Second World War - Getty Images

Second World War

The Second World War, which started on 1 September 1939, was fought between two groups of countries: on one side were the Axis Powers (primarily Germany, Italy and Japan); and on the other side were the Allies (which included Britain, France, the Soviet Union, China and America, plus Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India). The war broke out when Germany, which was ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, invaded Poland in 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, on 3 September 1939. It has been estimated that more than 50 million people died in the Second World War, including an estimated six million Jewish people in the Nazi genocide. The conflict ended on 2 September 1945 when Japan formally surrendered to the Allies

Adolf Hitler, photographed from behind, stands on a raised platform overlooking thousands of troops arranged in formation at a Nazi rally in Dortmund.

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The Nazis fell in love with the Bayeux Tapestry – and there's a dark reason why. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The country house at war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American servicemen read copies of The Stars and Stripes carrying the headline “Hitler Dead”.

Second World War

The Soviets found proof of Hitler's death. So why did they hide it from the world?

Japanese troops and tanks cross a makeshift bridge during the invasion of Burma in 1942, passing an overturned British vehicle.

Second World War

This was one of the most brutal battles of WW2 – so why have you never heard of it?

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WW2's bloody battle for Arakan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A composite image shows German SS officer Gottlob Berger on the left and British officer George Lascelles on the right. Colditz Castle, where Lascelles was held as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, looms in the background.

Second World War

Hitler ordered my father’s death – but an SS general spared his life

Composite image showing a close-up portrait in the foreground and a red-tinted historical rocket on a launch platform in the background.

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In 1944, Hitler threatened London with a new "wonder weapon". How did resistance fighters race to stop him?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Adolf Hitler delivers a speech in Nazi Germany, c1936, raising a clenched fist as he addresses an audience.

Second World War

Did Hitler really shoot himself? Here's why the Führer's death is more complicated than you think

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Did Britain really 'keep calm and carry on' in WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Did the Catholic Church support Hitler?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Have we got ancient women's sexuality all wrong?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A pair of World War II‑era Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes fly in formation along a bright coastline. Below them, tall white chalk cliffs drop to turquoise water, with green fields stretching inland above the cliffs. The aircraft have elliptical wings, camouflage paint, and Royal Air Force roundels. The scene is clear and sunlit, evoking the historic defence of Britain.

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Did the Spitfire really save Britain in WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Secret life of the hotel. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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How WW2 transformed Asia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A historical workshop scene with three men working among stacks of rectangular metal bars. One man sits at a desk writing, another operates a large mechanical device with gears and levers, and a third stands nearby wearing an apron as if supervising. Metal ingots are piled on a wheeled cart and a wooden pallet in the foreground, and a tall stack of papers rises against the back wall.

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In WW2, Britain smuggled all of its gold to Canada. How on earth did they do it?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Episode 2Winston Churchill: How to use dynamism to beat the odds. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A mid‑20th‑century soldier stands outdoors in uniform, wearing a peaked cap with an insignia, a short‑sleeved shirt, and a belt. Behind him is a large, partly ruined stone building with empty window frames and patches of ivy, set in a rural landscape.

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He escaped the Nazis using only a knife and fork. This is his story. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Alan Turing's greatest achievement wasn't cracking Enigma. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hitler against a backdrop of stars and UFOs

Second World War

ConspiracyDid Hitler escape from his bunker and live in Argentina after WW2?

Two large battleships sit in coastal waters while tall plumes of water rise between them, suggesting incoming fire. Smoke drifts from the ship on the right, and hazy landforms appear in the distance under a muted sky.

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In 1940, Winston Churchill made a decision that may have won WW2. So why did it make him cry?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

It's a black and white image of a group of soldiers holding a swastika flag

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"Weimar's citizens cheered on Hitler": why the home of German democracy was easy prey for the Nazis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Adolf Hitler stands at a podium addressing the Reichstag while giving the Nazi salute. Senior Nazi officials and uniformed officers around him return the salute during the session in Berlin.

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This is the Nazi-era mistake that Putin wants the West to repeat. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large black‑and‑white mural of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” hangs on a gallery wall. The cubist painting shows a chaotic scene of human and animal figures in anguish — including a bull, a screaming horse, and a grieving mother holding a dead child — all rendered in fractured, overlapping shapes that convey the horror of war.

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"An ocean of pain and death": the horrific episode that inspired Picasso's Guernica. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Stealing the V2 rocket: Britain’s secret WW2 intelligence coup. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Churchill's toughest decision. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black-and-white portrait photograph of Winston Churchill in 1944. Wearing a dark overcoat, bow tie and broad-brimmed hat, the British prime minister looks to one side while standing among a crowd of blurred figures.

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Churchill’s evolving perspective on D-Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black-and-white photograph shows Squadron Leader Jimmie E Parker of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) seated indoors reading a newspaper announcing the D-Day landings. The headline “Invasion Begins!” dominates the front page, capturing the significance of the Allied assault as news of the operation spread around the world.

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The women’s work that made D-Day a success. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black-and-white photograph shows British troops wading through the surf towards the Normandy coast during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. Landing craft push through rough water beneath a dramatic, cloud-filled sky, while dark silhouettes in the foreground frame the scene and emphasise the scale and danger of the operation.

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The seaborne invasion: why we must remember the forgotten heroes of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Why did Hitler believe D-Day was a trick?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A person in a U.S. military uniform sits at a desk writing with a pencil, papers spread out in front of them as light falls through a nearby window.

Second World War

Who was the real Kay Summersby of Pressure?

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