World War II

Emperor Akihito in 2014

What Is the Role of the Emperor in Modern Japan?

While the role is ceremonial, abdication could mean a political battle

Diaries of Holocaust Architect Heinrich Himmler Discovered in Russia

The man who designed the Nazi concentration camps switched easily between recording domestic life and mass murder

Antoine de Saint-Exupery in Montreal, Canada in May 1942.

Amateur Historian Digs up Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Press Pass From the Spanish Civil War

The celebrated author of “The Little Prince” once covered the Spanish Civil War

What's the Difference Between Invasive and Nonnative Species? Plus, More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Poster That Started the "Keep Calm" Craze is on Sale

Learn about the print that launched a thousand memes

Inside the quiet forests near what was once Ponar, Lithuania lie mass graves that contain up to 100,000 bodies. Now, archaeologists have discovered a tunnel that 80 survivors used to attempt to escape in 1944. Twelve succeeded.

Archaeologists Found a Hand-Dug Holocaust Escape Tunnel

The tunnel was dug by desperate prisoners using spoons

Ray Halliburton, 92, at his ranch in Luling, Texas

A Portrait of an American Hero and a Generation That Is Slowly Fading Away

Photographer Dan Winters shows us the modern-day life of an unheralded World War II veteran

One of the board games in the collections of the Museum of World War II

How the Nazis “Normalized” Anti-Semitism by Appealing to Children

A new museum and exhibit explore the depths of the hatred toward Europe’s Jews

The Marines Have Confirmed That One of the Men in the Iconic Iwo Jima Photo Has Been Misidentified for 71 Years

Pvt. 1st Class Harold Schultz never publicly spoke about his role during his life

Photo taken at Auschwitz in 2013.

Former SS Guard Convicted on 170,000 Counts of Accessory to Murder

Reinhold Hanning a 94-year-old retired dairy farmer served as a guard at Auschwitz during World War II

Domino tiles.

Thousands of Objects Taken From Holocaust Victims Have Been Rediscovered

Almost 16,000 items were forgotten for decades

The Castle Bravo test at Bikini Atoll was more than 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima.

The Marshall Islands Are Becoming Less Nuclear

A new study finds that the abandoned nuclear test sites aren't much more radioactive than Central Park

Merchant Mariners aboard a training ship working in the boiler room.

The Merchant Marine Were the Unsung Heroes of World War II

These daring seamen kept the Allied troops armed and fed while at the mercy of German U-boats

Ronald Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that apologized for the internment of Japanese American citizens and permanent residents during World War II.

Five Times the United States Officially Apologized

These are a few instances where the U.S. admitted it had done wrong

The Hollywood Bombshell Who Invented an Indispensable War Technology

In 1942, Hedy Lamarr received a patent for frequency hopping, but was told to devote her efforts elsewhere

Rudolf Hess, at right, was a Nazi leader when he flew to Scotland in May of 1941.

Will We Ever Know Why Nazi Leader Rudolf Hess Flew to Scotland in the Middle of World War II?

The remarkable tale of insanity, espionage, and conspiracies remains unanswered after 75 years

Marines Are Investigating the Identity of a Flag Raiser in the Iconic Iwo Jima Photo

Amateur historians have called into question the identity of a soldier in Joe Rosenthal's 1945 Pulitzer prize-winning image

The Grand Entrance Hall to the Thames Tunnel has been restored and reopened to the public.

Historic Sites of the London Underground Will Soon Open for Visitors

See Churchill’s blitz bunker and the first underwater tunnel ever built

During World War II, Anne O’Hare McCormick wrote an editorial in the New York Times that urged people to pay attention to Hungary's Jews.

New Project Uncovers What Americans Knew About the Holocaust

You can help historians learn how newspapers in the U.S. documented the persecution of European Jews

Two watercolors by Egon Schiele, "Self-Portrait With Red Hair And Striped Oversleeves" and “Seated Boy With Folded Hands,” are being returned to the family of their original owner.

In "Solomonic Solution," Museum Returns Two Nazi-Looted Artworks to 95-Year-Old Descendant

After nearly 20 years of fighting, the Leopold Museum in Vienna has agreed to return the watercolors

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