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World War IIWorld War II was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945, involving over 50 countries and 100 million mobilized military personnel. The war became the largest conflict in human history in terms of geographic scale and human cost, with an estimated 70 million to 85 million fatalities—including over 50 million civilians. The roots of World War II lie in the punitive 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which disarmed Germany, imposed steep reparations, and forced it to accept sole blame for World War I. As the Great Depression challenged the liberal democratic order, militant nationalist movements looking to expand their territories emerged: Benito Mussolini's fascism in Italy, Adolf Hitler's National Socialism (or Nazism) in Germany, and Imperial Japan. World War II's end launched the Cold War, pitting the United States against the Soviet Union and reshaping global geopolitics into competing ideological blocs. The war's unprecedented destruction and the horror of Axis war crimes—most notably the Holocaust—sparked a moral imperative to prevent future atrocities.Explore World War II
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'Casablanca,' the iconic World War II-era film, was recut for its German release, with all references to the Nazis removed. NPRIn 1948, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game used leftover parachutes from World War II to airdrop 76 beavers into the Frank Church Wilderness as part of a relocation project. Boise State Public RadioJD Salinger served in World War II while working on a draft of his most famous novel, 'The Catcher in the Rye.' American HeritageThe formal Japanese unconditional surrender that ended World War II took place on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945. Since World War II, formal declarations of war and peace treaties have become increasingly rare, replaced by cease-fires, authorizations of force, and "special military operations." Hoover InstitutionCyanoacrylate, or superglue, was discovered by accident during World War II when researchers tried to create a clear plastic for precision gunsights. Chemistry WorldMel Brooks served in World War II, including a stint clearing landmines at the Battle of the Bulge. US Department of WarClue, the murder-mystery board game, was designed during World War II air raids. HISTORYCamus edited an underground newspaper during World War IIThe paper, called "Combat," was aligned with the French Resistance fighting against the Nazi occupation. Like his fiction, his journalism was clear-eyed: When Hiroshima and Nagaski were bombed, he criticized the many writers impressed with the destruction, writing, "our technical civilization has just reached its greatest level of savagery." Open CultureThe origin of the National Science Foundation and why World War II led to its foundingBefore World War II, research institutions were funded by endowments or private companies whose priorities stifled the curiosity-driven science that fueled significant breakthroughs and innovation. The NSF was established in 1950 to promote independent scientific progress through basic research, which is focused on knowledge acquisition rather than commercial applications, conducted at national colleges and universities. JSTORThe food processing techniques developed for World War II, later repurposed for consumersResearch projects funded or sponsored by the military led to the development of active dry yeast to make bread easier to bake and an improved version of dehydrated cheese, which would be used in powdered cheese snacks. Freeze-drying, which had been used to ease the transport of blood plasma to battlefields, where it would be reconstituted with water, was later used on fruit for cereals. Science History InstituteThe history of David Attenborough's adopted Jewish sisters, taken in before World War IIAmong the thousands of children who were brought to Great Britain from Nazi-controlled Europe during the Kindertransport rescue operation were Irene and Helga Bejach, who spent seven years living with the Attenboroughs. Irene contributed to David's interest in the natural world by giving him a piece of amber containing prehistoric creatures. Jewish NewsWorld War II's Battle of Savo Island was the worst wartime naval defeat in US historyOn Aug. 9, 1942, a larger, radar-equipped Allied fleet lost four heavy cruisers off Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater without sinking a single Japanese ship. The Navy kept the humiliating rout secret from the public for years. Experts argued failure resulted from fractured command, not inferior arms or ships. Warfare History NetworkLearn how Japan used the jet stream to launch attacks on US soil during World War IIIn the final two years of the war, over 9,000 Fu-Go balloon bombs were launched from Japan, with about a thousand estimated to have reached North America. Six civilians killed by a Fu-Go bomb in Bly, Oregon, on May 5, 1945, became the only known deaths on American soil by enemy action during the war. National GeographicThe 1951 Refugee Convention established international refugee rights and state obligations amid mass World War II displacementThe international treaty defines refugee status and outlines refugees' entitled rights while establishing state obligations to protect them. The UNHCR explains the convention's significance in creating the legal framework governing refugee protection worldwide. UNHCRWinston Churchill said he was comforted by Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' and its characters' calmness during World War II. Jane Austen's HousePizza didn't take off in the US until after World War II, likely because of technological advancements and soldiers' exposure to it abroad. Tasting TableA popular tag in World War II announced 'Kilroy was here'The graffito appeared seemingly everywhere throughout the 1940s and followed a similar pattern: A man with an oversized nose peering over a ledge, with the phrase written below it. Scholars believe it was an American form of similar tags that appeared in Australia and England, making "Kilroy" a meme long before the word had entered the lexicon. ThoughtCoThe Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians. Armed Conflict Location & Event DataFranklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 speech framed World War II as a global fight for universal rightsEleven months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt outlined four fundamental freedoms that, in his words, people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy—speech, worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. FDR Presidential Library and MuseumComic books were used as a form of government propaganda in World War II. The Library of CongressWorld War II helped convince food companies to produce more processed foodsProcessed foods had existed since the 19th century, but they began infiltrating the mainstream during World War II, with foods designed to last on the battlefield for days. After the war, food companies saw great potential in the relatively cheap foods aimed at busy households. (Some readers may experience a paywall.) The New York TimesThe US tried to buy Greenland in 1867 and after World War IIDenmark first took possession of the large, ice-covered island in the northern Atlantic in the 1700s. The local population is a mix of native Inuit, Norwegians (from the medieval era), and Danes, though the population is only 56,000. The US has seen the defensive and economic potential of the island for over 150 years. The Infographics ShowDisney chipped away at its debt by creating propaganda during World War IIDisney began producing training videos for the Navy and propaganda films for US involvement in World War II, including the shorts "Der Fuehrer's Face," "The Spirit of '43," and "Donald Gets Drafted." The effort provided a much-needed cash injection, allowing Disney to continue producing films. Smithsonian MagazineBefore World War II, the US was a Pacific powerDecades before Pearl Harbor, the US held major Pacific territories—Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, American Samoa, and numerous island bases—giving it strategic reach across the western Pacific. This presence increasingly overlapped with Japan’s imperial ambitions in the region, contributing to rising tensions. National Park ServiceGerman printer Richard Sellmer revived Advent calendars after World War IIAdvent calendar production resumed in 1946, when German printer Richard Sellmer began issuing nostalgic winter-town designs that became classics, later exporting them to the United States. His company still operates today, producing more than 140 varieties. Sellmer AdventskalenderBill Nye believes a World War II-level mobilization is needed to end climate changeAs part of his science advocacy efforts, Nye has argued that existing technologies, including electric vehicles and renewable energy, can already significantly reduce emissions. However, switching to these technologies requires a more expansive awareness of the problem and a greater sociopolitical willingness by policymakers and the general public. QuartzJacqueline Jenkins-Nye—Bill Nye's mother—worked as a code-breaker in World War IIWhile in the Navy, she was recruited to work on Enigma to help decode messages from the German military. Historians estimate that the efforts of code-breakers may have collectively shortened the war by as much as two years. PBSPenicillin slashed battlefield pneumonia deaths during World War IIBefore antibiotics, bacterial pneumonia killed about 18% of infected soldiers in World War I. By World War II, penicillin cut that death rate to less than 1%.
PBS NewsWorld War II soldiers received specially-made vinyl records"V-Discs" were vinyl records featuring popular folk, classical, and jazz songs. This was one of the first widespread uses of vinyl, rather than shellac, records. National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe 1941 Atlantic Charter was a World War II alliance and model for the UNThe Atlantic Charter was a pivotal 1941 agreement between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, outlining shared goals for a post-World War II world rooted in freedom and self-determination. These ideals later inspired the founding principles of the United Nations. Norman Rockwell MuseumDuring World War II, fighter plane turbulence was used to make ice cream. 1440'Keep Calm and Carry On' was long-forgotten World War II propaganda The British Ministry of Information developed the stoic phrase ahead of German attacks at the start of World War II in 1939. It was never officially released on posters and then lay dormant until 2000, when one of the remaining posters was discovered at a bookstore in the UK. It has since been adapted into countless memes. BBCThe world rapidly decolonized after World War II, with roughly a hundred new countries emerging between 1945 and 1989.Decolonization isn't complete, as nearly 2 million people were living in UN-designated non-self-governing territories as of 2023. CFR Education from the Council on Foreign RelationsSee what it was like to live in the United States during World War IIIn America, life was transformed by total war: sixteen million service members left civilian life, while massive industrial production demanded labor. Women, minorities, and teens filled factories, fueling boomtown growth and breaking social barriers. Simultaneously, rationing, recycling drives, Victory Gardens, ration stamps, blackout drills, and war bond campaigns permeated daily routines. US National Parks ServiceGermany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 launched World War IIOn September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany launched a surprise invasion of Poland using blitzkrieg—coordinated air bombardments and armored assaults—to overwhelm Polish defenses within weeks. This lightning-strike strategy shocked the world and signaled both the start of World War II and a revolutionary shift in modern military tactics. AP ArchiveOne US Marine fighter squadron made their own ice cream during World War IITo boost his squad’s morale during World War II, squadron commander J. Hunter Reinburg developed a method for making ice cream on the fly: Empty ammo cans filled with ingredients were flown at altitudes high enough for them to freeze. Smithsonian MagazineOver a century ago, fewer than 1% of Americans paid income taxes—but the cost of World War II prompted the federal government to greatly expand the number of people required to pay income taxes. 1440A book series aimed at World War II soldiers helped popularize works like 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Of Mice and Men.'In the middle of World War II, two Army employees launched the Armed Services Editions, a line of cheaply-produced paperbacks (including titles from Voltaire, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck) aimed at entertaining and encouraging soldiers abroad. One of the program's biggest success stories was F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," whose Armed Services Edition led to a surge in popularity 20 years after its original publication. Library of CongressWorld War II innovations helped advance car racingModern American auto racing began in the 1920s with bootleggers modifying cars to outrun authorities. World War II innovations like better engines and surplus parts fueled post-war racing. By 1947, Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR, creating a unified league with consistent rules, transforming stock car racing into one of America’s favorite sports. 1440A collection of contemporary maps from World War IINewspapers published detailed maps of the conflict in real-time. See different portrayals of the situation, ranging from propaganda maps to speculative maps about the war's outcome. The fascinating depictions reveal how maps can show us the aspirations and intentions of different players in a global conflict. Nathan GoldwagHow World War II affects your wallet todayThe world's deadliest conflict also impacted social programs extensively, including ways that still affect your money today. World War II is responsible for the practice of employers withholding tax payments and sponsoring health insurance, as well as the norm of providing school lunches for the nation's schoolchildren. Watch this brief video to learn more. Kite and KeyThe Manhattan Project was one of the most expensive undertakings of World War II Building the first atomic weapons required hundreds of thousands of workers, vast secret facilities, and enormous spending. This 1998 study details the full cost of the Manhattan Project and compares it to other major US wartime expenditures. Brookings InstituteWojtek the bear fought for Poland in World War IIWojtek was a Syrian brown bear who eventually became a mascot, symbol, and eventually a soldier attached to the Polish II Corps during World War II. Learn about the amazing Wojtek, the Polish II Corps, and the incredible history of the Polish soldiers, many of whom had been imprisoned by the Germans or Soviets, who served during World War II. TheCollectorThe US intervened in Latin America to block communist influence during the Cold WarFearing Soviet expansion, the US intervened across Latin America by backing coups, funding right-wing regimes, and supporting anti-communist militias—most notably in Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The Cold WarPenicillin supplies were ready for every wounded soldier on D-Day By June 1944, Allied stockpiles included 2.3 million doses of penicillin—enough to ensure that every soldier wounded during the pivotal Normandy landings could receive treatment.
The National WWII MuseumGermany’s surprise offensive in December 1944 failed to break Allied linesIn a bold counterattack from December 16, 1944, to January 28, 1945, Hitler committed over 400,000 troops in a surprise “Bulge” through the Ardennes forest in France. Although initially successful in creating a 50‑mile incursion, Allied defense halted the advance. German forces suffered irrecoverable losses (~100,000), while Allied casualties totaled ~75,000, marking the offensive as the last major German gamble and a decisive step toward Nazi defeat. HISTORYThe treaty that ended the First World War laid the groundwork for the Second.On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I by demanding severe reparations, territorial losses, military restrictions, and the infamous “war guilt clause” against Germany. However, its harsh terms fostered deep resentment, economic instability, and political turmoil—ultimately becoming a catalyst for World War II. HISTORYWhen German submarines lurked in US coastal watersDuring World War II, German submarines (also known as U-boats) prowled the Southern coast of the US in 1942 and 1943, sinking more than 60 ships and killing 600 Allied soldiers. The campaign is less well-known, since the major battles in Stalingrad and Midway happened at the time. Several of these submarines and the ships they sank are now popular diving spots. Smithsonian MagazineHow many people died in WWII?Fallen.io, a short animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, explores the harrowing statistics of World War II and sizes up its numbers to other wars in history, including recent conflicts. Watch and click through this interactive documentary to learn more. The Fallen of World War II
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