World War II
It was the biggest and deadliest war in history, spanning six grueling years and involving countries in nearly every part of the world. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, World War II pitted the Allied forces (led by the United States, Great Britain and the U.S.S.R.) against the Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy). Explore the battles, key players and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind today.
Start Here
From the Battle of the Atlantic to the Battle of Okinawa, see a timeline of World War II's battles.
By the time the first Japanese bomber appeared over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting for the better part of a decade, making war seem inevitable.
The Allied invasion of Normandy was among the largest military operations ever staged.
The Holocaust was the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, Roma, political dissidents, homosexuals and others by the Nazi regime.
The Hidden Army of Women That Helped Defeat Hitler
Flashback: The Hidden Army of Women That Helped Defeat Hitler
This 1944 American propaganda film imagine’s Hitler’s surrender and explains the Füher’s greatest mistake – his underestimation of American women. This episode of Flashback shows how female wartime workers were an indispensable part of America’s victory, even before the war was officially won.
3 Key Battles
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World leaders. Generals. Industrialists. Strategists. Spies. See who had an outsized impact on the fate of the world.
From planning to logistics to weather, how Hitler's Nazi forces fumbled the largest invasion of World War II.
The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 allowed the U.S. government to lend or lease war supplies to any nation vital to U.S. defense, such as Britain during World War II.
Blitzkrieg, or “lightning war,” is a method of offensive warfare designed to strike a swift, focused blow at an enemy using highly mobile ground and air forces.
Getting the perfect shot in wartime is not only about weapons. Photographers were there every step of the way to capture the heroic triumphs and devastating losses.
Radar, computers, penicillin and more all came out of development during the Second World War.
How did women's service during World War II inspire their fight for social change and equality?
American women served in World War II in many roles: as pilots, nurses, civil service employees, and in many home-front jobs that were formerly denied to them.
The Nazis thought the Stalag Luft III camp was escape-proof, but 76 Allied airmen proved them wrong.
In the Bataan Death March of World War II, 75,000 Filipino and U.S. troops made a hellish 65-mile march to prison camps, but about 17,000 were killed en route.
On the home front during World War II, life in the U.S. was changed by rationing, defense production, women’s jobs and popular radio and movie entertainment.
The sweeping bill promised prosperity to veterans. So why didn’t Black Americans benefit?
These five key events led to the conclusion of World War II on September 2, 1945.
Benito Mussolini, an Italian political leader who allied himself with Adolf Hitler during World War II, became the fascist dictator of Italy from 1925-1945.
The Battle of Britain in World War II, between Britain’s Royal Air Force and Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe, was the first battle in history fought solely in the air.
Japanese internment camps were established during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066. From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, be incarcerated.
