Conferences & Symposia

19th International Conference on World War II

Join us for our premier adult educational event bringing together the best and brightest scholars, authors, historians, and witnesses to history from around the globe to discuss the war that changed the world. 

November 19, 2026 to November 21, 2026
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+ Add to calendar 2026-11-19 8:00:00 AM 2026-11-21 9:00:00 PM America/Mexico_City The National WWII Museum 945 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 19th International Conference on World War II Join us for our premier adult educational event bringing together the best and brightest scholars, authors, historians, and witnesses to history from around the globe to discuss the war that changed the world. 
Location: The National WWII Museum
 945 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

 

 

The International Conference on World War II is the premier adult educational event bringing together the best and brightest scholars, authors, historians, and witnesses to history from around the globe to discuss key battles, personalities, strategies, issues, and controversies of the war that changed the world. Joining the featured speakers are hundreds of attendees who travel from all over the world to learn and connect with each other through engaging discussions, question-and-answer periods, book signings, and receptions throughout the weekend.

Pre-Conference Symposium
FDR: The Greatest Champion of Freedom

Session times and order of the schedule will be updated closer to the conference

Thursday, November 19, 2026
Symposium Opening

Michael Bell
Opening Keynote

“A Shadow  Over the World: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Rise of Fascism, and the Making of America’s World War II”: William I. Hitchcock

Building the Great Arsenal of Democracy “The Arsenal of Democracy”: A.J. Baime
Defending the Homeland

“The Rise of the GI Army”: Paul Dickson

“Civil Defense: Defending the Home Front”: Steph Hinnershitz
The Big Three: FDR’s Building and Sustaining the Grand Alliance Roundtable Discussion

Chair: Michael Neiberg
Panelists: Alexandra Richie
Guenter Bischof
William Hitchcock
The Commander in Chief: FDR and His Chiefs

Chair: Michael Bell
Panelists: Nigel Hamilton
Jonathan Jordan

 

19th International Conference on World War II

Friday, November 20
1937: The Slide to War

Chair: William I. Hitchcock
“Darkness in the City of Light: The 1937 World’s Fair”: Michael Neiberg
“Tojo: Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo”: Peter Mauch
Ortiz’s War: Legendary Member of the OSS, Marines, and French Foreign Legion

Chair: Bradley Hart
Panelists: Nicholas Reynolds
Katie Sanders
Treblinka

“Survival at Treblinka”: Chad Gibbs
“The Spaces of Treblinka”: Jacob Flaws
World War II with Tom Hanks: A Behind-the-Scenes Look with The History Channel and The National WWII Museum

Chair: Bradley Hart
Panelists: Kirk Saduski
Rob Citino
Saturday, November 21
1942: The Crux of War

Chair: Jonathan Parshall
Panelists: Rob Citino
John Curatola
Steph Hinnershitz
The Weaponization of Starvation: Food Policies of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan

Panelists: Richard Frank
Alexandra Richie

Empire of Ashes

“Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War”: James Scott
“Homecomings: The Belated Return of Japan's Lost Soldiers”: Yoshikuni Igarashi
Spies and Threats on the US Soil

“The Dangerous Shore”: Sara Vladic with Bradley Hart

*Sessions and speakers subject to change.

Pricing

Conference Only
$1,599

Conference + Hotel Package
3 nights at The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, November 19-21
$2,099 per person double occupancy
$2,499 per person single occupancy

 

Pre-Conference Symposium

FDR: The Greatest Champion of Freedom
$899 per person

 

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