LibGuides: Primary Sources: World War II: General Information

Online Sources: World War II - Overview

The British Pathé War Archives "From the Boer War to the World Wars to the Cold War; Pathe News captured many of the most momentous events in 20th century war history . War Archives is a YouTube gold mine of military footage, including some wonderfully rare war reels too, all taken from the colossal archive British Pathe."
The Charles Overstreet Collection "Charles Overstreet is a long-time citizen of Flora with a passion for photography. During most of his eighty years, Mr. Overstreet has used his camera to record images of history. During World War II, as a member of the U. S. Army, 252nd Field Artillery Battalion, he captured over 700 images of life as a soldier and unique snapshots of events of the war. Note: Please be aware that there are images (some graphic) of the atrocities committed at Gardelegen, Germany in April 1945 in this collection." Collection provided by: Flora Public Library
Clandestine Photography Clandestine Photography during the German Occupation - A collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum "The photographs present an image of the effects of the German Occupation: starvation and deprivation, the persecution of the Jews, destruction and resistance. Some photographs became symbols of the distress people were enduring, whilst others long remained concealed from the general public. "
DigiBaeck - Leo Baeck Institute Archives "DigiBaeck is your gateway to LBI's digital collections, a growing treasury of artifacts that document the rich heritage of German-speaking Jewry in the modern era. DigiBaeck provides instant access to materials ranging from rare 16th century renaissance books to memoirs that document the experience of German-Jewish émigrés across the world in the 20th century."
Ephemeral Films Project: National Socialism in Austria A project to digitize films showing "ordinary life in Austria through the eyes of amateur filmmakers who recorded the Nazis taking power in 1938."
FBI Vault: World War II Files FBI files on various people from World War II.
Frank J. Davis World War II Photographs "Frank J. Davis’ front line photographs and images portray life during World War II, including images from Washington, DC; Italy; France; and Spain." Southern Methodist University’s Central University Libraries' DeGolyer Library Collection
HyperWar - A Hypertext History of WWII This site contains mostly public domain, english language materials. Divided into the various theaters of war. Also provides links to other related websites. Hosted by the ibiblio website, "a conservancy of freely available information, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. ibiblio.org is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill."
Illegal Pamphlets and Brochures Items are not in English - A collection of the NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies "Resistance in the Netherlands during the German occupation was offered on a large scale and in many different ways. One way was to produce, print and circulate illegal reading matter such as newspapers, pamphlets and brochures. The contents were often a reaction to topical events. At the same time, these publications encouraged people to commit acts of resistance or to ignore the regulations imposed by the occupier. The collection of the Memory of the Netherlands includes some 1,000 pamphlets (about 1,750 pages) and 300 illegal brochures (about 5,000 pages)."
Image Bank WW2 "The Image Bank WW2 is a cooperative project of the Dutch war and resistance museums, memorial centers, and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies. The image collections of these organizations are presented in the Image Bank. The Image Bank WW2 has a public face (the website) and a management environment (CMS). Via the website, the Image Bank WW2 offers a professional selection of digitized visual material about the Kingdom of the Netherlands before, during, and for a short period after the Second World War. The Image Bank’s management environment offers the participating organizations a modern and deficient instrument for rendering their collections of historic visual material publicly accessible via the internet."
Library of Congress - Web Guides - World War II Materials at the Library of Congress "World War II (1939-1945) was the largest international event of the twentieth century and one of the major turning points in U.S. and world history. In the six years between the invasion of Poland and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world was caught up in the most destructive war in history. Armed forces of more than seventeen million fought on the land, in the air, and on the sea. The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide and diverse selection of materials relating to this period."
Library of Congress: Images: World War, 1939-1945 6620 results containing "World War, 1939-1945"
Melvin C. Shaffer World War II Photographs "The Melvin C. Shaffer World War II Photographs and images depict the indigenous populations and local conditions of North Africa, Italy/Southern France, and Germany from the years 1943 to 1945. Included are 19 images of Mt. Vesuvius that depict the volcano before, during and after its eruption in 1944." Southern Methodist University’s Melvin C. Shaffer collection at Central University Libraries' DeGolyer Library.
Military Deaths by Country by Service Branch (ww2 by the numbers) World War II was a global conflict that involved numerous nations and resulted in immense human loss. This article aims to examine the death rates by service branch for the major belligerent nations, including Germany, Italy, Japan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We will explore the factors that contributed to varying death rates, such as the strategies employed, tactical operations, and national leadership.
Musmanno Collection -- Interrogations of Hitler Associates "Michael A. Musmanno was born April 7, 1897, in Stowe Township, Allegheny County, PA. In 1923, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and worked several years as an attoney. He served 4 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and, in 1932, he began his lifelong career as a jurist. In 1951, he became a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. During the World War II, Captain Musmanno served as naval aide to General Mark Clark, Fifth Army, during the Italian invasion. Musmanno led the U.S. investigation to determine if Adolf Hitler died at the end of the war. He served as a presiding judge at the Nuremberg War Crime trials and retired from active duty as a rear admiral.
National Archives - Digital Items - World War II 1–20 of 1,273,849 results for World War II in 4.46 seconds.
A People at War (National Archives) "This exhibit highlights the contributions of the thousands of Americans, both military and civilian, who served their country during World War II. Documents from the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis form the core of the exhibit."
PeriscopeFilm Periscope Film LLC's archive is one of the largest military film collections in private hands. It includes rare training, combat, recruiting and history films made by the U.S. Government from 1914 through the mid-1980s. Subjects include the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, Air Force, and civilian aviation, and conflicts from the Spanish-American War through WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Periscope Film also maintains the premiere library of WWII and Cold War U.S. Navy submarine...
Research Starters: Worldwide Deaths in World War II (The National WWII Museum) DEATHS BY COUNTRY due to World War II
A table of World War II casualties listed by nation. (DLPA) Primary Source Sets World War II’s Eastern Front: Operation Barbarossa A table of World War II casualties listed by nation.
The War (PBS) The website accompanying the PBS series includes interviews and images about various aspects of World War II.
War Posters 1940-1945 (National Library of the Netherlands) Posters were an important propaganda tool during World War II. The Germans gave a lot of care and attention to propagating the National Socialist message in occupied Holland by using colourful placards. Signs, walls and advertising pillars were plastered full of propaganda posters with loud slogans and gripping images that were supposed to influence public opinion. 5000 posters from the momentous war years of 1940-1945 can be viewed on this site. The subject matter is very diverse: German propaganda campaigns, Mussert and his NSB party, recruitment notices for the Waffen SS, instructions for protecting the population against air-raids, leisure activities and German death sentences. Mayors informed their citizens of new German measures. The underground used placards to encourage resistance. In Dutch Indonesia, the Japanese occupier circulated propaganda posters.
Witness: World War 2 Collection "More than 50 first-hand accounts of significant moments in WW2. Looking back at almost six years of global conflict, from Hiroshima to the Holocaust." From the BBC.
World War II - Documents (Illinois State Library) "This collection contains United States and Illinois government documents on subjects relating to World War II, including: rationing and conservation, women's work, civil defense, the Japanese interment, the development of the United Nations, and more." Collection provided by: Illinois State Library
World War II Documents (Avalon Project)
World War II Documents (paperless archives) World War II (1939-1945) was the largest international event of the twentieth century and one of the major turning points in U.S. and world history. On December 7, 1941, following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, after Germany and Italy declared war on it, the United States became fully engaged in the Second World War. In the six years between the invasion of Poland and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world was caught up in the most destructive war in history. Armed forces of more than seventeen million fought on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
World War II Documents Database
World War II Films (Ball State Library) The World War II Films digital collection consists of short films and news clips, primarily in black and white, documenting Allied operations and activities during WWII. In addition to footage of campaigns in Europe and in the Pacific, the films document activities on the homefront, including the efforts of African American colleges and farmers, the relocation and internment of Japanese civilians, and the victory garden program sponsored by the U.S. Office of Civilian Defense. The films are housed in Ball State University Libraries Educational Technology and Resources Collection.
World War II First Person Accounts, Letters Home, Diaries, & Journals Index List of websites pertaining to First Person Accounts.
World War II in Photos World War II photos from The Atlantic.
World War II News Broadcasts (audio files) This collection comes from a variety of different sources. Some of the broadcasts are short, just a few seconds worth of the news of the day. Other broadcasts are complete, such as World News Today, An Hour of National Sorrow, London After Dark, etc. Some broadcasts are in crystal clear quality, others are very, very poor, but are here for historical purposes until a better quality version is found.
World War II Operational Documents "During WW II the Command and General Staff Colleges primary mission was to train large numbers of captains and majors to be staff officers in battalions, brigades, divisions, and corps. To that end, the Army provided copies of documents produced by field units to the College. Operations orders, after action reports, intelligence analyses, logistics appraisals, and similar documents are in the CARL documents collection. Primary focus will be on documenting operations at the tactical and operational levels of warfare. "
World War II Photos - Military Records (National Archives) This is a representative sampling of photographs from World War II that can be found in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. For more information on materials from World War II visit our World War II Records page. Many images and other records can be located online in our National Archives Catalog.
World War II Primary Source Document Collection and the Pearl Harbor Archives Primary source documents relating to World War II and to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Hosted by the ibiblio website, "a conservancy of freely available information, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. ibiblio.org is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill."
World War II Records (National Archives) World War II records at the U.S. National Archives.
World War II Timeline (1939–1945) (Infoplease) The second world war, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was the deadliest conflict in world history. The war began in Europe, but soon expanded to involve North Africa, the Mediterranean region, The Asian Pacific, the Soviet Union, and even some countries in the Americas.
World War II Valor in the Pacific - Stories The site provides access to various oral histories and documents. - "World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Pearl Harbor is located in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on the island of Oahu in the State of Hawai'i. " The site provides access to various oral histories and documents.
World War Two Collection ( UNT Digital Library Collection) "The World War Two Collection contains materials that focus on the World War II era, 1939-1945, and the immediate postwar period of the late 1940s. In addition to materials that were actually created during the era, the collection may include modern studies and commemorative works about the era."
World War Two Newsmaps "The U.S. War Department published Newsmaps throughout the second World War. The names and configurations of the responsible sub-agencies changed several times during the war. Notes on many of the Newsmaps indicate that they were distributed by both the Army and the Navy. The World War Two Newsmaps Collection in the UNT Digital Library consists of a complete run of all five volumes of domestic Newsmaps. " UNT Digital Library
World War Two Newsmaps (University of North Texas) This Digital Collection contains over 200 digitize WW II Maps.
WWI & WWII Posters (University of British Columbia) Fifty nine posters, broadsides, and ephemera from World War I and II, published in Canada, Belgium, England, France, Germany, and the United States. The posters cover a variety of subjects including recruitment and enlisting, savings stamps, savings and victory bonds, women, agriculture, and munitions. They form part of the Rare Books and Special Collections Pamphlet Collection.
WWII Era Audio Recordings Broadcasts from the World War II years are available from the Internet Archives.
WWII Field Manuals The following are authentic archival copies of actual WWII Field Manuals, happily presented to you as PDF files. Actual download times will vary according to your internet connection.
WWII Photographs by J. Malan Heslop (BYU Library) Brigham Young University gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution of Sam Cowan and Richard and Nadene Oliver. J Malan Heslop, a young man of 21, was to leave a memorable record of the last nine months of World War II in Europe, from September 1944 through May 1945. The over 1350 photographs found in this digital collection, were scanned from the negatives, original prints, and slides, deposited by Heslop in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
WWII US Air Force Photos at Fold3 Photographs were taken by Heslop during his tour of duty in WWII as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corp, 167 Signal Photographic Company.

Book Sources: World War II - Overview

Click the title for location and availability information.

Campaign summaries of the Second World War. by United States Military Academy. Department of Military Art and Engineering. The campaign in Poland, 1939 : The German strategic plan ; Results ; Lessons from the Polish campaign -- The Soviet-Finnish War, 1939-40 : The Russian strategic plan ; Initial Russian objectives ; Operations ; Lessons from the Soviet-Finnish war -- The campaign in Norway : The German strategic plan ; Results ; Lessons from the Norwegian campaign ; Concurrent operations -- The campaign in the West, 1940 : Allied plans ; The German strategic plan ; Results ; Lessons from the campaign in the West ; The Battle of Britain (8 August -- 31 October, 1940) -- The Balkan campaign 1940-41: The Italo-Greek War (28 October -- 6 April, 1941) : The Italian strategic plan ; Results ; Concurrent operations -- The Balkan campaign 1940-41 (continued): Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece (6-20 April, 1941) : The German strategic plan ; Allied strategic plan ; Results ; Lessons of the campaign ; Concurrent operations -- The Balkan campaign 1940-41 (continued): The conquest of Crete (20-30 May, 1941): The German strategic plan ; Results ; Lessons of the campaign -- The war in North Africa : Graziani's advance, 13-16 September, 1940 ; First British offensive, December 1940 -- February, 1941 ; Rommel's first offensive, 24 March -- 14 March, 1941 ; Second British offensive (Battle of Salum), 15-17 June, 1941 ; Third British offensive, 18 November -- 17 January, 1942 ; Rommel's second offensive, January -- July, 1942 -- The German invasion of Russia : The German strategic plan ; Results ; Advance of the northern group of armies, June-September, 1941 ; Advance of the central group of armies, June-August, 1941 ; Advance of the southern group of armies, June-September, 1941 ; Reduction of the Kiev Salient, July-September, 1941 ; Resumption of the general advance, September-December, 1941 ; The Russian winter counteroffensive of 1941-2 ; The German offensive of 1942.
Call Number: View Online HathiTrust
Publication Date: 1943
D Day to VE Day, 1944-45 by Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. General Eisenhower's report on the invasion of Europe
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection D756 .A35 2000
ISBN: 0117024511
The Editorials of David Lawrence by David Lawrence v. 1. The era of the New Deal, 1933-1937.--v. 2. From peace to war, 1938-1941.--v. 3. The war years, 1941-1945.--v. 4. Reconstruction and the cold war, 1945-1953.--v. 5. The Eisenhower years, 1953-1961.--v. 6. The Kennedy--Johnson--Nixon years, 1961-1970.
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection E742 .L3
Events leading up to World War II Events leading up to World War II, chronological history, 1931-44, prepared by Legislative Reference Service
Call Number: View Online
Publication Date: 1944
Historical Encyclopedia of World War I by Outlet Book Company Staff; Random House Value Publishing Staff See volume 5 for primary sources
Call Number: Jupiter General Collection D740 .E5213 1984
ISBN: 0517431491
Publication Date: 1984-04-18
The Making of the Second World War by Anthony P. Adamthwaite Historical Problems: Atudies and Documents Series
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection D741 .A3
ISBN: 0049400517
Personal perspectives. World War II by Timothy C. Dowling (Editor) A compelling account of the personal experiences of groups who were affected by World War II, both on and off the battlefields. Personal Perspectives: World War II brings to life the experiences of specific segments of soldiers and civilians as they were affected by the conflict, capturing special characteristics of each group and the unique ways they experienced the war. Twelve essays written by top international scholars portray what it was really like to experience the war for groups ranging from marines, naval aviators, and liberators of concentration camps to prisoners of war, refugees, and women in factories. Of interest to both students and nonexperts, the book tells the stories of Japanese Americans forced into internment camps and African Americans who experienced intense discrimination, the call to activism, and opportunity in the armed forces. It offers the perspectives of Navajo "code talkers," diplomats like U.S. ambassador to Poland Anthony J. Biddle, who fled his post to avoid death, and scientists who worked on the Manhattan project, thereby introducing the most destructive form of warfare known to humanity.
Call Number: FAU Boca Raton Campus, Boca Raton General Collection ; D743 .P464 2005
ISBN: 9781851095759
Publication Date: 2005-09-27
Refugees and Rescue: The Diaries and Papers of James G. McDonald, 1935-1945 by James G. McDonald; Richard Breitman (Editor); Barbara McDonald Stewart (Editor); Severin Hochberg (Editor) From Germany to the Soviet Union: August 1935 -- Nuremberg laws: September 1935 -- Deterioration on all fronts: October 1935 -- How to resign? November 1935 -- Dramatic protest: December 1935 -- Aftermath: 1936-1937 -- Refugee politics and diplomacy: 1938 -- Toward war and catastrophe: 1939 -- Refugees as spies: 1940 -- Close relatives as hostages: 1941 -- Refuge in Latin America -- The war and the Holocaust: 1942-1945.
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection E748.M1475 A3 2009
ISBN: 0253353076
Toward the Peace. Documents. by United States
Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust
War Documents by United States
Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust
War Maps by Simon Goodenough World War II, from September 1939 to August 1945, air, sea, and land, battle by battle
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection G1038 .G66 1982
ISBN: 0312855842
World War II and its origins : a select annotated bibliography of books in English by Marty Bloomberg; Hans H. Weber
Call Number: FAU Boca Raton Campus, Boca Raton General Collection ; Z6207.W8 B58
ISBN: 0872870898
Publication Date: 1975-01-01
World War II Propaganda: Analyzing the Art of Persuasion during Wartime by David Welch "Gives the reader primary source examples of World War II propaganda, answering the need for the study of images that is necessary in today's history study" ABC-CLIO product description.
Call Number: View Online
ISBN: 1610696735
World War II reference library by George Feldman; Christine Slovey Vol. 1-2. Almanac: Background to war -- The beginning of the war in Europe -- The war expands -- Japan attacks and America goes to war -- The home front -- Europe under occupation -- The Holocaust -- The impact of total war -- The Allies and the Axis -- Turning points: the Allies begin to win the war -- The great invasion: Operation Overlord -- The defeat of Germany -- The war against Japan -- The defeat of Japan -- Spies and scientists -- Art, entertainment, and propaganda -- The world after the war. Vol. 3. Biographies: Frank Capra -- Neville Chamberlain -- Chiang Kai-Shek -- Winston Churchill -- Jacqueline Cochran -- Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. -- Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. -- Charles de Gaulle -- Dwight D. Eisenhower -- Hermann Goring -- Hirohito -- Adolf Hitler -- Oveta Culp Hobby -- Franz Jaggerstatter -- Fred T. Korematsu -- Douglas MacArthur -- George C. Marshall -- Bernard Montgomery -- Benito Mussolini -- The Navajo Code Talkers -- J. Robert Oppenheimer -- George S. Patton -- Ernie Pyle -- Jeannette Rankin -- Erwin Rommel -- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- Joseph Stalin -- Edith Stein -- Dorothy Thompson -- Hideki Tojo -- Harry S. Truman. Vol. 4. Primary sources: Intensification -- Winston Churchill -- Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt -- Adolf Hitler -- Herbert A. Werner -- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- Home front -- Catherine "Renee" Young Pike -- Jerry Stanley -- The human cost -- Ruth Minsky Sender -- Harry S. Truman -- Rodney Barker -- Ernie Pyle -- World War II nurses -- Breakthrough -- Veterans of D-Day -- Stephen E. Ambrose -- E. B. Sledge -- Harry S. Truman.
Call Number: View Online
ISBN: 9780787691868
Publication Date: 2004-03-01

Videos Sources: World War II - Overview

World War 2 in Color (Playlist)

World War 2: The Complete History (Playlist)

World War II - Full Documentary Series (Playlist) This fascinating and revealing series of 42 one-hour programs, documents all the political history and events leading up to the outbreak of war; and details all the major campaigns and battles fought on every front during the six year conflict. Presented by various well-known personalities including Max Bygraves, Richard Todd, Robert Hardy, the late Donald Pleasance ,and Dame Vera Lynn, this series of films, through archive film, exclusive interviews and personal recollections of War leaders such as Churchill, Field Marshall Montgomery provide a complete insight into the strategy, tactics, personnel, aircraft and operations during the conflict.

The Following Links are to videos from the FAU Libraries' Database Collection - You will be required to log in using your FAU Username and Password.

Alexander Street Press Video This link opens in a new window
ProQuest's Alexander Street Video contains Alexander Street's streaming video content. Subject matter spans across the curriculum —in literature; music; social and cultural history; film; the performing arts; religion; sociology; and other areas. This platform contains our owned collections and our subscription to Academic Video Online: Premium.

United Newsreels War Releases - National Archives (Alexander Street Press FAU collection) United States : United Newsreel Corp. Release 1 (June 4, 1942) through Release 212 (June 21, 1946).
World War II, 1939-1945 Channel (Alexander Street Press) World War II (often abbreviated to WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most global war in history; it directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. In a state of total war, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease and the only use of nuclear weapons in war. The Empire of Japan aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific and was already at war with the Republic of China in 1937, but the world war is generally said to have begun on 1 September 1939, the day of the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. The war continued primarily between the European Axis powers and the British Commonwealth, with campaigns in North Africa, East Africa, the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz bombing campaign, and the long Battle of the Atlantic. On 22 June 1941, the European Axis powers launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history, which trapped the Axis, most crucially the German Wehrmacht, into a war of attrition. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The European Axis powers quickly declared war on the United States in support of their Japanese ally. The Japanese conquests were perceived by many in Asia as liberation from Western dominance; as such, several armies from the conquered territories aided the Japanese. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, and Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and then, decisively, at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. In 1943, with a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy which brought about Italian surrender, and Allied victories in the Pacific, the Axis lost the initiative and was forced into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands. The war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of Japan to surrender under its terms, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August respectively. With an invasion of the Japanese archipelago imminent, the possibility of additional atomic bombings and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, Japan surrendered on 2 September 1945. Thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—became the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Africa and Asia began. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities and to create a common identity.
World War II (America in the 20th Century) - American History in Video Database While the United States chose a course of isolationism in the aftermath of World War I, escalating aggression in Europe and Asia threatened world stability. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was thrust into a conflict that would span the globe and trigger political, social and military repercussions that would resonate through the twentieth century.