The Second World War was among the most destructive conflicts in human history; more than forty-six million soldiers and civilians perished, many in circumstances of prolonged and horrifying cruelty. During the 2,174 days of war between the German attack on Poland in September 1939 and the surrender of Japan in August 1945, by far the largest number of those killed, whether in battle or behind the lines, were unknown by name or face except to those few who knew or loved them; yet in many cases, perhaps also numbering in the millions, even those who might in later years have remembered a victim were themselves wiped out. Not only forty-six million lives, but the vibrant life and livelihood which they had inherited, and might have left to their descendants, were blotted out: a heritage of work and joy, of struggle and creativity, of learning, hopes and happiness, which no one would ever inherit or pass on.
“On the morning of March 7, American troops reached the River Rhine at the town of Remagen, whose inhabitants quickly hung out white flats to avert a conflict. … Disconnecting the charge, the American soldiers set off across the bridge. … By early evening, a hundred American soldiers had crossed the Rhine. The Western Allies now stood on the eastern bank of the Rhine. No enemy or invader had crossed the Rhine into Germany since Napoleon had done so in 1805.”
The Second World War, A Complete History
A history of the Second World War that covers all the war fronts, the fighting on land, at sea and in the air, the activities of resistance and partisan groups, espionage, secret intelligence, strategy and tactics, war leaders, generals, admirals and air marshals, individual acts of heroism on all the…
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The war that began with Japan’s renewed attack on China in 1937, and came to Europe two years later with the German invasion of Poland in 1939, spread ruthlessly to many nations and to every continent. It led to the loss of far greater military and civilian life than any…
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It was the most massive, complex, and spectacular amphibious assault ever attempted – the long – awaited turning point in the bloodiest and most savage war in history. But when 7,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft, and 150,000 troops converged on the coast of Normandy on 6 June 1944, the outcome of…
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The story of May 8, 1945, the day the Germans surrendered and the Second World War in Europe came to an end, is recounted through archival documentation woven together with the diary entries and letters of soldiers, sailors, and airmen, combatants and civilians, young and old, prisoners of war and…
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Book Club Choice July 2021 Published in The World in the Twentieth Century series, designed for schools, this slim volume covers all of the war fronts and includes tables showing the human cost of the war in terms of deaths, the industrial production in 1940, and a timetable covering the…
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A folder, designed for schools, containing a dozen facsimile documents including the front page of the News Chronicle of 13 September 1938 announcing Chamberlain’s meeting with Hitler, a statement signed by Chamberlain and Hitler, 30 September 1938, and a poster announcing the provision of gas helmets for babies in August…
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