World War l & II

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UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II

BAMBER BRIDGE, England (AP) — The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is proud of the blow it struck against racism in the U.S. military during World War II.

https://apnews.com/article/world-war-ii-black-troops-bamber-bridge-5ab0daff5ce9c316aa200cacc853d743?

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80 years after D-Day, a World War II veteran is getting married near beaches where US troops landed

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Harold Terens and his fiancee Jeanne Swerlin kissed and held hands like high school sweethearts as they discussed their upcoming wedding in France, a country the World War II veteran first visited as a 20-year-old U.S. Army Air Forces corporal shortly after D-Day.

https://apnews.com/article/dday-veteran-france-wedding-wwii-0b2b2ef68803b29d17f599d0af6f98d5?

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The Jewish Codebreakers of World War II

Many unsung heroes contributed to the Allies’ victory in World War II. Some of those heroes’ work was strictly classified. Among them were Jewish codebreakers who managed to decipher enemy communication, which was crucial to winning the war. They provided crucial information to the Allies and saved countless lives. With the passage of time, we are learning more about their role in winning the war.

https://aish.com/the-jewish-codebreakers-of-world-war-ii/?

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WWII survivors share haunting memories as France marks 80th anniversary of Nazi surrender

PARIS (AP) — As France prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazi surrender to Allied forces, survivors of World War II reflect on painful memories of fear, deprivation and persecution shaped by the German occupation of the country and the deportation of Jews and others to death camps.

https://apnews.com/article/wwii-ve-day-france-survivors-holocaust-d087601d86d43b1406e7cc4f6df96e59?

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Berlin still bears scars 80 years after pivotal battle that sealed the defeat of Nazi Germany

Central Berlin was in ruins after the Red Army completed the Allied victory over the Nazis in an intense fight for the German capital in May 1945. After decades of division, the city is now transformed, blending painstakingly restored buildings with modern architecture. But the scars of the past remain visible in many places. Read More.

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? Mapped: Living World War II vets

Data: Department of Veterans Affairs. (Projections, not an exact count.) Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios As the nation remembers D-Day's 81st anniversary today, a dwindling number of World War II veterans remain with us, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes. There were about 66,100 living WWII vets nationwide as of 2024, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs projections. Wally King, a 101-year-old former U.S. fighter pilot who flew 75 combat missions in World War II, and his granddaughter pay their respects at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Photo: John Leicester/AP Cities nationwide and abroad are holding events to commemorate today's anniversary. Festivals, commemorations and honorary paratrooper drops will be taking place across Normandy, France — the site of the 1944 landings that kicked off the Allies' liberation of Western Europe.

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80th Anniversary of Hiroshima

Today marks 80 years since the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The attack—the first military use of a nuclear bomb—precipitated the end of the US war with Japan and killed an estimated 140,000 people over several months (see photos).   On Aug. 6, 1945, US Col. Paul Tibbets flew a B-29 bomber from the island of Tinian to Hiroshima carrying a 9,700-pound uranium bomb nicknamed “Little Boy.” At about 8:15 am, the bomb detonated roughly 1,900 feet over the city center, sending surface temperatures above 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Then-President Harry Truman had agreed to bomb Hiroshima, which had a civilian population of 300,000 and about 43,000 soldiers, to convince Japan to surrender. See Tibbets’ reflections here (w/video). See survivors’ reflections here.   The US followed the Hiroshima bombing with an atomic bomb targeting Nagasaki three days later. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945. Learn more about the Manhattan Project via 1440 Topics here.

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Remembering Hiroshima

An aerial photograph of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after the "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped on Aug 6, 1945. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images Today marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan — an event that helped end World War II, but also killed tens to hundreds of thousands and left many more with radiation-induced illnesses. ☢️ Japan uses the anniversary to commemorate the lives of the Hibakusha (survivors of the bombing), and asks the world to heed the dangers of nuclear war. More photos.

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A Sequel to the Great War

World War II, explained World War II was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945, involving over 50 countries and 100 million mobilized military personnel. The war became the largest conflict in human history in terms of geographic scale (see contemporary maps) and human cost, with an estimated 70 million to 85  million fatalities—including over 50 million civilians.   The roots of World War II lie in the punitive 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which disarmed Germany, imposed steep reparations, and forced it to accept sole blame for World War I. As the Great Depression challenged the liberal democratic order, militant nationalist movements looking to expand their territories emerged: Benito Mussolini's fascism in Italy, Adolf Hitler's National Socialism (or Nazism) in Germany, and Imperial Japan.   World War II’s end launched the Cold War, pitting the United States against the Soviet Union and reshaping global geopolitics into competing ideological blocs. The war’s unprecedented destruction and the horror of Axis war crimes—most notably the Holocaust—sparked a moral imperative to prevent future atrocities. ... Read our full deep dive on the war here.   Also, check out ...  > The dozens of attempts on Adolf Hitler's life. (More) > Over 700 civilian "little ships" saved the British at Dunkirk. (More) > The Soviet "Night Witches" that terrorized the German front lines. (More)

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Japan pays tribute to more than 3 million war dead 80 years after its WWII surrender In a national ceremony Friday in Tokyo, about 4,500 officials and bereaved families and their descendants observed a moment of silence at noon, the time when the then-emperor's surrender speech began on Aug. 15, 1945. Read more.

Why this matters: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed remorse over the war, which he called a mistake, but did not mention Japan’s aggression across Asia or apologize.   Just a block away, dozens of Japanese right-wing politicians prayed at a shrine that honors convicted war criminals, among about 2.5 million war dead. Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Japan and China commemorate World War II anniversary on different dates   Powerful AP photos show the scars of a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing   Genshitsu Sen, Japanese tea master and former Kamikaze pilot trainee, dies at 102

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Some really interesting articles on and about World War II etc.

https://join1440.com/t/world-war-ii?

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Toxic ammunition is rotting away in the Baltic Sea. Germany wants to recover it before it’s too late

BOLTENHAGEN, Germany (AP) — Slowly, Dirk Schoenen dives down to a huge pile of ammunition from World War II at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. He removes some of the top pieces and carefully puts them into a basket, as a team of engineers, divers and seamen watch his every move on monitors streaming live video from a camera attached to his head.

https://apnews.com/article/germany-baltic-sea-ammunition-recovery-world-war-5ffc1f354b8b99ba280779cf1e9af2ae?