Calendar: What happened on June 3rd?

On this day in history, June 3rd, 2021, the European Court of Justice condemned Germany for failing to meet air quality standards in many cities, citing significant exceedances of nitrogen oxide limits between 2010 and 2016. The court ruled that Germany had violated EU law, though the federal government pointed to previous successes.

In 1961, a significant diplomatic event occurred when U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Minister Chairman Nikita Khrushchev met in Vienna. Their two-day summit focused on crucial issues of disarmament and the contentious status of West Berlin.

Earlier, on June 3, 1941, a tragic event unfolded on the island of Crete. The village of Kandanos was completely razed by German soldiers. Those inhabitants who could not escape were killed, though their exact number remains unclear. Decades later, in 2024, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Kandanos to ask for forgiveness for the Wehrmacht's war crimes on Crete.

Also in 1941, Friedrich Schiller's drama "Wilhelm Tell," a play celebrating the Swiss national hero, was banned in Germany by order from the Führer's headquarters. Adolf Hitler, who had previously quoted the work, now viewed it as a glorification of tyrannicide and the fight for freedom.