https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/world-war-ii/RSS feed for World War IIenTue, 19 May 2026 18:30:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-this-ancient-roman-soldiers-gravestone-hidden-in-a-louisiana-backyard-archaeologists-solved-the-mystery-and-helped-return-the-artifact-to-italy-180988761/The funerary marker, which surfaced on a New Orleans property last year, once belonged to a Roman soldier who died nearly 2,000 years ago. Officials repatriated the stone in a recent ceremony in RomeTue, 19 May 2026 18:30:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-this-ancient-roman-soldiers-gravestone-hidden-in-a-louisiana-backyard-archaeologists-solved-the-mystery-and-helped-return-the-artifact-to-italy-180988761/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-joke-ahead-of-his-100th-birthday-mel-brooks-donates-his-hilarious-archive-to-the-national-comedy-center-180988741/Thousands of notes, storyboards, early scripts and photographs belonging to the “2,000-year-old man” and EGOT winner will join material from Lucille Ball, Joan Rivers and George CarlinThu, 14 May 2026 19:21:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-joke-ahead-of-his-100th-birthday-mel-brooks-donates-his-hilarious-archive-to-the-national-comedy-center-180988741/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-renaissance-painting-took-a-winding-path-from-hitlers-munich-apartment-to-an-american-journalists-home-to-the-national-gallery-in-london-180988733/An art historian recently spotted the 16th-century artwork in a rare photograph of Hitler’s old apartment that was printed in a 1978 furniture catalogWed, 13 May 2026 19:08:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-renaissance-painting-took-a-winding-path-from-hitlers-munich-apartment-to-an-american-journalists-home-to-the-national-gallery-in-london-180988733/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-world-war-ii-this-german-artist-turned-the-art-world-upside-down-literally-by-inverting-his-paintings-180988689/Georg Baselitz, the renowned painter who played with perspective and flipped canvases on their head, died recently at age 88Wed, 06 May 2026 19:42:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-world-war-ii-this-german-artist-turned-the-art-world-upside-down-literally-by-inverting-his-paintings-180988689/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-miniseries-brings-lord-of-the-flies-to-television-for-the-first-time-in-the-1950s-the-now-famous-novel-almost-never-got-published-180988684/Publishers rejected the original manuscript for "Lord of the Flies" many times, yet the story still sparks a buzz today. Author William Golding later won the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWed, 06 May 2026 14:07:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-miniseries-brings-lord-of-the-flies-to-television-for-the-first-time-in-the-1950s-the-now-famous-novel-almost-never-got-published-180988684/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fires-in-berlin-destroyed-hundreds-of-paintings-during-world-war-ii-now-a-museum-will-publish-photo-archives-of-the-lost-artworks-online-180988621/A proactive effort to document the collection of the Gemäldegalerie will pay off a century later as negatives of lost paintings by Rubens and Caravaggio are digitized and published onlineMon, 27 Apr 2026 20:25:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fires-in-berlin-destroyed-hundreds-of-paintings-during-world-war-ii-now-a-museum-will-publish-photo-archives-of-the-lost-artworks-online-180988621/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-graveyard-of-shipwrecks-between-europe-and-africa-archaeologists-discovered-vessels-doomed-over-thousands-of-years-180988605/The "harbor" of the Strait of Gibraltar is the final resting place for shipwrecks from ancient Rome, the medieval era and World War II, according to a new archaeological surveyFri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-graveyard-of-shipwrecks-between-europe-and-africa-archaeologists-discovered-vessels-doomed-over-thousands-of-years-180988605/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-a-cold-war-bunker-buried-underneath-this-medieval-english-castle-in-case-of-nuclear-armageddon-180988561/Archaeologists uncovered a relic of the 20th-century conflict beneath Scarborough Castle, decades after the bunker was sealed and its exact location was forgottenThu, 16 Apr 2026 19:00:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-a-cold-war-bunker-buried-underneath-this-medieval-english-castle-in-case-of-nuclear-armageddon-180988561/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-antilla-shipwreck-tells-the-story-of-when-world-war-II-came-to-Aruba-180988529/Tourists can learn about this history by snorkeling over the wreck of the German ship in shallow waters just off the island’s coastTue, 14 Apr 2026 12:54:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-antilla-shipwreck-tells-the-story-of-when-world-war-II-came-to-Aruba-180988529/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/war-can-feel-surreal-see-how-american-photojournalist-lee-miller-captured-horrors-dark-humor-world-war-ii-180988523/A rediscovered scrapbook showcases never-before-seen images by Lee Miller, a war correspondent for British "Vogue" who followed American troops through EuropeTue, 14 Apr 2026 12:04:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/war-can-feel-surreal-see-how-american-photojournalist-lee-miller-captured-horrors-dark-humor-world-war-ii-180988523/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rolled-up-in-a-cellar-for-decades-this-artemisia-gentileschi-painting-is-now-up-for-auction-why-is-mary-magdalenes-face-missing-from-the-portrait-180988537/Found in Berlin, the artwork was probably damaged in the chaotic aftermath of World War II. Despite the gaping hole in the canvas, it could sell for upwards of $180,000 later this monthMon, 13 Apr 2026 17:10:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rolled-up-in-a-cellar-for-decades-this-artemisia-gentileschi-painting-is-now-up-for-auction-why-is-mary-magdalenes-face-missing-from-the-portrait-180988537/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-surrealism-inspired-fashions-of-elsa-schiaparelli-take-the-spotlight-in-london-180988503/A new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum lays out the history and legacy of the House of Schiaparelli, focusing on its founder’s unique creative processesFri, 10 Apr 2026 13:33:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-surrealism-inspired-fashions-of-elsa-schiaparelli-take-the-spotlight-in-london-180988503/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-punjabi-princess-fought-for-womens-suffrage-and-sheltered-refugees-during-world-war-ii-a-goddaughter-of-queen-victoria-she-rejected-british-imperialism-180988491/A new exhibition at Kensington Palace tells the riveting story of Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of the last maharaja of the Sikh EmpireThu, 09 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-punjabi-princess-fought-for-womens-suffrage-and-sheltered-refugees-during-world-war-ii-a-goddaughter-of-queen-victoria-she-rejected-british-imperialism-180988491/