Second World War

Jewish diamond merchants being searched at the Diamond Exchange, Amsterdam by order of the SS Devisenschutzkommando, 16 April 1942. Bart de Kok/Amsterdam City Archives OKBB00024000039.

Diamonds and the Holocaust

As Jewish lapidaries were held in Nazi concentration camps, diamond sales soared in the US. Both sides saw gemstones as integral to the war effort.

Marjorie Foster after becoming the first woman to win the King’s Prize for rifle shooting at Bisley, 20 July 1930. Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo.

Shots Fired: Marjorie Foster and Women at War

After winning the biggest shooting prize in the Empire, Marjorie Foster joined the new pantheon of women making sporting headlines. On the eve of the Second World War, she had a new target in her sights: the War Office.

British soldiers in the desert studying maps and terrain.

Men at War by Luke Turner review

A part-memoir, part-historical exploration of British Second World War masculinity and sexuality.

The Red Army storms Königsberg shortly before the collapse of the city on 9 April 1945. AFP/Getty Images.

The Battle of Königsberg

For the German military command, the citizens of East Prussia were not a concern; they were a weapon.

Civilian prisoners captured during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943.

Warsaw in Flames

The story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is typically one of defiance and bravery against the odds. But what of those unable to fight?

Joseph Stalin’s son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, following his capture, on a German airfield, 1941. Alamy.

The Death of Stalin’s Son

The death of Joseph Stalin’s son Yakov Dzhugashvili in a German concentration camp 80 years ago was kept a secret for decades.

Stairwell entrance of Bethnal Green Underground station, by Colin Tait, 29 October 1953 © TfL from the London Transport Museum collection.

A Perfect Storm

The Bethnal Green tube station disaster, 80 years on.

conscientious objector Sidney Spencer on his way to plead his case at Liverpool tribunal, 25 March 1941.

Object Lesson

The personal testimonies of conscientious objectors do not provide easy answers.

he Felix Dzerzhinsky tractor factory dispatches DT-54 tractors, 1930s.

The Unbreakable City

The Battle of Stalingrad began in August 1942, subjecting its residents to months of living hell. But few doubted that the city was worth defending; its significance to the Soviet project made it too important to abandon.