On January 31, 1945, American prisoners of war from Stalag III-C were caught, tragically, in a firefight between German guards and Soviet troops.

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. 

Allied intelligence believed that most captured American officers were being held at the Hammelburg prisoner of war camp, Oflag XIII-B. This population likely included Patton’s son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel John Waters, but there was no way to be sure.

The Big three met at Potsdam, Germany, in the summer of 1945 to discuss the fate of the world after World War II.

Victory in the largest battle of the Pacific War came 82 days after it began, and the costs were high.

Join The National WWII Museum as we commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany and V-E Day by taking a look back at the events of the year after surrender and how they shaped the modern world with Dr. Rob Citino, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian and the Executive Director, The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.

On April 21, 1946, two political parties united, creating a single, dominant party in what became East Germany.

Join Museum educators to discuss the few Americans who saw the atrocities of the Holocaust with their own eyes.