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World War II

Senator Joseph McCarthy “comes along really chronologically halfway through the story [in the early 1950s], and there’s a lot that happened before he was even on the scene,” says author Clay Risen.

Newly Declassified Documents Reveal the Untold Stories of the Red Scare, a Hunt for Communists in Postwar America

In his latest book, journalist and historian Clay Risen explores how the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy upended the nation

Glenn Hodak, a corporal in the U.S. Army Air Forces, has been accounted for nearly 80 years after he died in a fire at the Tokyo Military Prison in 1945.

Remains of American Soldier Captured by the Japanese During World War II Identified Nearly 80 Years Later

After his plane was shot down, Glenn H. Hodak was sent to a military prison in Tokyo, where he was killed by U.S. firebombing in May 1945

During her clandestine efforts for the Italian Resistance, Anita Malavasi used these forged papers to travel under the identity of “Marta de Robertis.”

This New Book Reveals the Daredevil Lives of Four Italian Women Who Stood Up to Hitler and Mussolini

By delivering newspapers, munitions and secret messages to resistance groups, among many other incredible tasks, the brave fighters strove for a freer world

Visitors to Manzanar National Historic Site will be able to run the bases around the restored baseball field, sit on the bleachers and look out into the looming mountain range from home plate.

The Moving Story of Bringing Baseball Back to Manzanar, Where Thousands of Japanese Americans Were Incarcerated During World War II

In honor of his mother and others imprisoned at the internment camp, baseball player Dan Kwong has restored a diamond in the California desert

Curator Katherine Carter with the restored Marlborough portrait in Chartwell's main staircase

Restoration Reveals the Secrets of One of Winston Churchill’s Most Beloved Paintings

Long thought to be a family heirloom, the artwork was actually gifted to the British prime minister in 1942 during the darkest days of World War II

Harold Godwinson's death, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry

Cool Finds

Newly Rediscovered, a Missing Fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry Is Returning to France

Likely removed by Nazi researchers, the scrap of fabric is a small but crucial part of the tattered tapestry’s nearly 1,000-year history

An artist's illustration of the London Tunnels, a planned tourist attraction in a World War II-era labyrinth beneath central London

Plans Are Taking Shape for an Extravagant New Tourist Attraction Inside London’s World War II-Era Tunnels

The 86,000-square-foot labyrinth was built in the 1940s during the London Blitz. Now, workers are transforming it into a museum, memorial, art gallery and bar

Herbert G. Tennyson was a 24-year-old first lieutenant in the U.S. Army when he was killed during World War II.

Remains of Bomber Pilot Identified 80 Years After His Plane Went Down During World War II

Herbert G. Tennyson was a U.S. Army pilot on a B-24 nicknamed “Heaven Can Wait,” which crashed into the ocean in early 1944

Tourists sunbathe on Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui's eastern coast.

The Secret World War II History of Koh Samui, the New Setting for ‘The White Lotus’

Behind the dreamy scenery of the HBO show’s latest location lurks an explosive story of Thailand’s involvement in the conflict and a sunken Japanese tanker

The new exhibition comes on the heels of the A.I. Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park in 2023.

Bletchley Park Exhibition Shows How World War II-Era Research Shaped Artificial Intelligence

Titled “The Age of A.I.,” the show examines the technology’s 20th-century roots and spotlights its role in contemporary healthcare, environmental conservation and the creative industries

Rosenthal’s iconic shot came early in the bloody campaign, and it led him to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that year.  

On This Day in History

The Story Behind the World-Famous Photograph of U.S. Marines Raising the American Flag During the Battle of Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal’s iconic photos from Iwo Jima helped the United States raise $26 billion for the war and served as the basis for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia

In 2022, researchers used DNA extracted from hairs left on the Somerton Man's death mask to identify him as Carl Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne.

The Enduring Mystery of the Somerton Man, One of Australia’s Most Puzzling Cold Cases

The discovery of a body on Somerton Beach in 1948 sparked theories that the dead man, now believed to be Carl Webb, was a Soviet spy, a ballet dancer or a jilted lover

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The Talented and Valiant Female Surgeon Who Joined Allied Forces in WWII and Broke Barriers Along the Way

Prohibited from serving with the U.S. Army as a medical officer, Barbara Stimson was commissioned by the British—and helped open the American military to female doctors

The Struggle Against Terrorism, a 1,000-square-foot mural by Philip Gluston and Reuben Kadish, before the restoration

See a Controversial Anti-Fascist Mural From the 1930s Returned to Its Former Glory

Titled “The Struggle Against Terrorism,” the 1,000-square-foot artwork suffered from neglect for 90 years. Now, conservators have unveiled the newly restored mural in Mexico

The Vital de Oliveira was discovered by divers in 2011, but the ship's identity was not officially confirmed until now.

Warship Sunk by the Nazis During World War II Located Off the Coast of Brazil

A German submarine torpedoed the “Vital de Oliveira” in July 1944, killing some 100 of the 270 crew members onboard

Marilyn Monroe performs in front of service members in Korea in 1954.

On This Day in History

The Wartime Organization That Brought Hollywood Stars Like Marilyn Monroe and Nancy Sinatra to the Front Lines to Entertain the Troops

Established on this day in 1941, the United Service Organizations offers wholesome entertainment options to off-duty service members

World leaders gathered in Oswiecim, Poland, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Survivors and World Leaders Gather to Commemorate 80th Anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation

The Nazis murdered an estimated 1.1 million people at the death camp in southern Poland before its liberation on January 27, 1945

Experts determined that the Japanese hand grenade was inactive.

Staffers Find a Japanese Hand Grenade From World War II at a Museum in Kentucky

After police and the nearby bomb squad investigated to the scene, they announced that the weapon was inactive and safe

Soviet soldiers lead liberated prisoners out of Auschwitz in the winter of 1945.

On This Day in History

The Liberation of Auschwitz—Where More Than One Million Jews Were Killed—Took Place on This Day in 1945

The Nazi concentration and extermination camp was the site of the largest mass murder in human history

A group of Englishmen toss Frisbees in 1966.

On This Day in History

An American Toy Company Produced the World’s First Frisbees, Beloved by Humans and Dogs, on This Day in 1957

The flying disc had humble beginnings but has since become an international phenomenon

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