Worthless Money
Leading up to World War II, Germany was suffering from severe hyperinflation. The result was widespread as the nation’s currency became as useless as straw. Here children stack hundreds of bills that are worthless. Adolf Hitler would use this rocky time to launch his anti-Semitic propaganda campaign against the Jews.
Worthless Money
Hermann Goering’s Collection
Following the end of the war, many Nazis’ private art collections were discovered by the Allies. These art pieces and artifacts actually belonged to various art museums throughout France and other countries too. This is Hermann Goering’s stashed stolen art collection.
Hermann Goering’s Collection
Seeing The Truth
After the war many German soldiers claimed that they didn’t know of the atrocities being carried out around them. Here you can see German soldiers watching footage taken from concentration camps run by the Nazis. Some of these soldiers can’t handle the images they’re seeing.
Seeing The Truth
Young Soldiers
Just before the fall of Berlin, Hitler ordered the arming of women and children to fight the city’s last battle. Clearly you can see that not everyone was prepared for this flawed strategy. A young German boy weeps after being captured by the Allies.
Young Soldiers
Saving Civilians
An American soldier helps a Japanese woman and her baby emerge from their hiding place. The Japanese emperor had ordered his citizens to take their own lives instead of being captured. Japanese propaganda instilled fear in Japanese citizens, telling them that the Americans were rapists and murderers.
Saving Civilians
Reversing The Roles
This Jewish concentration camp survivor never thought this day would ever occur. Following the liberation of the death and concentration camps by the Allies, many Nazis fled but many were captured too. This powerful image shows a newly-freed man with the upper hand.
Reversing The Roles
Hungarian Mini Tanks
There’s no question that war initiates a technology boost. These Hungarian mini tanks were a new and innovative adaptation to what war could be. Their effectiveness wasn’t great, though.
Hungarian Mini Tanks
Homeless Japanese Citizens
Following the massive destruction of Japanese cities during World War II, the citizens were the ones who suffered most. Here you can see men trying to get their lives started again, even though they’re homeless and without anything.
Homeless Japanese Citizens
Hitler’s Retreat
This epic photograph shows Hitler’s famous retreat up in the hills of Berchtesgaden. American planes fly over the ruins of one of his estates, but this one was bombed to oblivion.
Hitler’s Retreat
Female Tank Commander
There weren’t many female officers in the Soviet Army, but Aleksandra Samusenko was one of them. She successfully led her crew safely out of ambush during the Battle of Kursk when her commander was killed.
Female Tank Commander
Close Kamikaze Call
The use of kamikaze pilots during World War II was at the forefront of Japan’s attack in the Pacific. American naval forces manged to shoot and disable this kamikaze plane just moments before disaster.
Close Kamikaze Call
Strange Tactics
Innovation is strong during wars and this is especially true when it comes to new tactics. German soldiers pose here with a man in a bear suit, and this soldier probably hid out in the forest in his unusual camouflage.
Strange Tactics
Can’t Destroy His Spirit
This photo from 1944, shows a member of the French resistance living life on his terms until his final moment. His name was Georges Blind and his smiling face against a German shooting squad has made it one of the most iconic World War II photos.
Can’t Destroy His Spirit
Burning The Belsen Concentration Camp
This harrowing photograph shows the Bergen concentration camp in Germany up in flames. The British Army ordered the camp to be burned after the bodies were buried by the German soldiers. The Allies didn’t want the diseases from the camp to be spread.
Burning The Belsen Concentration Camp
A Moment’s Silence
Even during World War II, these U.S. Marines found a moment to relax. The destruction surrounding them just shows how costly war can be.
A Moment’s Silence
An Odd Lighter
Twp German soldiers find an interesting way to light a cigarette. The “lighter” that they are using is actually a flamethrower.
An Odd Lighter
Belgian Beer
Canadian soldiers find some time to relax and kick back with some local beer. The Allies liberated Belgium entirely on February 4th, 1945.
Belgian Beer
Burying The Dead
American soldiers happened across this American soldier’s grave. The Germans gave him a respectful burial, and the Americans then donned the unknown soldier’s grave with a wreath.
Burying The Dead
D-Day Scenes
After eventually making a successful advance and take-over of Normandy on D-Day, Allied soldiers take a rest. You can see surviving German soldiers being led away by American soldiers.
D-Day Scenes
Feeding Polar Bears
Soviet tank soldiers risk it all in the freezing cold. But it wasn’t the cold that they should have been afraid of – perhaps the polar bears seeking out food would have been more threatening.
Feeding Polar Bears
Finding The Humor
Even during the hardest times, soldiers found time for humor. Here you can see an American soldier doing an impression of the Nazi Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.
Finding The Humor
Flight Photographers
These photographers pose in front of an aircraft before splitting up to snap aerial photographs of the war. If it wasn’t for brave photographers like them, we would have missed out on a massive part of history.
Flight Photographers
German POWs
Today this plot of land in Nonant-le-Pin, France is part of a farmland. But on August 21st, 1944, it was the holding ground of German prisoners of war.
German POWs
Germany’s Railway Gun
This massive artillery gun was supposed to be a game-changer for Germany during World War II. This 1,350 ton weapon could travel on train tracks to attack targets as far as 47 km away. It shot a single round every 30 to 45 minutes.
Germany’s Railway Gun
The Railway Gun Captured
American soldiers proudly stand atop the “Schwerer Gustav” gun that they captured. When it came to new weaponry during World War II, the Germans constantly tried new and many times, effective, weapons.
The Railway Gun Captured
Getting Fit
Here you can see American soldiers working out and getting fit. The American Army did a massive call-up of soldiers as the war progressed.
Getting Fit
Gifts For Hitler
There are few things better than getting gifts on Easter. But these gifts, specially addressed to Adolf Hitler, were gifts he probably didn’t want.
Gifts For Hitler
Having Fun
These sailors are having themselves some fun aboard a ship. For the most-part, American and Allied soldiers in general, were in high spirits during the war.
Having Fun
Hitler In Paris
This infamous photograph shows Adolf Hitler accompanied by high-ranking Nazi officers in Paris. In the background you can see the Eiffel Tower.
Hitler In Paris
Napping Kitten
Aboard a US Naval ship, a sailor tends to a young kitten. The sailors set up a makeshift bed for the young animal.
Napping Kitten
Overcome With Anguish
A French man weeps with fear and anguish. This was the day that the Nazis marched into Paris, putting it under their control.
Overcome With Anguish
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese bomber planes attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack came as a surprise to the Americans, and it was this act that brought America into the war. 2,335 Americans lost their lives that day.
Pearl Harbor
Remote Controlled Tanks
British soldiers inspect “mini tanks” that the Germans created to attack tanks and other military personnel. Their aim was to drive by remote control and then explode in enemy territory. They didn’t prove successful was they were expensive and traveled very slowly.
Remote Controlled Tanks
Rescued
This breathtaking scene shows Jewish women and children exiting a train that was on the way to a death camp. The Allies liberated them and this photographer snapped the picture moments afterwards.
Rescued
Safe Children
With German bombardment on English cities becoming a constant occurrence, kids received gas masks as adults did. No-one was safe from the air raids.
Safe Children
The Australians
A typical Australian sense of humor is visible in this picture. The Australian troops put up this sign at the El Alamein road on the 14th of September, 1942.
The Australians
The Colonel
Some choose not to believe this story, but the story still stands. Hand-to-hand combat expert, Col. Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, supposedly ordered Marine trainees to try kill him with their bayonets. He disarmed all of them.
The Colonel
Time To Nap
A Royal Air Force pilot takes a moment’s rest in between flights. The dogfights that the Allies and Germans had were some of the most costly of the war.
Time To Nap
Unlikely Allies
After Hitler betrayed his peace treaty with Russia, the Russians took the Allies side. This photograph shows an American soldier and a Russian soldier together.
Unlikely Allies
War Umbrellas
When it rains, it pours, they say. These tanks rolled through the streets without a worry. It was only their crew members who had another idea to ward off the rain. It’s not everyday you see a tank with umbrellas.
War Umbrellas
Airborne
These men are part of the Airborne Division of the 295th Squadron of the RAF. This photo dates sometime in October 1942.
Airborne
After Effects
This young girl draws her own depiction of “home” after the war. She grew up in a concentration and this is how she depicted “home”.
After Effects
Another Comic
Here another American comic stands up to do an impression of Adolf Hitler for his friends. This is the Reichstag building – the Third Reich’s headquarters.
Another Comic
Approaching Omaha Beach
American soldiers wait patiently as their boat heads towards the shores of Omaha Beach. Many soldiers were killed even before they disembarked from the watercraft.
Approaching Omaha Beach
Arming The Planes
Women of the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) skillfully rearm a Hawker Hurricane plane before it heads out for more combat.
Arming The Planes
Avid Readers
Despite this London library being torn apart by a German bomb raid the prior evening, book enthusiasts still come to look for something to read.
Avid Readers
Battle Of Iwo Jima
This is one of the most iconic photographs of World War II. It shows American soldiers raising the American flag after eventually defeating the Japanese on the island of Iwo Jima. This flag sat on top of Mount Suribachi.
Battle Of Iwo Jima
Celebrating In Moscow
Here is a view of Red Square in Moscow, after the war came to an end. The photograph might not be in color, but you can clearly see what kind of celebrations took place.
Celebrating In Moscow
Dodging The Sniper
German snipers were generally very skilled and managed to disable enemies without detection. An American soldier runs behind the cover of a U.S. Sherman tank, trying to avoid a German sniper.
Dodging The Sniper
Exhausted
These American soldiers eventually enjoy a cup of coffee. They had just come from two days of straight fighting, without food and without any time to rest.
Exhausted
Flying Over Egypt
Just the fact that this image is in color makes it almost impossible to conceive. An Allied aircraft flies over the Pyramids in Egypt.
Flying Over Egypt
Hitler’s Death
Following the news of Hitler’s death, the German embassy in Sweden flew the German flag at half-mast. There are many conspiracies that Hitler did not in fact commit suicide.
Hitler’s Death
Haircuts In The Desert
A Canadian air force pilot gets himself a haircut in the desert of Tunisia. North Africa played an important part in World War II, and it was a theater for some of the most fierce fights of the war.
Haircuts In The Desert
Iconic Leader
This Russian lieutenant is the image of everything a leader should be. He stands with his pistol raised in the air, shouting for his soldiers to join him in an attack on a German front.
Iconic Leader
Inflatable Tanks
This might look like a regular tank, but it is far from it. The American Army created a “fake” division that included inflatable tanks and trucks with massive speakers. The purpose was to confuse and fool the Germans, which it did.
Inflatable Tanks
Left Behind
During the Holocaust, the Nazis didn’t just kill millions of Jews, they also robbed them. Here you can see thousands of wedding rings that were stolen from Jewish victims.
Left Behind
NYC Celebrations
This is what New York City looked like after the mass celebrations following the end of the Second World War. Many Americans were opposed to American involvement in the war, but many changed their feelings after the attack at Pearl Harbor.
NYC Celebrations
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth the second felt it was her duty to have a hand in the war. She worked as a driver and as a mechanic during World War II. She even practiced her shooting on the lawns of Buckingham Palace in the case of a Nazi invasion.
Queen Elizabeth
“Rip” The Rescue Dog
“Rip” the rescue dog, as he became affectionately known, helped the British following German air raids. He helped to locate victims after the attacks took place.
“Rip” The Rescue Dog
Star Struck
American soldiers rest in a tent following a German artillery attack. You can clearly see the holes in the tent’s material that the shrapnel burned through.
Star Struck
Sweethearts
Young Dutch girls walk hand-in-hand with Allied soldiers, accompanying them to a “dance”. Allied soldiers were welcomed into most liberated cities with glee and excitement.
Sweethearts
Taking Cover
Dutch citizens in the city of Amsterdam take cover behind light poles during German shooting. The populace was celebrating when the Germans opened fire indiscriminately.
Taking Cover
The Eagle’s Nest
American soldiers enjoy a short-lived celebration of conquest at the “Eagle’s Nest”. This was one of Adolf Hitler’s getaway locations where he would spend time with high-ranking officers, and his mistress.
The Eagle’s Nest
The Protector
A Muslim woman takes it upon herself to protect a Jewish woman. She did so by covering the Star of David on the Jewish woman’s coat.
The Protector
Young Scout
Soldiers came in the form of children during World War II. This 15-year-old teenager served as a scout for the Red Army.
Young Scout
Post D-Day
Following the massive storming of the five beaches on D-Day, these soldiers spend time recovering. The date is June 6th, 1944, and even though they’ve been patched up, the trauma that they experienced would live on within them for the rest of their lives.
Post D-Day
Disbelief
When the surprise attack by Japan rained down on Pearl Harbor, most servicemen couldn’t believe their eyes. These sailors watch in disbelief as the USS Shaw explodes into a massive fireball on December 7th, 1941.
Disbelief
Hell On Earth
If there was ever a picture that depicted the entrance to hell, this would be it. American soldiers race towards Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. These soldiers had to wade through the water as quickly as they could while Nazi guns fired on them incessantly.
Hell On Earth
Conforming Under Pressure
The day the Nazis marched into Czechoslovakia and assumed rule, was one of the most terrifying in history. This woman reluctantly salutes the infamous Nazi salute as she weeps uncontrollably.
Conforming Under Pressure
Fighting The Flames
It was a common occurrence that German bomber planes raided London and other cities during the night. This is the aftermath of one of those bombing attacks – firefighters douse the flames of another Luftwaffe raid victim in London.
Fighting The Flames
Messages To The Enemies
The idea wasn’t original, and neither was the sentiment. These American and Soviet soldiers happily scribble messages on bombs intended for their Nazi enemies.
Messages To The Enemies
Crash Landing
While cruising through the South Pacific on November 2nd, 1943, Ensign Byron M. Johnson crash landed his plane on the USS Enterprise. Incredibly he escaped without serious injury, as you can see him being helped by Lt. Walter L. Chewning, Jr.
Crash Landing
Getting The Talk
The days leading up to the Normandy invasion were some of the most stressful. Here is American General Dwight D. Eisenhower in England. He instructs paratroopers and gives them words of encouragement before they head off to breach the beaches.
Getting The Talk
Doing The Haka
As part of the British Empire, many soldiers from British colonies were called upon to fight in World War II. These Māori soldiers from New Zealand can be seen performing the “haka” – a traditional war cry. They’re in the Egyptian desert.
Doing The Haka
Realizing Defeat
The Battle of Kursk was one of the largest and most important battles of World War II. This German soldier had just been captured by the Soviets, which was part of the turning point on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.
Realizing Defeat
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Between April 19th and May 16th, 1943, a number of Polish Jews staged an uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. With a poor amount of smuggled arms, the uprising didn’t change much, other than the death and arrest of many Jewish residents.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Celebration And Love
There are a couple of photographs like this one, but they all portray the same message. After Japan surrendered to the Americans, the American population celebrated in New York City.
Celebration And Love
Homeless Women
These two women return to where their homes once stood, on February 11th, 1943. This followed another Luftwaffe air raid on the city of Newbury in England.
Homeless Women
Cloud Of Death
The Americans dropped the atomic bomb on two cities in Japan in August, 1945. This is a photograph take in Nagasaki only moments after the bomb was dropped on the city. The bombings would inevitably end World War II.
Cloud Of Death
Sole Survivor
At this site, a terrifying crime was committed by Nazi troops. The soldiers locked 643 French citizens in a church and then set it alight on June 10th, 1944. This boy, Roger Godfrin, was the only survivor of the massacre that killed men, women and children.
Sole Survivor
Fighting For Attention
This heartbreaking image shows a young boy clinging onto his father’s leg in 1944. The soldier managed to receive time off on Christmas to spend time with his family.
Fighting For Attention
Night In Gibraltar
A British plane prepares to return to England from Gibraltar. In the background you can see a flood of searchlights illuminating the sky.
Night In Gibraltar
Hitler Declares War On America
Following America’s declaration of war on Japan, Hitler declared war on the United States. This is the moment that he declared war, on December 11th, 1941, in the Reichstag building in Berlin.
Hitler Declares War On America
Desecration
More than a month after the American atomic bomb attacks on Japan, debris can be seen scattered in the streets. Among the rubble are some religious artifacts.
Desecration
Protecting The Seas
This young American soldier stands ready and proud behind a machine gun aboard a torpedo boat. The date was July 1943, and the location was near New Guinea.
Protecting The Seas
Liberating France
French tanks rolled into Paris on August 26th, 1944 after France was liberated by the Allies. Massive crowds flocked to the Champs Elysees.
Liberating France
Sitting Amongst The Carnage
Young children sit on the curb at the site of what was once their home in a suburb of London. The wreckage that surrounds them would soon become a common scene in England and in Germany.
Sitting Amongst The Carnage
The Crowds Gather
A breathtaking view of the French liberation can be seen best atop the Arc de Triomphe. Crowds swelled as they realized that the country was eventually freed from the grip of the Nazi machine.
The Crowds Gather
Flying Over Romania
Bombers of the U.S. Air Force cruise over the Romanian city of Ploiești on August 1st, 1943. They had just finished a bombing raid, and the photographer who snapped this photo was the only one out of the 16 other photographers to survive.
Flying Over Romania
Keeping It Formal
Doing things the way the British do, these two soldiers atop each of their own tanks, shake hands. The photo dates sometime in October 1942, in Tobruk, Libya.
Keeping It Formal