Second World War

As the Battle of Britain raged overhead, the nation’s women were urged to salvage metal for the war effort. But was it just propaganda?

Imperial Japan’s vast Asian empire became home to more than a million female settlers. Their voices are now being heard.

In the POW camps of the Second World War, soldiers found release – from the conditions and from the all-male company – in female impersonation.

Oral history breathes fresh life into a deadly battle of the Second World War.

The sinking by Japanese aircraft of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in December 1941 and the subsequent loss of Singapore was a grievous blow to British morale. But have historians misunderstood what really happened? 

The War Office’s map of cultural treasures in Rome, 1942.

The key to Germany’s imperial ambition, the North Sea island of Heligoland was transformed into a fortress. By the end of the Second World War, the dream lay in ruins.

The decree that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans was passed on 19 February 1942.

Salò was Mussolini’s German-backed experiment in ‘real Fascism’ and fine living. Italians find it hard to come to terms with its legacy.

Following the attack of 7 December 1941, many Japanese-Americans were guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of the US government.