World War II

A collage of the work distributed by the British propaganda effort.

The Fake British Radio Show That Helped Defeat the Nazis

By spreading fake news and sensational rumors, intelligence officials leveraged “psychological judo” against the Nazis in World War II

Workers labor in the fields in the shadow of Mt. Williamson.

View Daily Life in a Japanese-American Internment Camp Through the Lens of Ansel Adams

In 1943, one of America’s best-known photographers documented one of the best-known internment camps

The Watanabe family brought this suitcase with them to Idaho's Minidoka camp. Evacuees were allowed to bring only what they could carry.

What's Changed in the 30 Years Since the Smithsonian Opened an Exhibition on Japanese Internment

A new display at the American History Museum marks the 75th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066

This image, entitled "Doing Their Share, Too," celebrated the war work of black women.

This African American Artist’s Cartoons Helped Win World War II

Charles Alston knew how to turn art into motivation

This animal hair toothbrush (horse hair, to be exact) is said to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.

You Can Still Buy Pig-Hair Toothbrushes

There's an argument for it, given all the environmental destruction causes by plastic ones

Tootsie Rolls contain small amounts of cocoa and also an ingredient you might not expect—orange extract.

Tootsie Rolls Were WWII Energy Bars

The candies were included in rations because they stayed fresh for a long time

Dachau's gate had a chilling message for its inmates.

Stolen ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ Gate Returns to Dachau

The identity of the thieves remains a mystery

Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst (pictured, left to right, in 1942) resisted the Nazis as members of the White Rose, a secret student group.

The Secret Student Group That Stood Up to the Nazis

The White Rose was short-lived, but its words were hard to ignore

Aleutian people stand on the deck of a ship forcibly evacuating them to southeastern Alaska.

The U.S. Forcibly Detained Native Alaskans During World War II

In the name of safety, Aleuts were held against their will under intolerable conditions in internment camps

Hitler used the Reichstag fire in 1933 to seize almost unlimited power.

The True Story of the Reichstag Fire and the Nazi Rise to Power

When the German parliamentary building went up in flames, Hitler harnessed the incident to seize power

A proposed museum in the former Jewish ghetto in Vilnius, Lithuania, features portraits of families who once lived there.

The Holocaust's Great Escape

A remarkable discovery in Lithuania brings a legendary tale of survival back to life

A Daring Rescue-by-Submarine, Deep in Enemy Waters

When a WWII Australian spy operation in occupied Borneo is uncovered, its operatives go into hiding. Rescuing them involves sneaking a sub into enemy water

British statesman and author Winston Churchill reads correspondence at his desk in 1933.

“Are We Alone in the Universe?” Winston Churchill's Lost Extraterrestrial Essay Says No

The famed British statesman approached the question of alien life with a scientist's mind

USS Turner

Pentagon Investigates Missing Sailors from the U.S.S. Turner

After the ship exploded in New York Harbor in 1944, 136 sailors were classified as missing, but new research suggests some were buried on Long Island

Romanians protest in Victoria Place in Bucharest on January 22.

Why Romanians Took to the Streets This Weekend

Up to half a million citizens protested a new decree that would have diminished anti-corruption penalties

Vera Lynn performing a lunchtime concert at a munitions factory in 1941.

WWII Songstress Croons Her Way to Age 100 With a New Album

Dame Vera Lynn "the Forces' Sweetheart" will make the history books with the release

Italian-Americans were placed under suspicion when the United States entered World War II.

During World War II, the U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

The executive order that forced Japanese-Americans from their homes also put immigrants from Italy under the watchful eye of the government

A guard tower at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where tens of thousands were murdered.

Poland Is Searching For the Last Living Auschwitz Guards

New database lays out details of the SS guards and commanders who carried out some of history's most terrible crimes

Brunhilde Pomsel in 2016.

One of the Last Links to the Inner Nazi Circle Dies at 106

Brunhilde Pomsel worked with Joseph Goebbels until the final days of the Third Reich

President Clinton presents Fred Korematsu with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House Thursday, Jan. 15, 1998. Korematsu's legal challenges to civilian exclusion orders during World War II helped spur the redress movement for Japanese-Americans.

Fred Korematsu Fought Against Japanese Internment in the Supreme Court… and Lost

Nearly 75 years later, the infamous decision has yet to be overturned

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