The Nazi Concentration Camp System
The Nazis created at least 44,000 camps, including ghettos and other sites of incarceration, between 1933 and 1945. The camps served various functions, from imprisoning "enemies of the state" to serving as way stations in larger deportation schemes to murdering people in gas chambers.
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Article TypeHedy Lamarr’s WWII Invention Helped Shape Modern Tech
Regarded as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was not only a famous Hollywood actress who sold millions in war bonds during World War II, she was an inventor. Her creations included a frequency-hopping radio communications device for Allied torpedoes during the war.
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Marine Killed at Peleliu Accounted For 80 Years After Battle
After 80 years, the remains of Private First Class John Henry Newstrom, a US Marine killed during the Battle of Peleliu in 1944, have been identified and will be returned home thanks to a joint recovery effort by the US and Japanese governments.
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Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day Column after FDR's Death
In her first My Day column after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt reflects on the sorrow following his passing, honors his commitment to justice, and urges the world to unite in building a lasting, just peace.
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New Underwater Exploration of Attu’s World War II Shipwrecks
A multinational team has rediscovered long-lost WWII shipwrecks off Attu Island in Alaska, using sonar, drones, and archival research to document a forgotten underwater battlefield.
Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, 1944, the German army launched a massive offensive in the Ardennes Forest. The Battle of the Bulge would be the largest engagement ever fought by the US Army—and ultimately hasten the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.
European Theater of Operations
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Last Surviving Pilot from Battle of Britain Passes Away at 105
John “Paddy” Hemingway, along with his fellow RAF pilots who have been revered as “the Few,” played a critical role in defending the United Kingdom against Nazi Germany during the summer of 1940.
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Operation Undertone: The Allies Clear the Rhineland
US Third and Seventh Armies' March 1945 offensive cleared the Rhineland, pushing deep into Germany and decisively weakening German defenses before the final Allied push.
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The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann initially escaped justice by fleeing to Argentina, where he hid out for nearly a decade until he was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence operatives and taken to Israel for trial.
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Operations Veritable and Grenade: The Allies Close on the Rhine
Before the Allies could cross the Rhine River, Bernard Montgomery’s forces first had to pry the German defenders away from its western bank with two simultaneous operations: Veritable and Grenade.
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Harry Stewart Jr., Decorated Tuskegee Fighter Pilot, Dies at 100
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum confirmed retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stewart Jr.'s death, saying he passed away peacefully at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
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Operation Nordwind: The Battle after the Bulge
In the midst of the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans launched Operation Nordwind, a lesser-known but significant offensive in Alsace in January 1945.
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Hitler’s Declaration of War on the United States
Days after Pearl Harbor, Nazi Germany declared war on America. But why did Hitler choose to draw the United States directly into the European conflict?
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Operation Queen: The Battle before the Bulge
If the American forces could break through the Hürtgen Forest, there was a chance they could reach the Rhine near Cologne, threatening the German industrial region along the Ruhr River and possibly even force a crossing.
Pacific Theater of Operations
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Marine Killed at Peleliu Accounted For 80 Years After Battle
After 80 years, the remains of Private First Class John Henry Newstrom, a US Marine killed during the Battle of Peleliu in 1944, have been identified and will be returned home thanks to a joint recovery effort by the US and Japanese governments.
-
Article Type
New Underwater Exploration of Attu’s World War II Shipwrecks
A multinational team has rediscovered long-lost WWII shipwrecks off Attu Island in Alaska, using sonar, drones, and archival research to document a forgotten underwater battlefield.
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Article Type
Marguerite Hunold and Weather Forecasting in the Aleutians
Marguerite Frances Hunold, a pioneering aerologist in the US Navy’s WAVES program during World War II, became the first woman in her field to serve in Alaska, where she helped shape naval aviation forecasting in one of the world’s most challenging weather environments.
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Operation Iceberg: The Battle for Okinawa
Controlling the Ryukyu Islands would allow the Americans to finally sever Japan from its South Asian empire.
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The Trail of Valor: The Red Arrow Division on the Villa Verde Trail
Over 119 days of skirmishes, which included hand-to-hand combat and engagements with the enemy at close range in caves and thick jungles, the Red Arrow Division earned an incredible 28 Silver Stars, 20 Distinguished Service Crosses, and four Medals of Honor.
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One of the Last Survivors of USS Oklahoma Dies at 102
Jessie Alton Mahaffey was aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when Japanese air forces attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
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The Washington Naval Conference of 1921-22
Although the Washington Naval Conference concluded nearly two decades before the attack on Pearl Habor, its outcome shaped the course of World War II in the Pacific between the United States and Japan.
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Iwo Jima: Sacrifice and Sanctuary
In the annals of US Marine Corps history, few battles resonate like that of Iwo Jima.
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Home Front
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Article Type
Hedy Lamarr’s WWII Invention Helped Shape Modern Tech
Regarded as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was not only a famous Hollywood actress who sold millions in war bonds during World War II, she was an inventor. Her creations included a frequency-hopping radio communications device for Allied torpedoes during the war.
-
Article Type
Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day Column after FDR's Death
In her first My Day column after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt reflects on the sorrow following his passing, honors his commitment to justice, and urges the world to unite in building a lasting, just peace.
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Article Type
The Legacy of WWII Tattoos: Stories of Ink, Sacrifice, and Memory
Each tattoo inked on the skin of those who lived through World War II tells a unique story, reflecting both personal experiences and collective history.
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The GI Bill and Planning for the Postwar
Well before the war ended, President Franklin D. Roosevelt envisioned a plan for veterans to return home and better their lives through the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. But administering the massive welfare program required navigating social and political challenges.
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The Washington Naval Conference of 1921-22
Although the Washington Naval Conference concluded nearly two decades before the attack on Pearl Habor, its outcome shaped the course of World War II in the Pacific between the United States and Japan.
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Jack Sanders and the NFL Join the Fight
As dozens of their players left the gridiron for battlefields overseas, the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh joined forces to keep the decimated NFL squads up and running.
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Latest VA Projection Reveals Rate of WWII’s Fade from Living Memory
2024 agency numbers estimate fewer than 0.5% of Americans who served in the war still living.
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The Brotherhood of the Sea: Organized Labor in the US Merchant Marine
Without the structure of an official branch of the military, the US Merchant Marine would have to rely on the strength of their numbers leveraged through labor unions to protect themselves.
Medal of Honor Recipients of World War II
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Article Type
The Trail of Valor: The Red Arrow Division on the Villa Verde Trail
Over 119 days of skirmishes, which included hand-to-hand combat and engagements with the enemy at close range in caves and thick jungles, the Red Arrow Division earned an incredible 28 Silver Stars, 20 Distinguished Service Crosses, and four Medals of Honor.
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Article Type
The Depths of Courage: Howard Gilmore and the USS Growler
Commander Howard Gilmore’s story is certainly one of extraordinary valor, dedication, and sacrifice.
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Jefferson DeBlanc and the Air Battle for Guadalcanal
When Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc entered Guadalcanal, the United States had been fighting a defensive campaign against Japanese attempts to retake Henderson Airfield and dominate the surrounding seas.
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Rudolph B. Davila's Medal of Honor
Second Lieutenant Rudolph B. Davila, of Spanish-Filipino descent, received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions near Artena, Italy, during World War II.
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Manuel Pérez Jr.’s Medal of Honor
After parachuting on Tagaytay Ridge, Manuel Pérez participated in the horrendous fighting with the Japanese in the Philippines' capital city of Manila, the scene of some of the bloodiest urban combat of the war.
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A 'Gallant Stand' at Monte Battaglia: Manuel V. Mendoza’s Medal of Honor
For what he did on October 4, 1944, Staff Sergeant Manuel V. Mendoza garnered a special place in the history of Nazi Germany’s defeat.
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Johnnie David Hutchins's Medal of Honor
The loss of Johnnie David Hutchins was devastating to his family, but his moment of bravery almost certainly saved other parents and siblings from experiencing that same loss in the fall of 1943.
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John Joseph Parle's Medal of Honor
Navy Ensign John Joseph Parle risked his own life to save a ship and ensure a successful Allied amphibious invasion of Sicily in 1943.
