Second
World War Encyclopaedia:
A comprehensive encyclopaedia of the Second World War. Each
entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The
text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the
encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people
and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the
student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization,
etc., that produced the material. So far there are sections on: Background
to the War; Nazi Germany, Chronology of the War, Political Leaders,
European Diplomacy, Major Offensives, British Military Leaders, USA
Military Leaders, German Military Leaders, Japanese Military Leaders,
The Armed Forces, The Air War, The Resistance, Scientists & Inventors,
War at Sea, Resistance in Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, War Artists,
Weapons and New Technology.
Second World War Online: The website uses the advantages of 21st century technology to bring to light personal histories from the War, in striking audio and video testimonies from war veterans, Blitz survivors, evacuees and Wrens. With hundreds of letters and photographs from archival sources being seen for the first time, the website provides a unique resource and a respectful tribute to the people of Northern Ireland who were affected in so many ways by the War. This online learning resource provides an interactive gateway to Northern Ireland’s experiences of the Second World War, with extensive museum and archive collections becoming more accessible to all generations, from school children to those who remember the War themselves.The website has the preservation of memory for future generations firmly at its heart. Its six specially-designed learning packages for schools cover topics such as the impact of the War on women in Northern Ireland, Irish neutrality, and the Holocaust and Northern Ireland - recognising the importance of the Second World War in the Northern Ireland curriculum.Developed by the Northern Ireland Museums Council and generously funded by the Big Lottery Fund, this site continues the work of the Imperial War Museum’s 2005 Their Past Your Future project, which marked the 60th anniversary of the end of the War. It has been made possible through partnership between museums, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, and other key players across the province.
The
Home Front:
The multiple award winning Learning Curve
has launched its latest piece of content. The Home Front: 1939-45
is designed to complement fully the History National Curriculum (Key
Stages 2-4). Students can take a multimedia journey through seven
different aspects the Second World War and make up their own mind
as to why it occurred and how it was fought. Along every step of the
way the student has unrivalled access to the original documentation,
gaining a real experience of 'making history'.
War
and Conflict: World War II: Another outstanding website produced
by the BBC. The material on the war can be accessed by topic, time
or people. The large collection of articles covers the Battle of Britain,
the Holocaust, the Blitz, Area Bombing, War in Russia, the Battle
of El Alamein, Allied PoWs, SOE, Emperor
Hirohito, Heinrich Himmler,
Battle of Arnhem, Home Guard, MI5, Monte Cassino, Evacuation, Adolf
Hitler and the role of Caribbean, Indian and African forces during
the war.
Women
and the Second World War: In
September 1943 the Special Operations Executive
(SOE) sent Pearl Witherington
into France where she became head of the Wrestler Network. Over the
next few months Witherington, one of the 39 female agents sent into
France during the war, helped organize over 1,500 members of the Maquis
against the German Army. This website illustrates the important role
played by women in the war and includes biographies of twenty secret
agents, twenty women involved in the anti-Nazi resistance movement
in Europe and twelve women who risked their lives as war reporters.
Violette
Szabo: After
hearing that her husband had been killed at El Alamein, Violette
Szabo, developed
a strong desire to get involved in the war effort and was recruited
to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The violette Szabo
Museum website tells the story of how she was parachuted into occupied
France to help the resistance. Szabo was captured and executed by
the Gestapo and was posthumously awarded the Croix
de Guerre and the George Cross.
George
Rarey's Sketchbook Journals:
George Rarey was drafted into the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and eventually
became a member of the 379 Fighter Squadron. Rarey was also a commercial
artist and until he was killed in France in 1944 kept a cartoon journal
of the daily life of the fighter pilots. This very impressive website,
produced by his son, includes George Rarey's drawings, with explanatory
text contributed by surviving members of the 379th Fighter Squadron.
The website also features excerpts from Rarey's letters and his wife's
memoirs.
U-boat
War 1939-1945: This website contains over 12,700 pages of information
on the U-boat War. This includes biographies of 1,411 U-boat commanders
and profiles of 1153 U-boats. Recent articles added include U-boat
Shipyards, U-boat Types, Donitz at Nuremberg, Sinking of SS Athenia,
German Saboteur Teams in the USA, U-boat Songs, Men Lost from U-boats,
German Torpedo Crisis, Operation Deadlight, Convoy Commodores and
U-boat Computer Simulations.
Winston
S. Churchill:
Maintained by the Churchill Center
in Washington, this website is devoted to the life and times of Winston
Churchill. The very detailed biography is organism into eight sections:
Youth (1874-1900), Young Statesman (1901-1914), The Challenge of War
(1914-16), The Stricken World (1917-1922), The Prophet of Truth (1923-1939),
Finest Hour (1939-1941), Road to Victory (1942-1945) and Never Despair
(1945-1965). Other sections include Debates about Churchill, Churchill's
Life: Day by Day, Churchill Facts and Frequently Asked Questions.
Deutsches
Afrika Korps : Paulo Henriques of Portugal has created this detailed
website on the Deutsches Afrika Korps during the Second World War.
As well as providing biographies and photographs of the leading commanders
there are also articles on the War in Africa, The Italian Army, Afrika
Korps History, Life in the Afrika Korps, Afrika Korps Units and Symbols,
Afrika Korps Uniforms, Afrika Korps Guns and Afrika Korps Songs.
World
War II Resources: A directory of primary source materials on all
aspects of the Second World War. It includes Peace and War, United
States Foreign Policy 1931-1941, a 421 page chronology with citations
to original source documents on the web. Other collections include
the British War Blue Book, Diplomatic Documents (papers relative to
the events and negotiations which preceded the opening of hostilities),
Nazi-Soviet Relations (documents from the archives of the German Foreign
Office) and the Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings.
Secret
Service in the Second World War:
A study of the secret service during the Second World War. Biographies
of forty agents and accounts of the Office
of Strategic Services (OSS), Special
Operations Executive (SOE) and the Prosper Network.
Each
entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The
text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the
encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people
and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the
student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization,
etc., that produced the material.
NZ
Fighter Pilots Museum: In 1945 New Zealand had a population of
under 1.5 million. During World War II this small country provided
(on a per capita basis) the largest number of aircrew (57,000) and
the largest number of fighter aces (94) of any country in the world.
It is a sad statement, also, that they contributed the largest number
of aircrew killed relative to population. The New Zealand Fighter
Pilots Museum is over eight years old. In that time over 165,000 visitors
from around the world have visited us to learn and be entertained.
In the four years since this site was launched, the number of visitors
to this website has surpassed twice that number.
Canadian
Air Aces and Heroes is a set of biographies on Canadians who distinguished
themselves in military aviation from WWI through WWII and Korea. Linked
with the biographies are technical pages on the aircraft they flew
and fought against. It is continually being updated and added to so
check back occasionally to see if anything new has been added.
War
Peace and Security Guide provides a comprehensive collection of
links to military resources. Produced by the Canadian Forces College
Information Resource Centre, the website includes sections on Armed
Forces of the World, Contemporary Conflicts, International Organizations,
International Relations, Military Art and Science, Military Biography,
Military History & Peace and Disarmament.
World War Pictures: This site features World War I propaganda and recruitment posters from various countries, alongside a number of photographs, including American colour shots from wwii. The website also features a number of the best known war poets, with poetry by the likes of Wilfred Owen and John McCrae and 20 official war artists with brief biographies and examples of their work.
Royal
Air Force: A website that celebrates the history of the RAF and
its pioneering role in the development of aviation, from its earliest
beginnings to the present day. The Time Line traces the history of
aviation and the Royal Air Force. It features many photographs and
illustrations as well as sound-bites and links which provide fuller
explanations of the major aircraft types, people and events of the
period. The Histories section provides material on the different Royal
Air Force units and stations.
A-Bomb
WWW Museum: This
website is produced by the A-bomb WWW Project is based in Hiroshima,
Japan. The authors, Mitsura Ohba and John Benson, state that their
main objective is to "provide the context for a constructive
discussion of what the world can learn from this event and why such
weapons of total destruction should never again be used". The
website includes sections entitled 'Voices of A-bomb Survivors' and
'Children of Hiroshima'.
Australia
in World War Two: During the Second World War more than 900,000
men and women served in the Australian armed forces. About 560,000
Australians served overseas, the majority of them with the Army, which
employed 482,690 personnel at its peak in April 1943. This website,
produced by Rosemary Horton, the librarian at Trinity College in East
Perth, provides a series of links to websites with detailed content
on Australia in World War Two.
Women
of the Special Operations Executive: This website, created in
1995, tells the story of the women who joined the Special Operations
Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. As the author points
out, the website "does not intend to glamorize or hero worship
the women - the work was far from glamorous - but to simply show the
intricate work they did, the extraordinary courage they showed and
the sacrifices they made."
Special
Operations Executive: This website tells the story behind the
role of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.
There are sections on Beginnings, Facts, Missions, Tools of the Trade,
Operatives, Myths and Legends, the SOE in the Far East and Picture
Gallery. The website is produced by Maurice A. Christie, whose father
worked at the SOE Laboratories that were to make and test some of
the first James Bond type Gadgets. He was later sent on a undercover
operation in Singapore.
Holocaust
Exhibition: Four years in the making, the Imperial War Museum's
Holocaust Exhibition uses historical material to tell the story of
the Nazis' persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during
the Second World War. The 1200 square metre historical display covers
two floors and brings to Britain for the first time rare and important
objects, some of them from former concentration and extermination
camp museums in Germany, Poland and the Ukraine. If you cannot get
to the exhibition in London some of the material is now available
from the Imperial War Museum website.
Canadian
Military Heritage Project: This website is dedicated to presenting
Canadian military history - the wars, uprisings and conflicts in which
Canadians participated. The goal of the project is to preserve the
records and memories of Canadians who served their country, and to
ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten. The website provides
historical background for each conflict, chronological timelines,
statistics, battles, weaponry, uniforms & equipment, famous Canadians,
biographies of soldiers, heroes and their stories, contributions of
women, other countries who participated, muster rolls for conflicts
before 1900, letters from soldiers at the front, music and poetry,
guest authors' submissions and links to other online resources.
Battle
of Britain: This
is probably the most comprehensive website available on the Internet
on the Battle of Britain. It includes a detailed account of every
days events from July 10th 1940 through to October 31st 1940, the
official period set down for the Battle of Britain. Included in this
account, are all the days events, weather conditions, the times of
enemy detection by radar and combat actions, quotations given by many
that took part, and historical accounts provided by many historians
and a full listing of all the R.A.F casualties for each day. The website
also has a Bulletin Board where you may post messages and ask questions.
Women
Come to the Front is a website devoted to women who worked as
journalists, photographers and broadcasters during the Second World
War. This includes articles such as War, Women and Opportunity and
Seeds of Change and biographies of Therese Bonney, Toni Frissell,
Clare Boothe Luce, Janet Flanner, Esther Bubley, Dorothea Lange and
May Craig. There is also a full list of accredited women correspondents
employed during the war.
Life
and Times of Winston Churchill:
The
most comprehensive website on Winston Churchill on the Internet. There
is a day by day account of his life and a complete list of books written
by Churchill. Other sections include Churchill's speeches and quotes,
Churchill trivia, debates about Churchill, and reviews of early books
by Churchill.
Bob
Baxter's Bomber Command: This website provides an overall and
concise view of the role of Bomber Command in World War II. At the
press of a button can be seen the memories of the men who flew in
the bombers, and the men on the ground who kept them flying night
after night. Three main targets in that nightmare of all bomber crews
'the Ruhr' of Germany are highlighted, along with aspects of those
dark and dangerous days and more than a glimpse of the impact and
dedication of Bomber Command and its crews. The web site also has
a typical airfield layout as it was in WWII. The
most famous and productive bomber of WWII, the Lancaster is fully
illustrated with photographs and text plus a very detailed photograph
of the Merlin engines that carried the bomber to and from the target
on countless occasions from 1942 to 1945.
Iwo
Jima: At the beginning of 1945 General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme
Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area, decided to try and
capture the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima that
at the time was being defended by 20,000 veterans of the Japanese
Special Naval Landing Force. On
19th February, American soldiers began landing on the island. Over
250,000 men and 900 ships were involved in this
amphibious operation under the command of Admiral Richmond Turner.
The main objective was to capture the island's three airstrips and
to to obtain a forward air base for the planned Allied attack on the
Japanese home territories. Of
the 23,000 Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima, only 216 were taken
alive. The American forces also suffered during the bitter fighting
on the island with 5,391 Marines killed and 17,400 wounded. This website
provides a detailed
account of the campaign.
Virtual
Chat with Adolf Hitler: In this innovative "artificial intelligence"
activity from Russel Tarr at ActiveHistory, users can type in questions
which Hitler answers. If you are stuck for a question, you can ask
the computer to suggest one from a variety of categories, and if Hitler
does not respond correctly it is possible to submit the question to
ActiveHistory so that his 'brain' can be updated. All people who contribute
in this way are given full recognition on a separate 'credits' page.
Lesson plans to make use of the resource in the classroom are also
provided, and this is an original and engaging way of learning about
Nazi Germany.
The
Niztor Project: A website dedicated to the millions of Holocaust
victims who suffered and died at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his
Nazi regime. Subjects covered include the Holocaust Camps, Nazi Conspiracy
and Aggression, The Nuremberg Trials, Techniques of Holocaust Denial,
Trial of Adolf Eichmann and Holocaust Revisionism.
D-Day
Letters: The D-day invasion began with a dangerous attack by American
paratroopers. Dropped behind enemy lines to soften up the German troops
and to secure needed targets, the paratroopers knew that if the accompanying
assault by sea failed - there would be no rescue. Departing from Portland
Bill on the English Coast, the 101st and 82nd US Airborne Divisions
were dropped on the Cherbourg Peninsula. From that point, the 101st
division was to secure the western end behind UTAH and head off an
eastern German advance. The 82nd, landing farther inland, was to seize
the bridges and halt an advance from the west. This PBS website contains
a collection of letters written by the paratroopers involved in this
action. The words of the soldiers relay the many emotions experienced
by the men who fought on D-day.
Second
World War Pillboxes: In the summer of 1940 a network of defences
was hastily built all over the British Isles to prevent an anticipated
German invasion. Sited at road junctions, canals and other strategic
points these constructions were called "pillboxes". If the
Battle of Britain had turned out differently our fathers or grandfathers
might have died in one defending the freedoms which many now take
for granted. This site attempts to show what remains today.
Douglas
MacArthur: No soldier in modern history has been more admired
- or more reviled than Douglas MacArthur. The liberator of the Philippines,
shogun of Occupied Japan, brilliant victor of the Battle of Inchon,
was an admired national hero when he was suddenly relieved of his
command. This PBS website concentrates on MacArthur in the Philippines
during the Second World War and his conflict with Harry S. Truman
in 1951.
World
War Remembered: People are a great resource - their memories can
unlock the past for us. World War Remembered is a Web site that publishes
personal accounts of the wars of the last century. Students and teachers
from the East Riding of Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, have collected
spoken and written memoirs from people who experienced war - in the
armed services, or as civilians. This site is growing, as more people
contribute - and this site can help preserve their stories for future
historians.
Battle
for Berlin: Stalin's attempt to take Berlin ahead of his allies
in 1945 led to the death of 70,000 Russian soldiers. This BBC website
follows historian Antony Beevor as he examined the conquering army's
conduct and unearthed evidence to suggest that Stalin's nuclear ambitions
may have driven him to take such military risks. Beevor's task was
awesome. There were tens of thousands of unexplored documents in the
Russian archives relevant to the Battle of Berlin. Would the new material
shed light on controversial issues such as the alleged mass rape of
German women by Red Army soldiers? Why did Stalin sacrifice the lives
of tens of thousands of his soldiers in order to be in Berlin before
the Americans?
Nazi
and East German Propaganda: Propaganda was central to Nazi Germany
and the postwar German Democratic Republic. The German Propaganda
Archive website maintained by Randall Bytwerk, includes both propaganda
itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists. The
goal is to help people understand the two great totalitarian systems
of the 20th Century by giving them access to the primary material.
The website includes speeches, posters, cartoons and photographs.
Battle
of Midway: In a three day battle between June 3-6, 1942 United
States land and carrier-based planes decisively repulsed a heavy Japanese
naval and air assault. Japanese casualties included loss of 275 planes,
four large carriers, two heavy cruisers, and three destroyers and
damage to three battleships and four cruisers. American losses included
one carrier, one destroyer and 150 planes. This website, produced
by the US Department of the Navy, provides an illustrated account
of this important battle.
London
At War: A comprehensive website on London during the Second World
War. The material is organized under four headings: Children and the
War (Winter 1939, Schools & Evacuation, Barbara Male, George Knott);
Air Raids (London Prepares, ARP, Civil Defence, An Incident, The Blitz);
Shelter (Going Underground, Eastenders, Westenders, Shelter Life,
Home Shelters, Rev. James Mackay); Women at War (Daily Life, Business
as Usual, Dig for Victory, Rationing, Spam and Spives).
Destruction
of Lidice: In 1942 Lidice, a village in Czechoslovakia, was the
scene of a violent reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
The village was razed to the ground and all its inhabitants murdered.
This is the official site of the Czech government dedicated to events
in Lidice. Produced in German, Czech and English it tells the story
of both the events of 1942 and efforts to commemorate the massacre.
Lidice
and Oradour: Remembering the Nazi Massacres: The 10th June marks
the anniversary of the Nazi massacres of 340 citizens of the Czech
village of Lidice in 1942 and 642 citizens of the French village of
Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944. Both villages were completely destroyed
by the SS, but for reasons of memorial neither was rebuilt on their
original site. At Lidice the visitor finds an empty valley with only
a low stone wall to mark the position of the barn where villagers
were shot. At Oradour the ruins have been carefully preserved to create
France's village martyr. This website, produced by the International
School of Toulouse, is an interesting example of how websites might
be used to support the learning of students undertaking history fieldwork.
Navajo
Code Talkers: Early
in 1942 Philip Johnson, met Major
General Clayton B. Vogel, the commanding general of Amphibious Corps,
Pacific Fleet, and suggested
that the U.S.
Marines used
the Navajo language as a secret code. Johnson,
who had grown up on an Navajo Reservation, argued that because
it of its complex syntax, tonal qualities and dialect, the Japanese
cryptographers would find it impossible to decipher. He also pointed
out that Navajo was not a written language and less than 30
non-Navajos understood
it. Vogel
was convinced by Johnson's arguments and it was decided to establish
a Navajo code programme at Camp Pendleton at Oceanside, California.
Over
the next three years over 400 Navajos agents were trained to use the
code and around 300 saw action in the field. Speaking Navajo and using
an additional code within that, they were able to convey information
and orders among Marine units and Navy warships and aircraft. This
website provides an overview of the subject plus links to other related
resources including a
Navajo Code Talker Lesson, a Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary, a Navajo
Code Cipher Simulation and the Windtalkers film.
Evacuation:
During World War II, children and those at risk were taken to places
of safety to protect them from bombs and war damage. The well-known
story of evacuation sees people evacuated from London to the countryside.
However, this doesn't tell the whole story. Some children were evacuated
to other British Dominions (countries that were part of the British
Empire) such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. In
this Public Record Office website students can investigate what happened
to a number of children who were evacuated to Canada by examining
official government documents and records.
Oradour-sur-Glane:
During the D-day landings in June, 1944, the Maquis
and other French Resistance groups rose up to help in the liberation
of their country. These
armed resistance groups were able to slow down the attempt by the
SS Panzer Division to get to the Normandy beaches. The German authorities
decided to carry out a revenge attack that would frighten the French
people into submission. On 10th June a group of SS soldiers led by
Major Adolf Diekmann entered Oradour-sur-Glane, a village in the Haute-Vienne
region of France. He ordered the execution of more than 600 men, women
and children before setting fire to the village. This website provides
a detailed account of this terrible war crime.
World
War II: Dave Depickere from Belgium has produced an interesting
website on the Second World War. On the site you have the following
sections: Battle Reports (information on battles, raids, generals);
The Battlefield Today (itineraries and pictures of the battlefields
in Europe); Fact or Myth (a look at controversial issues); The People's
War : (stories of how people lived and viewed the war) and Veterans
(stories of soldiers who fought in the great war and a place where
they can meet and search for comrades).
Military
Obituaries: A collection of obituaries of men who played a significant
role in the Second World War. The obituaries originally appeared in
the Daily Telegraph and The Times and includes figures such as Johnnie
Johnson, Leo Marks, Patrick Porteous, Geoffrey Page, Marcus Oliphant,
Charles Merritt, Vera Atkins, Thomas Ferebee, Jean Pierre Bloch, Harriet
Waddy, Telford Taylor and John Howard.
Katyn
Massacre: Katyn Forest is a wooded area near Gneizdovo village,
a short distance from Smolensk in Russia where, in 1940 on Stalin's
orders, the NKVD shot and buried over 4000 Polish service personnel
that had been taken prisoner when the Soviet Union invaded Poland
in September 1939. In 1943 the Nazis exhumed the Polish dead and blamed
the Soviets. In 1944, having retaken the Katyn area from the Nazis,
the Soviets exhumed the Polish dead again and blamed the Nazis. In
1989 Gorbachev admitted that the Soviet NKVD had executed the 25,700
Poles in Katyn. This website includes four articles on this terrible
tragedy.
Polish
Home Army: The division of Poland into two occupied zones, German
and Soviet, in 1939, did not break the will of the Polish people and
they continued to fight for freedom. In Warsaw, before the surrender,
a secret military organization was set up with the approval of the
Supreme Commander, who was already in Romania. General Michael Karszewicz-Tokarzewski
took command of what became known as the Polish Home Army. This website
provides a detailed account of Polish resistance during the Second
World War.
Warsaw
Uprising: As
the Red Army advanced into Poland during the summer of 1944, Soviet
contacts in Warsaw encouraged the underground Home Army, supported
by the exiled Polish government in London, to stage an uprising. Polish
resistance troops led by General Tadeusz Komorowski gained control
of the city. However, the Soviet Army reached the suburb of the city
but failed to give help to the insurgents, or allow the western Allies
to use Soviet air bases to airlift supplies to the Poles. On the 2nd
October the Poles were forced to surrender. This article by Tadeusz
Kondracki provides a detailed account of the Warsaw Uprising.
Polish
Resistance in the Second World War: The Polish Home Army was the
largest underground resistance army during the Second World war. 300,000
strong at its peak it is credited with supplying the Allies with constant
intelligence information about the eastern front, providing information
about the V-1 rocket in Peenemunde, the sending over to Britain of
the V-2 rocket, the sabotage and destruction of German supply trains
and communication centres. It carried out the war’s largest uprising
(the Warsaw Rising) which lasted 63 days.
45th
Infantry Division: The
45th Infantry Division was one of four National Guard Divisions activated
in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, foreseeing the possibility
of war on the horizon. The campaigns it fought in were Sicily, Naples-
Fogia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Central Europe, Ardennes
Alsace, and Rhineland. The World War II Recreation Association in
conjunction with BSA Venturing Crew 1941 have developed a website
to preserve the history of the 45th Infantry Division and the individual
Veterans who served in it.
Home
Front: During
the Second World War a school teacher in England was imprisoned for
"advancing defeatist theories" to his pupils. This
is one of the interesting facts included in this online simulation
on the Home Front. In the lesson the students have to imagine they
are living in Britain in December 1941. The students are the asked
to write a report on one aspect of government policy (evacuation,
rationing, refugees, etc.). Every student has to report back to the
class about the topic he or she has investigated. They then provide
a report on what has been happening in their assigned area since the
outbreak of the war. The student then has to make proposals about
the changes they would like to see in government policy. These proposals
are then discussed and voted on by the rest of the class.
Sisters
of Resistance: This PBS film chronicles the heroism and lifelong
friendships of four young non-Jewish women who were imprisoned in
concentration camps during the
Second World War for
their resistance to the Nazi occupation of France. On the accompanying
website you can follow
the lives of the four brave women highlighted in the film from just
before the war until liberation. You can also go deeper into the fascinating
stories of French Resistance heroes Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz,
Jacqueline Pery d'Alincourt, Anise Postel-Vinay and Germaine Tillion,
in this untold story of the Holocaust.
Dambusters:
Sixty year ago, On the night of May 16, 1943, the specially formed
617 Squadron flew 19 modified Lancaster bombers to Germany, on a mission
that was to become one of the most famous episodes of WWII, the Dambusters
raid. To mark the raids 60th anniversary, the National Archives retells
the story using original documents and images from its collection.
You can see, online for the very first time, Barnes Wallis concept
drawings for the 'bouncing bomb', 617 Squadron's log books of the
Dams raid, the first air reconnaissance photos of the successfully
breached Dams and many more fascinating historical records.
World
War II Memories: Krista Salter's website is dedicated to an English
father and Austrian mother and many others who were a part of the
Second World War. Do you have memories that you would like to share?
If so, please contact Krista Salter via the Feedback button. The website
also includes links and section aiming to help family and friends
find information on war veterans.
Lord
Haw-Haw: On 26th August 1939 William Joyce, the former Propaganda
Director of the British
Union of Fascists, left for Nazi Germany. Soon
after arriving in Berlin he found work with the German Radio Corporation
as an English language broadcaster. Joyce joined the 'German Calling'
programme and in September 1939 and as a result of a comment made
in the Daily Express, he acquired the name, Lord Haw-Haw. A
survey in January 1940 revealed that over a quarter of the British
population admitted listening to Joyce's broadcasts. This website
provides a brief biography of Joyce and contains extracts from his
broadcasts.
Warsaw
Diaries: It is estimated that around half a million people were
crammed into an area approximately 1.3 square miles in the Warsaw
Ghetto during the Second World War. Some 100,000 died from disease,
starvation and execution before the rest were transported to the death
camp of Treblinka in July 1942. Inmates of the ghetto feared that
the crimes committed against them would remain unknown to the outside
world. Halina Gorcewicz was one of those who recorded her experiences
and these can be found on this impressive website.
Nuremberg:
In early October 1945, the four prosecuting nations - the United States,
Great Britain, France and Russia - issued an indictment against 24
men and six organizations. The individual defendants were charged
not only with the systematic murder of millions of people, but also
with planning and carrying out the war in Europe. On November 20,
1945, twenty-one Nazi defendants filed into the dock at the Palace
of Justice in Nuremberg to stand trial for war crimes. This TV Court
Online website provides extensive details of what happened.
Oradour:
Early in the afternoon of 10th June 1944, the Waffen SS troops arrived
at the entrance to the village of Oradour in France and surrounded
it. The troops assembled the inhabitants in the village square. They
separated men, women and children. The men were executed in various
parts of the village (forge, barns, and garages). The soldiers also
killed at random in streets and houses, so that no witnesses would
remain. The women and children were massacred in the church where
they were shut in; the soldiers then tried to blow the church up with
explosives. There were 642 victims; less than 10% could be identified.
The Centre de la Mémoire website provides a detailed account
of one of the major atrocities of the Second World War.
London
at War: What was it like in London during the Second World War?
How did Londoners cope with the Blitz , the V1 flying bomb attacks,
food rationing and all the other hardships of war? What happened to
the children when London was in the front line of the battle against
Nazi Germany? This website looks at this and more in the first section
of a site dedicated exclusively to the history of London. Its four
sections - Air Raids, Daily Life, Children at war and Shelters - contain
photographs, paintings, posters, diaries, personal reflections and
local newsletters from and about the people of London.
Remembering
the Blitz: For those who lived through it, the Blitz is an event
that can never be forgotten. Large areas of London were entirely flattened
by bombing, 20,000 people were killed, and 1.4 million were made homeless.
This exclusively on-line exhibition includes photographs, memorabilia
and recorded memories drawn from the Museum's Oral History Archive.
In addition, for a period of 8 months, from 7 September 2000 to 11
May 2001 - exactly 60 years after the event - web visitors were invited
to send us their own recollections of the Blitz. Often poignant and
full of new insights, these memories now form an integral part of
the exhibition itself.
Westall's
War: At 11.12 pm on Saturday May 3rd 1941 the Air Raid Alert sounded
over North Shields. In the East End of the town, locals hurried as
usual to the air raid shelter beneath Wilkinson's lemonade factory
.At midnight, a single bomb from a lone German raider scored a direct
hit on the shelter. 103 people, many of them women and children were
killed. It was the worst bombing incident in north east England during
World War II. Robert
Westall, the award-winning author of The Machine Gunners, was a North
Shields schoolboy at the time. His father was an ARP warden in the
town. Westall used his wartime experiences as a backdrop to many of
his novels. Westall's War explores the Wilkinson's disaster using
quotations from the novels to introduce archival sources.
World
War II Plus 55: This award-winning web-page, hosted on the site
of the battleship USS Washington's reunion group, is a day-by-day
history of World War II. Begun as a weekly e-mail to entertain the
US Naval Antarctic Support Unit in New Zealand for the 55th anniversary
of World War II, it expanded like a fungus to its present size. Written
in a day-by-day, present-tense format, it is designed to convey the
war as it happened, with special emphasis placed on the experiences
of those who fought in the conflict.
The
People's War: A growing collection of personal accounts of the
Second World War is included on this BBC website. This includes How
a Russian Family Survived a German Labour Camp (Svetlana Ponkratova),
Burma, 1945 (Bill Hopkins), Memories of a Black British Serviceman
(Allan Wilmot), From Captivity to Freedom (Les Birch), The Royal Navy
on Omaha Beach (Kevan Elsby), Germans in Blackpool (Harry Gallagher),
Growing up in Wartime Essex (Christine Hacklett) and Boyhood at War
(James Cameron).
The
Home Guard: When the British and French armies were defeated in
France by the Germans in May 1940 the future looked very bad. Britain
was the last big country in Europe still fighting Hitler and faced
the real threat of an invasion from the Germans across the sea from
France. The British army had been badly weakened by the defeat in
France so the government quickly set up a volunteer army to make Britain
harder to invade. This was originally called the Local Defence Volunteers
but was later known as the Home Guard. It was sometimes nicknamed
'Dad's army' because it was made up of volunteers who were too old
to serve in the regular army. This excellent Public Record Office
website takes a close look at the activities of the Home Guard during
the Second World War.
Aerial
Reconnaissance in World War Two: During World War Two, aerial
reconnaissance was one of the key methods of obtaining intelligence
about the enemy and their activities. Photographs provided concrete
evidence - fast. Within hours of a reconnaissance sortie, the film
could be developed, printed and interpreted. Allied reconnaissance,
for the most part, was classified under two main headings: mapping
and damage assessment. Enemy activity was recorded and new installations
were located, so that accurate maps, to be used by the ground forces,
could be made. From damage assessment photographs, the exact moment
when a target that had been previously hit should be re-attacked could
be calculated, and the effectiveness of the enemy's rebuilding programme
could be assessed. This BBC website provides articles and photographs
of these activities.
Bombing
of Dresden: In 1945, Arthur Harris decided to create a firestorm
in the medieval city of Dresden. He considered it a good target as
it had not been attacked during the war and was virtually undefended
by anti-aircraft guns. The population of the city was now far greater
than the normal 650,000 due to the large numbers of refugees fleeing
from the advancing Red Army. On the 13th February 1945, 773 Avro Lancasters
bombed Dresden. During the next two days the USAAF sent over 527 heavy
bombers to follow up the RAF attack. Dresden was nearly totally destroyed.
As a result of the firestorm it was afterwards impossible to count
the number of victims. This website uses the words of Arthur Harris
and Winston Churchill to help explain why it was thought important
to destroy Dresden.
West
Africa and the Second World War: During the Second World War both
sides looked for support from other countries and peoples. Britain
was keen to keep the support of the colonies in her Empire. At the
same time Germany and her allies were keen to persuade the colonial
peoples of the British Empire to take the opportunity to gain their
independence. This would have weakened Britain and some of her allies
who also had empires, especially the Belgians, Dutch, and French.
This Learning Curve activity takes a look at the propaganda used in
this struggle for the minds of those people living in West Africa.
D-day
Exhibition: The Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 - Operation
Overlord - came after five years of war with Germany. It was the biggest
and most complex combined operation in history, involving co-operation
between the naval, air and ground forces on an unprecedented scale
and marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War. 2004
is the 60th anniversary of this landmark event and at the five branches
of the Imperial War Museum you can discover the fascinating stories
of the people involved, from generals and political leaders to soldiers
and civilians, through a series of special exhibitions and events.
Seuss
and the Second World War: Theodor Seuss Geisel was a life-long
cartoonist. He is mainly known for his children's books but for two
years, 1941-1943, he was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New
York newspaper PM, and for that journal he drew over 400 editorial
cartoons. The cartoons in this website are arranged in chronological
order, by year, by month, by day. These images are also browsable
by subject terms such as Hitler and Japan.
Essential
Pearl Harbor: This excellent website has been produced by Osprey,
the publishers of military books. It includes a detailed Encyclopedia
(over 400 entries), Eyewitness Accounts (sections of an award-winning
documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor), Sounds (radio broadcasts
on the attacks), Debate (controversies concerning the attack on Pearl
Harbor) and a Timeline (26th November to 11th December, 1941). There
are some excellent 3-D animated maps. Other sections looks at uniforms,
planes and ships.
D-Day:
On June 6 1944, the largest armada in history launched an assault
on the Normandy beaches. It was the decisive moment in the second
world war. So how did it feel to be there on that tumultuous day?
To mark the 60th anniversary of D-day, the Guardian has unearthed
a series of letters written home by the combatants. This website also
includes a dispatch from Martha Gellhorn, the American war correspondent
who joined the landings and several articles by David Woodward, the
Manchester Guardian war correspondent, who was one of three journalists
who were landed in France from the air.
Special
Operations Executive Obituaries: The SOE had many characters who
also went on to make a name for themselves after the war. This section
of the 64, Baker Street website contains the obituaries of some of
those individuals who served so bravely during the Second World War.
This includes Lise de Baissac, Walter Freud, T A Sandrock, Anthony
Simkins, Leo Marks, Derek Dodson, Peter Johnsen, Peter Wand-Tetley,
Paul Getty, Jim Davies, Arthur Knight, Hardy Amies, Geoffrey Gordon-Creed,
Gordon Nornable, John Bunting, Reginald Hibbert, Ole Lippmann, Arthur
Sclater, John Mott, Frederick Bradnum and Hugh Verity.
Camp
X Historical Society: This organization was established in recognition
of the courageous men and women who served in the British Security
Coordination (BSC), Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the Office
of Strategic Services (OSS) - those men and women who were trained
in subversive warfare and covert techniques, those who fought behind
enemy lines, who lived in the shadows, or who served at Camp X. The
Society, established in November 1998, is a registered not-for-profit
(charitable) Historical Society within the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The Society’s primary mandate is conducting research for the
purpose of documenting the Camp’s history, the conservation of
artifacts, and community education. The Society spends a considerable
amount of time and resources working with veteran agents and former
Camp X staff and instructors in an effort to document and catalogue
properly their experiences for historical research purposes and to
preserve the memory of the Camp for future generations.
BBC
D-Day: On 6 June, 1944, the Allies began the liberation of Europe
with the most daring seaborne invasion in history. Sixty years on,
you can commemorate D-day with the BBC. D-day features past and present;
audio/ video coverage of events. The website includes an article by
Duncan Anderson where he explains how meticulous planning, good luck
and sheer guts made D-day one of the greatest triumphs. There is also
an interactive game to play and all the details of the radio and television
programmes being broadcast to commemorate one of the most important
events in history.
D-day,
Normandy and Beyond: The main objective of this site is keeping
the memory alive of the sacrifice these brave men and women made when
liberating Europe. A feature of this site is the many personal photographs,
poems, letters, maps and stories contributed by the veterans themselves
to be preserved here for future generations. So far 134 unique eyewitness
accounts have been added to the website. Most of these accounts are
from American veterans but a growing number of soldiers from other
countries are adding their stories.
Normandy
1944: This is one of the Encyclopedia Britannica's online study
guides and contains a detailed account of the D-day landings by the
historian, John Keegan. It also includes vivid newsreel footage of
the landings and radio broadcasts such as the one made by Richard
Dimbleby in a Spitfire squadron over Normandy. The audio archive also
includes accounts by Ralph Crenshaw (crossing the Atlantic on LST
44) and a speech by General Bernard Montgomery. Special Exhibitions
are available: The Leaders and the Generals, Training, Fortress Europa
and Seven Soldiers in Normandy. There are also clips from several
documentaries including D-Day Remembered and Life in London.
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