February 29

Events - Culture & Arts

1940day.year

For her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind.
At the 12th Academy Awards in 1940, Hattie McDaniel earns Best Supporting Actress for portraying Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Her groundbreaking win marks the first time an African American actor receives an Oscar. McDaniel's performance captivates audiences and critics, highlighting her talent amid Hollywood's racial barriers. Despite segregated seating at the ceremony, her achievement paves the way for future generations of minority artists. Her historic victory remains a landmark moment in film history and the struggle for racial equality.
1940 Gone with the Wind Hattie McDaniel African American win Academy Award
2008day.year

Misha Defonseca admits to fabricating her memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, in which she claims to have lived with a pack of wolves in the woods during the Holocaust.

In 2008, author Misha Defonseca admitted that her Holocaust memoir was fabricated, igniting controversy over truth in survivor narratives.
On February 29, 2008, Misha Defonseca publicly confessed to falsifying the details of her memoir, 'Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years.' She had claimed to have lived among wolves in the forest after losing her Jewish family during World War II. Investigations revealed that key elements of her story were invented and that she fabricated documents to support her narrative. The revelation outraged readers and Holocaust survivor communities who felt betrayed by the false testimony. Publishers faced lawsuits and withdrew the book from shelves. The scandal prompted broader discussions on fact-checking and the ethics of memoir writing.
Misha Defonseca Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years the Holocaust