World War II

Artist J. Howard Miller produced this work-incentive poster for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. Though displayed only briefly in Westinghouse factories, the poster in later year has become one of the most famous icons of World War II.

Why Rosie the Riveter Continues to Endure

Forever changing the nation, the women who worked in American factories during the war have been collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal

A team of divers found this rusted—but still recognizable—Enigma cipher machine at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Nazis used the device to encode secret military messages during WWII.

Divers Discover Nazi Enigma Machine Thrown Into the Baltic Sea During WWII

German forces used the device—likely cast into the water to avoid falling into Allied hands—to encode military messages

This year's top titles include One Mighty and Irresistible Tide, You Never Forget Your First, and Caste.

The Ten Best History Books of 2020

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how the country got to where it is today

“The P-47 was one of the most versatile aircraft we had in World War II,” says Jeremy Kinney, curator and chair of the aeronautics department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which houses one in its collections.

Why the P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II Beast of the Airways, Ruled the Skies

Remarkably tough, the versatile fighter delivered far more punishment than it took

The National Museum of the United States Army opened on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2020.

A New Museum Delves Into the Complex History of the U.S. Army

The Fort Belvoir institution is the first museum dedicated to interpreting the story of the nation's oldest military branch

The Nazis persecuted and murdered Roma people across Europe.

Remnants of Concentration Camp Used to Imprison Roma Found in Czech Republic

All of the 130-plus Roma people interned at the WWII–era site in Liberec were later murdered by the Nazis at death camps

The True History of Netflix's 'The Liberator'

The new animated series tells the story of the U.S. Army's most integrated World War II unit

On his last day of service in Vietnam in 1963, Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho) poses in Da Nang carrying his rappelling rope that he used to descend from helicopters to clear landing fields. Pratt is the designer of the National Native Americans Veterans Memorial.

The Remarkable and Complex Legacy of Native American Military Service

Why do they serve? The answer is grounded in honor and love for their homeland

A KGB spy pistol used by female operatives and designed to look like a tube of lipstick

You Could Own a Lipstick Gun, a Poison-Tipped Umbrella and Other KGB Spy Tools

Next February, Julien's Auctions will sell some 3,000 items from the shuttered KGB Espionage Museum's collection

This month's book picks include A Demon-Haunted Land, South to Freedom and The Light Ages.

The Heiress Who Stole a Vermeer, Witchcraft in Post-WWII Germany and Other New Books to Read

These five November releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Researchers say the sunken ship may hold panels from Russia's famed Amber Room, which went missing during World War II.

Shipwrecked Nazi Steamer May Hold Clues to the Amber Room's Fate

Divers have found sealed chests and military vehicles in the "Karlsruhe," which was sunk by Soviet planes in 1945

In 1943 the all-wing and jet-propelled Horten Ho 229 promised spectacular performance and the German air force (Luftwaffe) chief, Hermann Göring, allocated half-a-million Reichsmarks to brothers Reimar and Walter Horten to build and fly several prototypes.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction With Horten's All-Wing Aircraft Design

New research dispels some of the myths behind the world's first jet-powered flying wing

This circular witches' mark was thought to ward off evil.

Virtually Explore a Forest Filled With Witches' Marks and Other Tree Etchings

A publicly sourced portal spotlights centuries of graffiti left in England's New Forest

This 2016 image shows one of the instruments included in Amnon Weinstein's Violins of Hope collection, which features pre-World War II violins once owned by Jewish musicians and music lovers.

Pandemic Temporarily Silences Violins That Survived the Holocaust

Organizers found ways to make the instruments' voices heard after the cancellation of planned concerts in California

Operation Fantasia aimed to destroy Japanese morale by exposing soldiers and civilians to a Shinto portent of doom: kitsune, or fox-shaped spirits with magical abilities.

The Unsuccessful WWII Plot to Fight the Japanese With Radioactive Foxes

An outlandish idea codenamed ‘Operation Fantasia’ aimed to demoralize the Axis power by mimicking legendary spirits

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial's formal dedication is slated to take place on Thursday, September 17.

Controversial, Long-Delayed Eisenhower Memorial Finally Makes Its Debut

Celebrating Ike's political, military accomplishments required compromise between the architect and the president’s family

Refugees established communities in displaced persons (DP) camps across Germany.

The Little-Known Story of World War II's 'Last Million' Displaced People

A new book by historian David Nasaw tells the story of refugees who could not—or would not—return home after the conflict

A sonar scan of the German warship Karlsruhe, which was recently discovered off the southern coast of Norway

Wreck of German Warship Sunk in 1940 Found Off Norwegian Coast

A British torpedo struck the "Karlsruhe" during the Nazis' invasion of the Scandinavian country

Photograph of Chiura Obata teaching a children's art class at Tanforan Art School, 1942 / unidentified photographer.

The Papers of Artist Chiura Obata Chronicle Life Inside World War II Incarceration Camps

At the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the artist's story is one of resilience amidst the upheaval

This month's selections include A Traitor to His Species, The Tsarina's Lost Treasure and The Daughters of Yalta.

Catherine the Great's Lost Treasure, the Rise of Animal Rights and Other New Books to Read

These five September releases may have been lost in the news cycle

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