Topic
Explore articles,web series, podcast episodes, live webinars and more from the Museum about the end of World War II.
The National WWII Museum pays tribute to the historic anniversaries, as well as the myriad servicemembers and Home Front workers who helped preserve freedom and democracy. Through an ongoing series of digital programming, the Museum will reflect on the legacy and meaning of the end of World War II, bringing audiences distance learning programs, articles, featured artifacts,podcasts, and video content featuring scholars, Museum historians and curators, and oral histories from the Museum’s collection. Learn with us wherever you are.
Quick Links
- Overview
- Featured Content
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sponsors
On May 8, 1945, World War II in Europe came to an end. As the news of Germany’s surrender reached the rest of the world, joyous crowds gathered to celebrate in the streets, clutching newspapers that declared Victory in Europe (V-E Day). Later that year, US President Harry S. Truman announced Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. The news spread quickly and celebrations erupted across the United States. On September 2, 1945, formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri, designating the day as the official Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day).
V-J Day was especially momentous—the gruesome and exhausting war was officially over—but the day was also bittersweet for the many Americans whose loved ones would not be returning home. “More than 400,000 Americans gave their lives to secure our nation’s freedom, and in the midst of exultation, there was recognition that the true meaning of the day was best represented by those who were not present to celebrate,” said Robert Citino, PhD, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at The National WWII Museum.
Seventy-sixyears later, The National WWII Museum will pay tribute to the historic anniversaries, as well as the myriad servicemembers and Home Front workers who helped preserve freedom and democracy.
Podcast
In the midst of history’s greatest war, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and died just 11 weeks into his fourth term."To the Best of My Ability"Season 1 isa nine-part podcast series that examines what happens in the wake of his death, pulling directly from the newly sworn-in President Harry S. Truman’s diaries, oral histories from the men and women who lived through it, and more. Join The National WWII Museum as we explore the tragedies, triumphs, and difficult choices made by one of history’s most unexpected leaders.
Learn More
Students
Bring The National WWII Museum into your classroom through our collection of distance learning programming!No matter your budget or level of technology, the Museum can connect with your students through interactive and dynamic Virtual Field Trips, webinars, and more.
Learn More Video Archive
TEACHERS
Explore essays, lesson plans, and multimedia resources exploring liberation and the legacy of World War II, connecting events like the Holocaust, the Nuremberg Trials, the Marshall Plan, and the founding of the United Nations to the world of today.
Featured Articles
-
Article Type
Article
Liberation and Legacy
Dr. Rob Citino highlightsthe moments of celebration, as well as realization of the repercussions that followed Allied victory and the end of World War II.
-
The Steep Price of Victory in Europe
As the world celebrated victory over Nazi Germany and the boys eventually did come home, the war they fought thousands of miles from American shores came home with them. It came home with them in their wounds, in their memories, in their daily life…in their nightmares.
-
Article Type
Article
"To Bear the Unbearable": Japan's Surrender, Part I
Japanese military leaders debated Japan's possible surrender up to the last moment. Emperor Hirohito's intervention was critical.
-
Article Type
Article
GIs in Germany: First Impressions of the Former Third Reich
By VE-Day, 1.6 million American soldiers stood on German soil. Their first months in the land of their former enemy were marked by a number of surprising observations and interactions.
-
Article Type
Article
"To Bear the Unbearable": Japan's Surrender, Part II
Although a decision to continue the war would mean national suicide, members of the Japanese military came close to refusing Emperor Hirohito’s surrender order.
-
Article Type
Article
Victory for the Lost: The Ultimate Sacrifice That Made V-E Day Possible
Monuments and fields of white crosses mark the cost of victory in Europe. Majestic today, the cemeteries were in a much different state 75 years ago.
-
Article Type
Article
The Most Fearsome Sight: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gaydropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
-
Article Type
Article
The Bombing of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945
The bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki with the Fat Man plutonium bomb device on August 9, 1945, caused terrible human devastation and helped end World War II.
Featured Video Content
-
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Leadership on the Home Front
Roosevelt's passing was a tremendous shock to the citizenry and the military serving overseas. Through his steady leadership, did the country ultimately emerge victorious.
-
Victory in Europe
World War II in Europe began in 1939 with Nazi Germany invading Poland.Through persistent efforts of teamwork and ingenuity the Allied powers were able to defeat Nazi Germany and free Europe.
-
I Am Not a Hunter…I Am A Killer: War on Their Soil
As the US Army moved into Germany in 1945, the months of bloody fighting had left a mark on each man.
-
The Most Fearsome Weapon: 1945 Okinawa Invasion
The Japanese, realizing that the War was nearly lost, turned to their most fearsome weapon in their attempts to stop the American advance: The Kamikaze.
-
Top Secret: The Final and Tragic Voyage of USS Indianapolis
Shortly after midnight, USS Indianapoliswas struck by two enemy torpedoes. The ship sank in 12 minutes. Over 900 of her crew abandoned ship and began to drift in the sea.
-
Unparalleled Innovation: The Final Card in the Pacific Theater
Advances in science and industrial capability during World War II brought forth new devices that would shape the face of the world for the next 75 years.
Where is the schedule of upcoming commemorations, ceremonies, and programs?
To view all webinars and digitalprogramming visit our events calendar.
How do I participate in a webinar?
The Museum’s webinars will be hosted on Zoom. You can access a Zoom webinar on your smart phone, tablet, or computer.
If you are watching for the first time on your smart phone or tablet, you will need to download the Zoom app from the app store on your device. The Zoom app is free to download. Once the app is downloaded, click the Zoom webinar link for the program you are interested in. It will then open the app, and you will enter the webinar room. You will need to provide your email address to participate in a webinar.
If you are participating in a Zoom webinar for the first time on a computer, Zoom will prompt you to download and run a bit of software. Once downloaded and installed, click the Zoom webinar link for the program you are interested in. It will then open the application and you will enter the webinar room. You will need to provide your email address to participate in a webinar.
See here for additional information:https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004954946-Joining-and-participating-in-a-webinar-attendee-
What if I miss a webinar?
All webinars are recorded and uploaded to the Museum’s YouTube Channel soon after premiering.
www.youtube.com/wwiimuseum
Theseries of digital programming commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II is made possible by The Nierenberg Family and Bank of America.
Related Content
Displaying 1 - 12 of 193 results
-
Article Type
Article
The Perils of Liberation: In the Crossfire Outside Stalag III-C
On January 31, 1945, American prisoners of war from Stalag III-C were caught, tragically, in a firefight between German guards and Soviet troops.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
Trinity: Why It Really Mattered
While most people are familiar with the names of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” as the atomic weapons used over Japan, what they may not be familiar with was how different the respective technologies of each bomb were and why this difference mattered.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
A Costly Failure: Patton’s Raid to Liberate Hammelburg
Allied intelligence believed that most captured American officers were being held at the Hammelburg prisoner of war camp, Oflag XIII-B. This population likely included Patton’s son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel John Waters, but there was no way to be sure.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
The Potsdam Conference
The Big three met at Potsdam, Germany, in the summer of 1945 to discuss the fate of the world after World War II.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
Okinawa: The Costs of Victory in the Last Battle
Victory in the largest battle of the Pacific War came 82 days after it began, and the costs were high.
Learn More
-
Event Recap
Victory in Europe: One Year Later
Join The National WWII Museum as we commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany and V-E Day by taking a look back at the events of the year after surrender and how they shaped the modern world with Dr. Rob Citino, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian and the Executive Director, The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
The Foundation of the Socialist Unity Party
On April 21, 1946, two political parties united, creating a single, dominant party in what became East Germany.
Learn More
-
Event Recap
American Liberators of the Holocaust
Join Museum educators to discuss the few Americans who saw the atrocities of the Holocaust with their own eyes.
Learn More
-
Event Recap
"World War II: Witnesses and Memory Liberators and Liberated"
Join us for an engaging roundtable discussion regarding the experiences of those who did the liberating and those who were liberated in Europe in 1945, and how institutions and scholars preserve and teach this history.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
Inauguration Day 1945: FDR's Ceremony at the White House
In what was described as a “homey little ceremony on the back porch of the White House,” Franklin Roosevelt entered into his fourth term as President with stoic optimism.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
Project Diana: To The Moon And Back
Most scholars date the beginning of the Space Race to the middle of the 1950s. However, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, both the US and USSR were already taking their first steps towards extra-planetary exploration.
Learn More
-
Article Type
Article
Coming To America: The War Brides Act of 1945
By the winter of 1945, millions of American military personnel were on the move, but they were not alone. More than 60,000 women wed by American servicemen during World War II hoped to leave their old homes behind and rejoin their husbands for a new life in the United States. However, for these “War Brides” restrictive American immigration policies posed a major challenge.
Learn More
