868 – Thaddeus Stevens, Representative from Pennsylvania
1874 – Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts
1875 – Vice President Henry Wilson, served under Grant, died in office
1881 – President James Garfield, assassinated in office
1886 – John A. Logan, Senator from Illinois
1901 – President William McKinley, assassinated while in office
1909 – Pierre L'Enfant – although he died in 1825, his remains were disinterred; he was honored by lying in state before reinterment at Arlington National Cemetery
1917 – Admiral George Dewey, Admiral of the Navy
1921 – The Unknown Soldier for World War I
1923 – President Warren Harding, died in office
1930 – President William Howard Taft, President 1909–13, also Chief Justice 1921–30
1948 – John J. Pershing, General of the Armies of the United States during World War I and after
1953 – Robert A. Taft, U.S. Senator and Majority Leader
1958 – The Unknown Soldiers for World War II and the Korean War
1963 – President John F. Kennedy, assassinated in office
1964 – General Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army
1964 – President Herbert Hoover, serving 1929–33
1969 – President Dwight Eisenhower, President 1953–1961, Supreme Allied Commander during World War II
1969 – Everett Dirksen, Illinois Senator, Senate Minority Leader 1959–1969
1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director 1929–1972
1973 – President Lyndon B. Johnson, President 1963–1969
1978 – Hubert Humphrey, Vice President 1965–1969, Minnesota Senator
1984 – The Unknown Soldier for the Vietnam War (later identified as 1st. Lt. Michael J. Blassie)
1989 – Claude Pepper, long-serving Senator and Representative
2004 – President Ronald Reagan, President 1981–1989
2006–07 – President Gerald Ford, President 1974–1977
2012 – Daniel Inouye, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, Senator from Hawaii, and recipient of the Medal of Honor[9][10]
Lain in honor[edit]
1998 – United States Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, killed on duty
2005 – Rosa Parks, civil rights activist [11][12]
2018 – Billy Graham, Christian evangelist[13]
The United States Congress has created a similar—though not identical—privilege for distinguished Americans who do not qualify for a lying in state designation. In the process of "lying in honor," the honor guard in the Rotunda is provided by the Capitol Police or another suitable source. [14][15]
In 1998, Chestnut and Gibson were killed while defending the Capitol against Russell Eugene Weston Jr. Congress approved their remains to lie in honor in the Rotunda. Chestnut was the first African American to lie in honor. In 2005, upon the death of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, Congress authorized her remains to lie in honor at the Rotunda; Parks was the second African American and the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.[11] Graham was the first religious leader to be honored in this way.[16]
Lain in repose[edit]
Supreme Court Justices "lie in repose" in the Great Hall of the United States Supreme Court Building.
1974 – Chief Justice Earl Warren
1993 – Justice Thurgood Marshall
1995 – Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
1997 – Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.
1999 – Justice Harry A. Blackmun
2005 – Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the first so-honored to have died in office.
2016 – Justice Antonin Scalia
States and cities[edit]
Some U.S. states and cities extend similar honors. For example, in the state of Hawaii, three people have been laid in state at the Hawaii State Capitol, among which include famous Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole upon his death in 1997, and the aforementioned Daniel Inouye, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate and Senator from Hawaii.
In the City of San Francisco, California, Mayor Ed Lee laid in state at the Rotunda of San Francisco City Hall after his death in office in 2017.
Vatican City[edit]
Pope John Paul II's body lying in state.
A deceased pope customarily lies in state in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace and then in St. Peter's Basilica, between the holding of a Mass of Visitation and a Mass of Requiem.[citation needed] The funeral of Pope John Paul II was an example of this custom.
Coptic Patriarchate[edit]
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has a tradition of mummifying the deceased pope and placing his body on his throne to enable church followers to have a farewell look at him for a short period of time. This tradition is one of the ways that ancient Egyptian rituals have survived in the Egyptian church. [17]
Other notable funerals[edit]
Death and funeral of Josip Broz Tito
Death and funeral of Corazon Aquino
Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo
Death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau
Death and state funeral of Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska
See also[edit]
Caisson
Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan
Catafalque
Death and funeral of Richard Nixon
Funeral train
Lying in repose
Lincoln Catafalque
Missing man formation
Riderless horse
State funeral
State funeral of John F. Kennedy
State funerals in the United States
Vigil of the Princes
References[edit]
Jump up ^ [1] Archived June 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ "Rocket to get state funeral". CBC News. May 28, 2000.
Jump up ^ "Kim's body on show in North Korea amid mass mourning". AFP. The West Australian. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
Jump up ^ Cheong, Danson (4 April 2015). "'An honour to stand vigil for Mr Lee Kuan Yew'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Of state funerals and state-assisted funerals". Public Opinion.
Jump up ^ "Vigil guard, highest form of respect, accorded to Lee Kuan Yew during lying in state". Channel News Asia.
Jump up ^ "Vigil guards to be mounted for S R Nathan's Lying-in-State". Channel News Asia.
Jump up ^ [2] Archived July 31, 2007, at WebCite
Jump up ^ "Senator Inouye Lying in State". US Architect of the Capitol. December 19, 2012. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
Jump up ^ "Individuals Who Have Lain in State or in Honor". History, Art & Archives – United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
^ Jump up to: a b "Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Lies in Honor in Capitol Rotunda". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
Jump up ^ "Lying in State | Architect of the Capitol | United States Capitol". Aoc.gov. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
Jump up ^ "Billy Graham's body to 'lie in honor' at U.S. Capitol". charlotteobserver. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
Jump up ^ Those Who Have Lain In State or In Honor in the Capitol Rotunda, US Architect of the Capitol.
Jump up ^ Memorial or Funeral Services in the Capitol Rotunda (PDF), U.S. Senate Historical Office from the Architect of the Capitol.
Jump up ^ O'Keefe, Ed (February 22, 2018). "Billy Graham to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
Jump up ^ Boulos Ayad Ayad, Phd: "Ancient Egyptian Civilization and the Coptic Church", Coptic Church Review, Volume 9, Number 4
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text:
British and French declaration of war on Germany
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The Declaration of war by France and the United Kingdom was given on 3 September 1939, after German forces invaded Poland. Despite the speech being the official announcement of both France and the United Kingdom, the speech was given by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in Westminster, London.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 The speech
2 Historical context
3 Pop culture references
4 References
The speech[edit]
Below is the speech, given by Neville Chamberlain.
British and French Declaration of War

I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10, Downing Street.
This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin Nevile Henderson handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock, that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, that a state of war would exist between us.
I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.
You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace has failed. Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more or anything different that I could have done and that would have been more successful.
Up to the very last it would have been quite possible to have arranged a peaceful and honourable settlement between Germany and Poland, but Hitler would not have it.
He had evidently made up his mind to attack Poland whatever happened; and although he now says he put forward reasonable proposals which were rejected by the Poles, that is not a true statement.
The proposals were never shown to the Poles nor to us; and though they were announced in a German broadcast on Thursday night, Hitler did not wait to hear comments on them, but ordered his troops to cross the Polish frontier the next morning.
His action shows convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that this man will ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. He can only be stopped by force, and we and France are today, in fulfilment of our obligations, going to the aid of Poland, who is so bravely resisting this wicked and unprovoked attack upon her people. We have a clear conscience. We have done all that any country could do to establish peace. The situation in which no word given by Germany’s ruler could be trusted and no people or country could feel itself safe has become intolerable.
And now that we have resolved to finish it, I know that you will all play your part with calmness and courage.
At such a moment as this the assurances of support that we have received from the Empire are a source of profound encouragement to us.
When I have finished speaking certain detailed announcements will be made on behalf of the Government. Give these your closest attention.
The Government have made plans under which it will be possible to carry on the work of the nation in the days of stress and strain that may be ahead. But these plans need your help.
You may be taking part in the fighting Services or as a volunteer in one of the branches of civil defence. If so you will report for duty in accordance with the instructions you have received.
You may be engaged in work essential to the prosecution of war for the maintenance of the life of the people – in factories, in transport, in public utility concerns or in the supply of other necessaries of life. If so, it is of vital importance that you should carry on with your jobs.
Now may God bless you all. May He defend the right. It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against – brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution – and against them I am certain that the right will prevail.
Historical context[edit]
See also: Events preceding World War II in Europe
At the conclusion of the First World War, the German Empire signed the First Armistice at Compiègne on 11 November 1918 as an end to hostilities with France, the British Empire, and the United States during the convoluted German Revolution of 1918–19, which began 29 October 1918.
Negotiations between the Allied powers regarding post-war Europe started on 18 January 1919 in the Salle de l'Horloge at the French Foreign Ministry on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris. Seventy delegates from 27 nations participated in the negotiations. The opposing nations of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were excluded from the negotiations. At first a "Council of Ten" comprising two delegates each from Britain, France, the United States, Italy and Japan met officially to decide the peace terms. It became the "Big Four" when Japan dropped out and the top person from each of the other four nations met in 145 closed sessions to make all the major decisions to be ratified by the entire assembly. In June 1919, the Allies declared that war would resume if the German government did not sign the treaty they had agreed to among themselves. The government headed by Philipp Scheidemann was unable to agree on a common position, and Scheidemann himself resigned rather than agree to sign the treaty. Gustav Bauer, the head of the new government, sent a telegram stating his intention to sign the treaty if certain articles were withdrawn, including articles 227, 230 and 231. In response, the Allies issued an ultimatum stating that Germany would have to accept the treaty or face an invasion of Allied forces across the Rhine within 24 hours. On 23 June 1919, Bauer capitulated and sent a second telegram with a confirmation that a German delegation would arrive shortly to sign the treaty.
On 28 June 1919, Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, a peace treaty which ended the formal state of war and imposed various punitive measures upon Germany, including military restriction, loss of territory and colonies, war debt, and effective acceptance of blame for the initiation of hostilities in World War I. At the time of the armistice, an attempted Communist revolution transpired (October 1918-August 1919) , resulting in the abdication of the Emperor of Germany in November 1918, and what became known as the Weimar Republic was subsequently established in the wake of the uprising. The transition from monarchy to republic was difficult, and many in the new government were not supportive of the democratic system of government. The officer class gave little support to the Republic, and Germany was forced to borrow money from the United States and others to pay its war debt, imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. In the early 1920s a period of hyperinflation made the Reichsmark almost worthless. In January 1922, one US dollar was worth 191 Marks, but by November of the same year it was equal to 4,200,000,000 Marks.[2]
In 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of the Reich following a contentious election. Under Hitler's leadership, the Reichstag turned the government into an effective dictatorship under Hitler's oversight on 21 March 1933 with the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, and the economic hardships were significantly diminished via implementation of new economic and social policies. After five years in power, Hitler annexed Austria, former component of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (allies of the former German Empire), into Germany, despite such an act (specifically, "prohibition on the merging of Austria with Germany without the consent of the League of Nations") being banned by both the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Treaty of Versailles. In early November 1938, the First Vienna Award was signed, allowing Germany to seize the Sudetenland, a German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia which had been a part of the German Empire-allied Austro-Hungarian Empire. Soon after, Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia and also gained Memelland (part of the former German Empire from 1871-1920) through the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania.
While some sources claim Hitler still wanted more, to create Lebensraum, or "living space", for Germany, other sources claim evidence of hostility on behalf of Polish partisans toward ethnic Germans in the Danzig Corridor (territory lost to Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles) which may have served as a motivating factor for the German invasion (often portrayed as propaganda to justify German expansionism).
Two Western powers, the United Kingdom and France, gave guarantees to Poland that they would declare war if Polish independence came under threat, as presented in a statement to the House of Commons by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 31 March 1939 (formalized by the British 6 April 1939; not ratified until 4 September 1939 by the French):
... in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist with their national forces, His Majesty's Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power. They have given the Polish Government an assurance to this effect.
I may add that the French Government have authorised me to make it plain that they stand in the same position in this matter as do His Majesty's Government.[3]
Although they honoured these guarantees by declaring war soon after Germany's Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939,[4] and although the dominions of the British Empire quickly followed suit, so little practical assistance was given to Poland, which was soon defeated, that in its early stages the war declared by Britain and France was described as a "Phoney War".
Further, neither the British Empire, nor the French, ever declared war upon the Soviet Union, which invaded Poland on 17 September 1939 (17 days after Nazi Germany invaded from the West) and held sway over the former-Polish territory at the war's conclusion, having become a part of the Allied front in the course of World War II. At the insistence of Joseph Stalin, the post-war Yalta Conference in 1945 sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London; a move which angered many Poles, who considered it a betrayal by the Allies, and, as a result, as elsewhere in Communist Europe, the Soviet occupation of Poland met with armed resistance from the outset which continued into the fifties. The consequences of the Yalta Conference subsequently added new permanence to the end of Polish independence on 22 July 1952 with the creation of the People's Republic of Poland, a communist puppet state of the Soviet Union which held sway over the territory from its inception in 1952, until Poland once again achieved independence on 13 September 1989, following the toppling of the communist regime and preceding the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Pop culture references[edit]
The following speech excerpts have been sampled by the drum and bass artist S.P.Y. in his remix of Black Sun Empire's track "Potemkin":[5]
- "that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us"
- "I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany",
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Britain and France declare war on Germany". The History Channel. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Jump up ^ Kalfus, Richard. "Weimar Republic 1919-1923" (PDF). St. Luis Community College. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Jump up ^ Statement by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on March 31, 1939.
Jump up ^ Rapten, Pema Dechen. "Political Disorder: The Weimar Republic and Revolt 1918-23". Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPNwrpwygCc%7CBlack Sun Empire - Potemkin (S.P.Y. Remix) on their official YouTube channel
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