Our Mission
The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy is a community of scholars forming a national center for research, higher education, publications, and public programming, dedicated to promoting the history of World War II, the relationship between the war and America’s democratic system, and the war’s continued relevance for the world.
Values
Excellence: The Institute works to meet the highest standards of accuracy and quality in all of our programs and services.
Accessibility: The Institute brings together the academy, other WWII authorities, enthusiasts, and public audiences.
Relevance: The Institute educates, informs, and encourages those who want to understand the price of freedom and preserve our democratic heritage.
Vision
The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy explores the war’s history and enduring legacies, and seeks to inspire civic engagement by:
- Becoming the preferred resource for audiences seeking fresh scholarship, public history, public programming, and commentary on World War II.
- Extending the reach of the Museum’s public programs and publications to larger national and international audiences.
- Sustaining a network of the world’s preeminent scholars and cultural leaders to promote and broaden the history, memories, and legacies of the war.
- Attracting new generations of Americans to study, research, and write about the American experience in World War II through fellowships, collections, Museum tours, lifelong learning, and additional outreach efforts.
Letter from the Institute Director
The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy serves as the research core and the higher education center of The National WWII Museum. Our team consists of experienced professional historians who share a passion for World War II.
Latest from the Institute
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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Article TypeTrinity: Why It Really Mattered
While most people are familiar with the names of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” as the atomic weapons used over Japan, what they may not be familiar with was how different the respective technologies of each bomb were and why this difference mattered.
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Signing the UN Charter and 'Preparing the Way' for Peace
In the June 26, 1945, edition of her newspaper column My Day, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reflected on the efforts of the delegates at the San Francisco Conference to create the United Nations Charter and her hope that its ratification would help prepare the way for lasting peace in the world.
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The Rosenstrasse Protests of 1943: An Interview with Nathan Stoltzfus, PhD
Historian Nathan Stoltzfus has done so much to throw light on intermarriage in Nazi Germany and the remarkable stories of resilience and resistance of everyday people.
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The ‘Band of Brothers’ That Wasn’t
Though the 52 men inducted with Company I in 1940 rendered excellent service, their “band of brothers” did not endure much past their first months in combat.
Events & Programs
80th Anniversary End of War Symposium
Eighty years after the end of World War II, this two-day symposium will offer a comprehensive look at the turning points and closing moments of the war in Europe and the Pacific.
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Institute Staff
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Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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Research A Veteran
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Distance Learning
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Historian Speakers Bureau
The Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy
More from Topic-
Article Type
Signing the UN Charter and 'Preparing the Way' for Peace
In the June 26, 1945, edition of her newspaper column My Day, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reflected on the efforts of the delegates at the San Francisco Conference to create the United Nations Charter and her hope that its ratification would help prepare the way for lasting peace in the world.
-
Article Type
The Rosenstrasse Protests of 1943: An Interview with Nathan Stoltzfus, PhD
Historian Nathan Stoltzfus has done so much to throw light on intermarriage in Nazi Germany and the remarkable stories of resilience and resistance of everyday people.
-
Article Type
The ‘Band of Brothers’ That Wasn’t
Though the 52 men inducted with Company I in 1940 rendered excellent service, their “band of brothers” did not endure much past their first months in combat.
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First American Pope Is the Son of a D-Day Veteran
Louis M. Prevost, the father of newly elected Pope Leo XIV, participated in the landings in Normandy and Southern France during World War II.
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Over-the-Shore Logistics of D-Day
Within 48 hours of the amphibious assault, over 130,000 GIs and some 17,000 vehicles came ashore. With more troops and equipment arriving daily, the amount of supplies required to support this force grew exponentially.
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‘Rome Taken!’: The Liberation of Rome, 1944
The Allied capture of Rome in June 1944 marked the fall of the first Axis capital but was ultimately overshadowed by the D-Day landings in Normandy.
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Robert Capa's Iconic Images from Omaha Beach
Early on the morning of June 6, 1944, photojournalist Robert Capa landed with American troops on Omaha Beach. Before the day was through, he had taken some of the most famous combat photographs of World War II.
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WWII Airmen Killed in Pacific Crash Identified After 80 Years
More than eighty years after the B-24D Liberator named Heaven Can Wait crashed off Awar Point in Papua New Guinea, four of its crew have been accounted for and will finally be returned to the United States.
