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Some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II, both at home and abroad. They included the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force and defense industry. Women were critical to the war effort: Between 1940 and 1945, the age of "Rosie the Riveter," the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. World War II opened the door for women to work in more types of jobs than ever before, but with the return of male soldiers at war's end, women, especially married women, were once again pressured to return to a life at home, a prospect that, for thousands of American women, had shifted thanks to their wartime service.

Women in the Armed Forces in World War II

In addition to factory work and other home front jobs, approximately 350,000 women joined the Armed Services, serving at home and abroad. At the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and women's groups, and impressed by the British use of women in service, General George Marshall supported the idea of introducing a women's service branch into the Army. In May 1942, Congress instituted the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, later upgraded to the Women's Army Corps, which had full military status. Its members, known as WACs, worked in more than 200 non-combatant jobs stateside and in every theater of the war. By 1945, there were more than 100,000 WACs and 6,000 female officers. In the Navy, members of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) held the same status as naval reservists and provided support stateside. The Coast Guard and Marine Corps soon followed suit, though in smaller numbers.

Did you know? On March 10, 2010, nearly 70 years after they were disbanded, the Women Airforce Service Pilots received the Congressional Gold Medal.

One of the lesser-known roles women played in the war effort was provided by the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. These women, each of whom had already obtained their pilot's license prior to service, became the first women to fly American military aircraft. They ferried planes from factories to bases, transporting cargo and participating in simulation strafing and target missions, accumulating more than 60 million miles in flight distances and freeing thousands of male U.S. pilots for active duty in World War II. More than 1,000 WASPs served, and 38 of them lost their lives during the war. Considered civil service employees and without official military status, these fallen WASPs were granted no military honors or benefits, and it wasn't until 1977 that the WASPs received full military status. On March 10, 2010, at a ceremony in the Capitol, the WASPS received the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors. More than 200 former pilots attended the event, many wearing their World War II-era uniforms.

"Rosie the Riveter"

Though women had been joining the work force in greater numbers since the hardships of The Great Depression, the entry of the United States into World War II completely transformed the types of jobs open to women. Before the war, most working women were in traditionally female fields like nursing and teaching. Post- Pearl Harbor, women worked in a variety of positions previously closed to them, though the aviation industry saw the greatest increase in female workers. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry's total workforce (compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years). The munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as represented by the U.S. government's "Rosie the Riveter" propaganda campaign. Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious character, the strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women during World War II.

In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs, articles and even a Norman Rockwell-painted Saturday Evening Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force-and they did, in huge numbers. Though women were crucial to the war effort, their pay continued to lag far behind their male counterparts: Female workers rarely earned more than 50 percent of male wages.

Working Conditions For Women in World War II

With many fathers off fighting, mothers were faced with the burden of balancing childcare and work, and absenteeism became the symptom that caused factory owners-and the United States government-to finally acknowledge the issue. The Lanham Act or 1940 gave war-related government grants for childcare services in communities where defense production was a major industry. In 1942, Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in, encouraging her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to pass the Community Facilities Act, which led to the creation of the first U.S. government-sponsored childcare center. Roosevelt also urged for reforms like staggered working hours at factories to allow working mothers to go to grocery stores-stores that were often either closed or out of stock by the time women clocked out of work.

Not all women were treated equally in the workplace. African American women found that white women were not always welcoming at work-if they were even granted the same job opportunities in the first place-and were paid less than their white peers. Japanese American women fared even worse, as they were sent off to Japanese Internment Camps under Executive Order 9066.

Though women, as a whole, had access to more jobs than ever before, they were paid far less than men (roughly half, in most cases), and most found themselves pressured to relinquish jobs to the male soldiers returning home at war's end. But something had permanently shifted: World War II empowered women to seek new opportunities and fight for equal pay in the decades to come.

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Some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II, both at home and abroad. They included the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force and defense industry.

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American Women in World War II: On the Home Front and Beyond
American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives.

Reluctant to enter the war when it erupted in 1939, the United States quickly committed itself to total war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That commitment included utilizing all of America's assets-women included. The Axis powers, on the other hand, were slow to employ women in their war industries. Hitler derided Americans as degenerate for putting their women to work. The role of German women, he said, was to be good wives and mothers and to have more babies for the Third Reich.

When the war began, quickie marriages became the norm, as teenagers married their sweethearts before their men went overseas. As the men fought abroad, women on the Home Front worked in defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations, in addition to managing their households. In New Orleans, as the demand for public transportation grew, women even became streetcar "conductorettes" for the first time. When men left, women "became proficient cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands that were consistently upbeat." (Stephen Ambrose, D-Day, 488) Rosie the Riveter helped assure that the Allies would have the war materials they needed to defeat the Axis.

Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women's Army Corps), the Navy Women's Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps. General Eisenhower felt that he could not win the war without the aid of the women in uniform. "The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non of the invasion effort." (Ambrose, D-Day, 489)

Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets. Some women served near the front lines in the Army Nurse Corps, where 16 were killed as a result of direct enemy fire. Sixty-eight American service women were captured as POWs in the Philippines. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service, and 565 WACs in the Pacific Theater won combat decorations. Nurses were in Normandy on D-plus-four.

At the war's end, even though a majority of women surveyed reported wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home and by the downturn in demand for war materials. Women veterans encountered roadblocks when they tried to take advantage of benefit programs for veterans, like the G.I. Bill. The nation that needed their help in a time of crisis, it seems, was not yet ready for the greater social equality that would slowly come in the decades to follow.

The National WWII Museum recognizes the contribution that women played in the success of the Allied victory in World War II and explores that contribution in depth in its newest permanent exhibit,The Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George Brown Salute to the Home Front.

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History At a Glance: Women in World War II | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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American Women in World War II: On the Home Front and Beyond American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives.

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Preserving the Ghastly Inventory of Auschwitz (Published 2015)

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The aim of the foundation maintaining the site of the concentration camp is “to preserve authenticity.” It is a moral stance with specific curatorial challenges.

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On 27 January 1945 Soviet soldiers entered the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex in south-west Poland. The site had been evacuated by the Nazis just days earlier. Thus ended the largest mass murder in a single location in human history.

Precise numbers are still debated, but according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the German SS systematically killed at least 960,000 of the 1.1-1.3 million Jews deported to the camp. Other victims included approximately 74,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and at least 10,000 from other nationalities. More people died at Auschwitz than at any other Nazi concentration camp and probably than at any death camp in history.

The Soviet troops found grisly evidence of the horror. About 7,000 starving prisoners were found alive in the camp. Millions of items of clothing that once belonged to men, women and children were discovered along with 6,350kg of human hair. The Auschwitz museum holds more than 100,000 pairs of shoes, 12,000 kitchen utensils, 3,800 suitcases and 350 striped camp garments.

Pile of boots at Auschwitz concentration camp. Photograph: Geraint Lewis/Rex

The first Nazi base in Auschwitz, named after the nearby Silesian town of Oświęcim, was set up in May 1940, 37 miles west of Krakow. Now known as Auschwitz I, the site covered 40 square kilometres.

In January 1942, the Nazi party decided to roll out the "Final Solution". Camps dedicated solely to the extermination of Jews had been created before, but this was formalised by SS Lieutenant General Reinhard Heydrich in a speech at the Wannsee conference. The extermination camp Auschwitz II (or Auschwitz-Birkenau) was opened in the same year.

With its sections separated by barbed-wire fences, Auschwitz II had the largest prisoner population of any of the three main camps. In January 1942, the first chamber using lethal Zyklon B gas was built on the camp. This building was judged inadequate for killing on the scale the Nazis wanted, and four further chambers were built. These were used for systematic genocide right up until November 1944, two months before the camp was liberated.

Aerial view of Auschwitz-Birkenau

This is not the limit of the horrors of Auschwitz I. It was also the site of disturbing medical experimentation on Jewish and Roma prisoners, including castration, sterilisation and testing how they were affected by contagious diseases. The infamous "Angel of Death", SS captain Dr Josef Mengele, was one of the physicians practising here. His particular interest was experimenting on twins.

According to the numbers provided by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Auschwitz was the site of the most deaths (1.1 million) of any of the six dedicated extermination camps. By these estimates, Auschwitz was the site of at least one out of every six deaths during the Holocaust. The only camp with comparable figures was Treblinka in north-east Poland, where about 850,000 are thought to have died.

Children wearing concentration camp uniforms shortly after the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army on 27 January 1945. Photograph: SUB/AP

The third camp, Auschwitz III, also called Monowitz, was opened in October 1942. It was predominantly used as a base for imprisoned labourers working for the German chemical company IG Farben. According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial museum, an estimated 10,000 labourers are thought to have died there. Once they were judged incapable of work, most were killed with a phenol injection to the heart.

The SS began to evacuate the camp in mid-January 1945. About 60,000 prisoners were forced to march 30 miles westwards where they could board trains to other concentration camps. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates 15,000 died during the journey, with the Nazis killing anyone who fell behind.

More than 7,000 Nazi personnel are thought to have served at Auschwitz but just a few hundred have been prosecuted for the crimes committed there. The pursuit of justice has not ceased, with German justice officials saying on 2013 that there were 30 surviving Auschwitz officials who should face prosecution.

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Auschwitz: a short history of the largest mass murder site in human history

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On 27 January 1945 Soviet soldiers entered the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex in south-west Poland. The site had been evacuated by the Nazis just days earlier. Thus ended the largest mass murder in a single location in human history.

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The fortified walls, barbed wire, platforms, barracks, gallows, gas chambers and cremation ovens show the conditions within which the Nazi genocide took place in the former concentration and extermination camp of…

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Contents

1. Auschwitz: Genesis of Death Camps

2. Auschwitz: The Largest of the Death Camps

3. Auschwitz and Its Subdivisions

4. Life and Death in Auschwitz

5. Liberation of Auschwitz: 1945

6. Auschwitz Today

Auschwitz, also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, opened in 1940 and was the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps. Located in southern Poland, Auschwitz initially served as a detention center for political prisoners. However, it evolved into a network of camps where Jewish people and other perceived enemies of the Nazi state were exterminated, often in gas chambers, or used as slave labor. Some prisoners were also subjected to barbaric medical experiments led by Josef Mengele (1911-79). During World War II (1939-45), more than 1 million people, by some accounts, lost their lives at Auschwitz. In January 1945, with the Soviet army approaching, Nazi officials ordered the camp abandoned and sent an estimated 60,000 prisoners on a forced march to other locations. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they found thousands of emaciated detainees and piles of corpses left behind.

Auschwitz: Genesis of Death Camps

After the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, implemented a policy that came to be known as the "Final Solution." Hitler was determined not just to isolate Jews in Germany and countries annexed by the Nazis, subjecting them to dehumanizing regulations and random acts of violence. Instead, he became convinced that his "Jewish problem" would be solved only with the elimination of every Jew in his domain, along with artists, educators, Romas, communists, homosexuals, the mentally and physically handicapped and others deemed unfit for survival in Nazi Germany.

Did you know? In October 1944, a group of Auschwitz "Sonderkommando," young Jewish males responsible for removing corpses from crematoriums and gas chambers, staged a revolt. They assaulted their guards, using tools and makeshift explosives, and demolished a crematorium. All were apprehended and killed.

To complete this mission, Hitler ordered the construction of death camps. Unlike concentration camps, which had existed in Germany since 1933 and were detention centers for Jews, political prisoners and other perceived enemies of the Nazi state, death camps existed for the sole purpose of killing Jews and other "undesirables," in what became known as the Holocaust.
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January 27, 1945: "Surviving Auschwitz"
Auschwitz: The Largest of the Death Camps

Auschwitz, the largest and arguably the most notorious of all the Nazi death camps, opened in the spring of 1940. Its first commandant was Rudolf Höss (1900-47), who previously had helped run the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany. Auschwitz was located on a former military base outside Oswiecim, a town in southern Poland situated near Krakow, one of the country's largest cities. During the camp's construction, nearby factories were appropriated and all those living in the area were forcibly ejected from their homes, which were bulldozed by the Nazis.

Auschwitz originally was conceived as a concentration camp, to be used as a detention center for the many Polish citizens arrested after Germany annexed the country in 1939. These detainees included anti-Nazi activists, politicians, resistance members and luminaries from the cultural and scientific communities. Once Hitler's Final Solution became official Nazi policy, however, Auschwitz was deemed an ideal death camp locale. For one thing, it was situated near the center of all German-occupied countries on the European continent. For another, it was in close proximity to the string of rail lines used to transport detainees to the network of Nazi camps.

However, not all those arriving at Auschwitz were immediately exterminated. Those deemed fit to work were employed as slave labor in the production of munitions, synthetic rubber and other products considered essential to Germany's efforts in World War II.

Auschwitz and Its Subdivisions

At its peak of operation, Auschwitz consisted of several divisions. The original camp, known as Auschwitz I, housed between 15,000 and 20,000 political prisoners. Those entering its main gate were greeted with an infamous and ironic inscription: "Arbeit Macht Frei," or "Work Makes You Free."

Auschwitz II, located in the village of Birkenau, or Brzezinka, was constructed in 1941 on the order of Heinrich Himmler (1900-45), commander of the "Schutzstaffel" (or Select Guard/Protection Squad, more commonly known as the SS), which operated all Nazi concentration camps and death camps. Birkenau, the biggest of the Auschwitz facilities, could hold some 90,000 prisoners.

It also housed a group of bathhouses where countless people were gassed to death, and crematory ovens where bodies were burned. The majority of Auschwitz victims died at Birkenau. More than 40 smaller facilities, called subcamps, dotted the landscape and served as slave-labor camps. The largest of these subcamps, Monowitz, also known as Auschwitz III, began operating in 1942 and housed some 10,000 prisoners.

Life and Death in Auschwitz

By mid-1942, the majority of those being sent by the Nazis to Auschwitz were Jews. Upon arriving at the camp, detainees were examined by Nazi doctors. Those detainees considered unfit for work, including young children, the elderly, pregnant women and the infirm, were immediately ordered to take showers. However, the bathhouses to which they marched were disguised gas chambers. Once inside, the prisoners were exposed to Zyklon-B poison gas. Individuals marked as unfit for work were never officially registered as Auschwitz inmates. For this reason, it is impossible to calculate the number of lives lost in the camp.

For those prisoners who initially escaped the gas chambers, an undetermined number died from overwork, disease, insufficient nutrition or the daily struggle for survival in brutal living conditions. Arbitrary executions, torture and retribution happened daily in front of the other prisoners.
READ MORE: Horrors of Auschwitz: The Numbers Behind WWII's Deadliest Concentration Camp
Some Auschwitz prisoners were subjected to inhumane medical experimentation. The chief perpetrator of this barbaric research was Josef Mengele (1911-79), a German physician who began working at Auschwitz in 1943. Mengele, who came to be known as the "Angel of Death," performed a range of experiments on detainees. For example, in an effort to study eye color, he injected serum into the eyeballs of dozens of children, causing them excruciating pain. He also injected chloroform into the hearts of twins to determine if both siblings would die at the same time and in the same manner.

Liberation of Auschwitz: 1945

As 1944 came to a close and the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allied forces seemed certain, the Auschwitz commandants began destroying evidence of the horror that had taken place there. Buildings were torn down, blown up or set on fire, and records were destroyed.

In January 1945, as the Soviet army entered Krakow, the Germans ordered that Auschwitz be abandoned. Before the end of the month, in what came to be known as the Auschwitz death marches, an estimated 60,000 detainees, accompanied by Nazi guards, departed the camp and were forced to march to the Polish towns of Gliwice or Wodzislaw, some 30 miles away. Countless prisoners died during this process; those who made it to the sites were sent on trains to concentration camps in Germany.
READ MORE: The Shocking Liberation of Auschwitz: Soviets 'Knew Nothing' as They Approached
When the Soviet army entered Auschwitz on January 27, they found approximately 7,600 sick or emaciated detainees who had been left behind barbed wire. The liberators also discovered mounds of corpses, hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing and pairs of shoes and seven tons of human hair that had been shaved from detainees before their liquidation. According to some estimates, between 1.1 million to 1.5 million people, the vast majority of them Jews, died at Auschwitz during its years of operation. An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Poles perished at the camp, along with 19,000 to 20,000 Romas and smaller numbers of Soviet prisoners of war and other individuals.

Auschwitz Today

Today, Auschwitz is open to the public as the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. It tells the story of the largest mass murder site in history and acts as a reminder of the horrors of genocide.

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Auschwitz: Genesis of Death Camps Auschwitz: The Largest of the Death Camps Auschwitz and Its Subdivisions Life and Death in Auschwitz Liberation of Auschwitz: 1945 Auschwitz Today Auschwitz, also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, opened in 1940 and was the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps.

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It is estimated that the SS and police deported at least 1.3 million people to the Auschwitz camp complex between 1940 and 1945. Of these deportees, approximately 1.1 million people were murdered.

The best estimates of the number of victims at the Auschwitz camp complex, including the killing center at Auschwitz-Birkenau, between 1940 and 1945 are:

Jews (1,095,000 deported to Auschwitz, 960,000 died)

Non-Jewish Poles (140,000- 150,000 deported, 74,000 died)

Roma (Gypsies) (23,000 deported, 21,000 died)

Soviet prisoners of war (15,000 deported and died)

Other nationalities (25,000 deported, 10,000- 15,000 died)

During the Holocaust, concentration camp prisoners received tattoos only at one location, Auschwitz. Incoming prisoners were assigned a camp serial number which was sewn to their prison uniforms. Only those prisoners selected for work were issued serial numbers; those prisoners sent directly to the gas chambers were not registered and received no tattoos.

Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I, the main camp, was the first camp established near Oswiecim. Construction began in April 1940 in an abandoned Polish army barracks in a suburb of the city.

SS authorities continuously used prisoners for forced labor to expand the camp. During the first year of the camp's existence, the SS and police cleared a zone of approximately 40 square kilometers (15.44 square miles) as a "development zone" reserved for the exclusive use of the camp.

On May 20, 1940, the first prisoners arrived at Auschwitz. The transport consisted of some 30 German inmates, categorized as "professional criminals." The SS had selected them from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside of Berlin. Less than a month later, on June 14, German authorities in occupied Poland deported 728 Polish prisoners from a prison in Tarnow to Auschwitz. This was the first of many transports of Poles to the Auschwitz camp.

Like most German concentration camps, Auschwitz I was constructed for three purposes:

To incarcerate real and perceived enemies of the Nazi regime and the German occupation authorities in Poland for an indefinite period of time

To provide a supply of forced laborers for deployment in SS-owned construction-related enterprises (and, later, armaments and other war-related production)

To serve as a site to kill small, targeted groups of the population whose death was determined by the SS and police authorities to be essential to the security of Nazi Germany.

Like some concentration camps, Auschwitz I had a gas chamber and crematorium. Initially, SS engineers constructed an improvised gas chamber in the basement of the prison block, Block 11. Later a larger, permanent gas chamber was constructed as part of the original crematorium in a separate building outside the prisoner compound.

At Auschwitz I, SS physicians carried out in the hospital, Barrack (Block) 10. They conducted pseudoscientific research on infants, twins, and dwarfs, and performed forced sterilizations and castrations of adults. The best-known of these physicians was SS Captain Dr. medical experiments Josef .

When we think of the crimes of Nazi doctors, what comes to mind are their cruel and sometimes fatal experiments... Yet when we turn to the Nazi doctors' role in Auschwitz, it was not the experiments that were most significant. Rather, it was his participation in the killing process-indeed his supervision of Auschwitz mass murder from beginning to end. ¹

Between the medical-experiments barrack and the prison block (Block 11) stood the "Black Wall," where SS guards executed thousands of prisoners.

Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau)

Construction of Auschwitz II, or Auschwitz-Birkenau, began at Brzezinka in October 1941.

Of the three camps established near Oswiecim, the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp had the largest total prisoner population. It was divided into ten sections separated by electrified barbed-wire fences. Like Auschwitz I, it was patrolled by SS guards, including-after 1942-SS dog handlers.

The camp included sections for women; men; a family camp for Roma (Gypsies) deported from Germany, Austria, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; and a family camp for Jewish families deported from the Theresienstadt ghetto.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was also a killing center and played a central role in the German effort to kill the Jews of Europe. Around the beginning of September, 1941, the SS at Auschwitz I conducted the first tests of Zyklon B as a mass murder agent, using Soviet POWs and debilitated Polish prisoners as victims. The "success" of these experiments led to the construction of a chamber in the crematorium of Auschwitz I that, like the subsequent gas chambers at Auschwitz, used Zyklon B to murder victims. The first transports of Jewish men, women, and children sent to Auschwitz as part of the "final solution" were murdered in this gas chamber (Crematorium I) in February and March 1942.

During the first half of 1942, the Auschwitz SS moved the gassing operations to Auschwitz-Birkenau by converting two farmhouses just outside the camp's fence into gas chambers. Bunker I began operating in spring 1942, the larger Bunker II in mid-summer 1942.

These gassing facilities soon proved inadequate for the task of murdering the large numbers of Jewish deportees being sent to Auschwitz. Between March and June 1943, four large crematoria were built within Auschwitz-Birkenau, each with a gas chamber, a disrobing area, and crematory ovens. Gassings ceased at Bunkers I and II when Crematoria II through V began operating, although Bunker II was put back into operation during the deportation of Hungary's Jews in 1944. Gassing of newly arrived transports ceased at Auschwitz by early November 1944.

Jewish deportees arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau immediately underwent selection. The SS staff chose some of the able-bodied for forced labor and sent the rest directly to the gas chambers, which were disguised as shower installations to mislead the victims. The belongings of all deportees were confiscated and sorted in the "Kanada" (Canada) warehouse for shipment back to Germany. Canada symbolized wealth to the prisoners.

Deportations to Auschwitz

Trains arrived at Auschwitz frequently with transports of Jews from virtually every country in Europe occupied by or allied to Germany. These transports arrived from early 1942 to early November 1944. The approximate breakdown of deportations from individual countries:

With the deportations from Hungary , the role of Auschwitz-Birkenau in the German plan to murder the Jews of Europe achieved its highest effectiveness. Between late April and early July 1944, approximately 440,000 Jews were deported from Hungary. Of the nearly 426,000 Hungarian Jews deported to Auschwitz, approximately 320,000 of them were sent directly to the gas chambers in Auschwitz-Birkenau. They deployed approximately 110,000 at forced labor in the Auschwitz camp complex. The SS authorities transferred many of these Hungarian Jewish forced laborers within weeks of their arrival in Auschwitz to other concentration camps in Germany and Austria.

The Prisoner Revolt at Auschwitz

On October 7, 1944, several hundred prisoners assigned to Crematorium IV at Auschwitz-Birkenau rebelled after learning that they were going to be killed. During the uprising, the prisoners killed three guards and blew up the crematorium and adjacent gas chamber. The prisoners used explosives smuggled into the camp by Jewish women who had been assigned to forced labor in a nearby armaments factory.

The Germans crushed the revolt and killed almost all of the prisoners involved in the rebellion. The Jewish women who had smuggled the explosives into the camp were publicly hanged in early January 1945.

The Auschwitz SS stopped gassing newly arrived prisoners by early November 1944. On orders from Himmler, camp officials began dismantling the crematoria. The SS destroyed the remaining gassing installations as Soviet forces approached in January 1945.

Auschwitz III

Auschwitz III, also called Buna or Monowitz, was established in October 1942. It housed prisoners assigned to work at the Buna synthetic rubber works, located on the outskirts of the small village of Monowice.

In the spring of 1941, German conglomerate I.G. Farben established a factory in which its executives intended to exploit concentration camp labor to manufacture synthetic rubber and fuels. I.G. Farben invested more than 700 million Reichsmarks (about 2.8 million US dollars in 1941 terms) in Auschwitz III. From May 1941 until July 1942, the SS had transported prisoners from Auschwitz I to the "Buna Detachment," at first on foot and later by rail. (Between July and October 1942 there was a pause in transports, due to a typhus epidemic and quarantine.) With the construction of Auschwitz III in the autumn of 1942, prisoners deployed at Buna lived in Auschwitz III.

Auschwitz III also had a so-called Labor Education Camp for non-Jewish prisoners who were perceived to have violated German-imposed labor discipline.

Auschwitz Subcamps

Between 1942 and 1944, the SS authorities at Auschwitz established 44 subcamps. Some of them were established within the officially designated "development" zone, including Budy, Rajsko, Tschechowitz, Harmense, and Babitz. Others, such as Blechhammer, Gleiwitz, Althammer, Fürstengrube , Laurahuette, and Eintrachthuette were located in Upper Silesia north and west of the Vistula River. Some subcamps, such as Freudenthal and Bruenn (Brno), were located in Moravia.

In general, subcamps that produced or processed agricultural goods were administratively subordinate to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Subcamps whose prisoners were deployed at industrial and armaments production or in extractive industries (e.g., coal mining, quarry work) were administratively subordinate to Auschwitz-Monowitz. This division of administrative responsibility was formalized after November 1943.

Auschwitz inmates were employed on huge farms, including the experimental agricultural station at Rajsko. They were also forced to work in coal mines, in stone quarries, in fisheries, and especially in armaments industries such as the SS-owned German Equipment Works (established in 1941). Periodically, prisoners underwent selection. If the SS judged them too weak or sick to continue working, they were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and killed.

Prisoners selected for forced labor were registered and tattooed with identification numbers on their left arms in Auschwitz I. They were then assigned to forced labor at the main camp or elsewhere in the complex, including the subcamps.

Evacuation of Auschwitz and its Subcamps

In mid-January 1945, as Soviet forces approached the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, the SS began evacuating Auschwitz and its subcamps.

SS units forced nearly 60,000 prisoners to march west from the Auschwitz camp system. Thousands had been killed in the camps in the days before these death marches began.

Tens of thousands of prisoners, mostly Jews, were forced to march either northwest for 55 kilometers (approximately 30 miles) to Gliwice (Gleiwitz) or due west for 63 kilometers (approximately 35 miles) to Wodzislaw (Loslau) in the western part of Upper Silesia. Those forced to march northwest were joined by prisoners from subcamps in East Upper Silesia, such as Bismarckhuette, Althammer, and Hindenburg. Those forced to march due west were joined by inmates from the subcamps to the south of Auschwitz, such as Jawischowitz, Tschechowitz, and Golleschau.

SS guards shot anyone who fell behind or could not continue. Prisoners also suffered from the cold weather, starvation, and exposure on these marches. At least 3,000 prisoners died on route to Gliwice alone. Possibly as many as 15,000 prisoners died during the evacuation marches from Auschwitz and the subcamps.

Upon arrival in Gliwice and Wodzislaw, the prisoners were put on unheated freight trains and transported to concentration camps in Germany, particularly to Flossenbürg , Sachsenhausen , Gross-Rosen , Buchenwald , Dachau , and also to Mauthausen in Austria. The rail journey lasted for days. Without food, water, shelter, or blankets, many prisoners did not survive the transport.

In late January 1945, SS and police officials forced 4,000 prisoners to evacuate Blechhammer on foot. Blechhammer was a subcamp of Auschwitz-Monowitz. The SS murdered about 800 prisoners during the march to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. SS officials also killed as many as 200 prisoners left behind in Blechhammer as a result of illness or unsuccessful attempts to hide. After a brief delay, the SS transported around 3,000 Blechhammer prisoners from Gross-Rosen to the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.

The Liberation of Auschwitz

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz and liberated more than six thousand prisoners, most of whom were ill and dying.

Last Edited: Mar 16, 2015

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It is estimated that the SS and police deported at least 1.3 million people to the Auschwitz camp complex between 1940 and 1945. Of these deportees, approximately 1.1 million people were murdered.

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KL Auschwitz-Birkenau

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Shoah. It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz.

The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was the fact that mass arrests of Poles were increasing beyond the capacity of existing "local" prisons. The first transport of Poles reached KL Auschwitz from Tarnów prison on June 14, 1940. Initially, Auschwitz was to be one more concentration camp of the type that the Nazis had been setting up since the early 1930s. It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when, beginning in 1942, it also became the largest of the extermination centers where the "Endlösung der Judenfrage" (the final solution to the Jewish question - the Nazi plan to murder European Jews) was carried out.

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APPEAL

Let us build memory! Donate any documents and other historical items in your possession to the Auschwitz Memorial

Memory is not something that is acquired once and stays on forever. The moment that the last eyewitnesses and survivors pass away, we have to work together to build on that which remains: the testimonies of those former prisoners and the authentic artifacts connected with Auschwitz. Each item can have its own enormous meaning and should find its place in the collection of the Auschwitz Memorial. Here, it will be preserved, studied, and displayed. Its place is here.

ELŻBIETA CAJZER - DZIAŁ ZBIORÓW

THE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION ON FORMER PRISONERS

THE DATA BASE WITH PARTLY PRESENTED DATA ABOUT AUSCHWITZ PRISONER

"On Auschwitz" podcast

The official podcast of the Auschwitz Memorial. The history of Auschwitz is exceptionally complex. It combined two functions: a concentration camp and an extermination center. Nazi Germany persecuted various groups of people there, and the camp complex continually expanded and transformed itself. In the podcast "On Auschwitz," we discuss the details of the history of the camp as well as our contemporary memory of this important and special place.

All our podcasts: auschwitz.org/podcasts

Recent podcast:

On-line lessons

A visit to the authentic Memorial Site is a unique educational experience. However, people who do not have the ability to visit the former concentration camp of Auschwitz now have the opportunity to become acquainted with its history through education conducted via the Internet. See our online lessons here: lesson.auschwitz.org.

Poles in Auschwitz

After the liquidation of the Polish state and its institutions, the fundamental goal of German policy in occupied Poland was the exploitation of material and labor resources, and the removal of the local Polish population and ethnic minorities. This was done through expulsion and systematic extermination. The Polish lands were to be completely germanized, through German settlement in the depopulated area.

The first transport of Poles, 728 political prisoners, deported by Germans from Tarnów prison, reached the Auschwitz camp on June 14, 1940. This is why the Polish Parliament instituted June 14 the National Remembrance Day of the Victims of German Nazi Concentration Camps and Extermination Camps.

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Jews in Auschwitz

Until early 1942, the Nazis deported to Auschwitz only a relatively small number of Jews, who were sent there along with the non-Jewish prisoners, mostly Poles, who accounted for the majority of the camp population until mid-1942.

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All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Shoah. It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz.

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Manhattan Project | Definition, Scientists, Timeline, Locations, Facts, & Significance

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Manhattan Project, U.S. government research project (1942–45) that produced the first atomic bombs. The project’s name was derived from its initial location at Columbia University, where much of the early research was done. The first bomb was exploded in a test at Alamogordo air base in southern New Mexico on July 16, 1945.

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In 1939, the U.S. discovered that the Nazis were developing a weapon of unprecedented destructive power and began a top-secret project led by Robert Oppenheimer to beat them to it: The Manhatten Project.

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The immense destructive power of atomic weapons derives from a sudden release of energy produced by splitting the nuclei of the fissile elements making up the bombs' core. The U.S. developed two types of atomic bombs during the Second World War. The first, Little Boy, was a gun-type weapon with a uranium core. Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. The second weapon, dropped on Nagasaki, was called Fat Man and was an implosion-type device with a plutonium core.

Fission

The isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 were selected by the atomic scientists because they readily undergo fission. Fission occurs when a neutron strikes the nucleus of either isotope, splitting the nucleus into fragments and releasing a tremendous amount of energy. The fission process becomes self-sustaining as neutrons produced by the splitting of atom strike nearby nuclei and produce more fission. This is known as a chain reaction and is what causes an atomic explosion.

When a uranium-235 atom absorbs a neutron and fissions into two new atoms, it releases three new neutrons and some binding energy. Two neutrons do not continue the reaction because they are lost or absorbed by a uranium-238 atom. However, one neutron does collide with an atom of uranium-235, which then fissions and releases two neutrons and some binding energy. Both of those neutrons collide with uranium-235 atoms, each of which fission and release between one and three neutrons, and so on. This causes a nuclear chain reaction. For more on this topic, see Nuclear Fission.

Criticality

In order to detonate an atomic weapon, you need a critical mass of fissionable material. This means you need enough U-235 or Pu-239 to ensure that neutrons released by fission will strike another nucleus, thus producing a chain reaction. The more fissionable material you have, the greater the odds that such an event will occur. Critical mass is defined as the amount of material at which a neutron produced by a fission process will, on average, create another fission event.

The Difference Between the Bombs

Little Boy and Fat Man utilized different elements and completely separate methods of construction in order to function as nuclear weapons. Little Boy detonated due to a fission chain reaction involving the isotope U-235 of uranium, while Fat Man used plutonium's Pu-239 form.

Little Boy

Little Boy was powered by the uranium isotope U-235 in a process that didn't come easily to the many Manhattan Project scientists working on the uranium extraction and enrichment process. Most uranium found naturally in the world exists as uranium-238, leaving only 0.7% of naturally existing uranium as the U-235 isotope. When a neutron bombards U-238, the isotope often captures the neutron to become U-239, failing to fission, and thus failing to instigate a chain reaction that would detonate a bomb. The first challenge of the project was thus to determine the most efficient way to separate and purify uranium-235 from the overly-abundant uranium-238 - standard methods of separation could not be used due to the strong chemical similarity between the two isotopes. In order to avoid wasting time on one new method that could later prove insufficient to produce enough U-235 to allow the atomic bomb to reach critical mass, General Leslie Groves consulted with lead scientists of the project and agreed to investigate simultaneously four separate methods of separating and purifying the uranium-235: gaseous diffusion, centrifuge, electromagnetic separation and liquid thermal diffusion.

Once enough U-235 was obtained to power the bomb, Little Boy was constructed using a gun-type design that fired one amount of U-235 at another to combine the two masses. This combination created a critical mass that set off a fission chain reaction to eventually detonate the bomb. The two masses of U-235 had to combine with one another quickly enough to avoid the spontaneous fission of the atoms, which would cause the bomb to fizzle, and thus fail to explode.

Fat Man

Powered by plutonium, Fat Man could not use the same gun-type design that allowed Little Boy to explode effectively - the form of plutonium collected from the nuclear reactors at Hanford, WA for the bomb would not allow for this strategy. The Hanford plutonium emerged from the reactors less pure than the initial plutonium extracted from Ernest O. Lawrence's Berkeley Lab, instead containing traces of isotope plutonium-240, as opposed to the desired plutonium-239. Plutonium-240's higher fission rate would cause the atoms to undergo spontaneous fission before the gun-type design could bring two masses of plutonium together, which would lower the energy involved in the actual detonation of the bomb.

Thus, a new design was required. Physicist Seth Neddermeyer at Los Alamos constructed a design for the plutonium bomb that used conventional explosives around a central plutonium mass to quickly squeeze and consolidate the plutonium, increasing the pressure and density of the substance. An increased density allowed the plutonium to reach its critical mass, firing neutrons and allowing the fission chain reaction to proceed. To detonate the bomb, the explosives were ignited, releasing a shock wave that compressed the inner plutonium and led to its explosion.

Atom: building blocks of matter; made up of a small, dense nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons (negatively-charged particles)

Nucleus: makes up the center of the atom; consists of a number of positively-charged protons and a neutral (no charge) neutrons. An atom is classified by the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. The number of protons determines which chemical element the atom is (e.g. uranium), and the number of neutrons determines which isotope of that element the atom is (e.g. uranium-235).

Isotope: Isotopes of an element possess the same number of protons in their nuclei but have different numbers of neutrons.

Fission: the process by which an atom's nucleus is split into smaller particles; results in the release of neutrons and lots of energy.

E=mc²: Equation made famous by Albert Einstein. Explains how a tiny amount of matter contains a tremendous amount of energy.

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The immense destructive power of atomic weapons derives from a sudden release of energy produced by splitting the nuclei of the fissile elements making up the bombs' core. The U.S. developed two types of atomic bombs during the Second World War. The first, Little Boy, was a gun-type weapon with a uranium core.

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The Manhattan Project - Making the Atomic Bomb

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The Manhattan Project - Making the Atomic Bomb

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Japanese Internment Camps
Specific Concentration Camp
Warsaw Ghetto
Rosie the Riveter
Propaganda
Spies & Spy Gadgets
Code in WW2
Working Women in WW2
Tuskegee Airmen
Triple Nickles
Making of the Atomic Bomb
Rationing & Victory Gardens
Pearl Harbor
D-Day
Iwo Jima
The Nazi Party

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THE TRIPLE NICKLES

America's First African-American Paratrooper Unit
B orn within an army that had traditionally relegated blacks to menial jobs and programmed them for failure, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, or "Triple Nickles," succeeded in becoming the nation's first African-American parachute infantry battalion and the first African-American unit to be integrated into the "regular" army during World War II.
Bradley Biggs, was the first black officer accepted for parachute duty in the U.S. Army and a member of the 555th Battalion of the 82nd Airborne. The following narrative describes his first few days at Fort Benning's jump school. The following is an excerpt from Chapter One of Mr. Biggs' book, The Triple Nickles.

Personal Beachhead

In November 1943, while I was home in Newark on leave, the order was issued to activate the 555th Test platoon, and I was told to report to Fort Benning for duty and parachute training.

The black soldiers' first taste of Fort Benning came at the railroad station in Columbus, Georgia an ugly, smelling building, heavy with the racist atmosphere of the south, complete with separate facilities for "white" and "colored." Transportation from Columbus to the post was usually in the form of long, boxcar-like buses, similar to many of the trailers one sees on U.S. highways today. These so-called "cattle cars" would carry up to sixty men, each sitting astride a wooden bench facing the rear door.

I arrived at the station during the late evening of 8 January 1944. I was familiar with the scene around Fort Benning and knew what to expect in the attitude towards blacks. But I also knew I could get a taxi and I chose this over the cattle car.

The ride took about forty-five minutes. There was no conversation with the white taxi driver. At the service company orderly room of the Parachute School I was greeted by the night "charge of quarters," a young black sergeant and test platooner named Jack D. Tillis. As I paid the cab driver, Sergeant Tillis unloaded my valpack and handbag and said, "This way, Lieutenant."

I followed him down a hill for about fifty yards to a troop barracks building which had been converted into a supply room on the first floor and officers' quarters on the second.

As we reached the second floor, I could see immediately that this too was an improvised facility. At the top of the stairs and on the left was a large room with a Ping-Pong table and four or five lounge chairs. Beyond this area was another large room providing sleeping quarters for eight individuals in ordinary troop-sleeping style.

I thanked Sergeant Tillis for helping me with my equipment and then went into the sleeping room. It was now nearly 2 A.M. The room was dark, but not too dark to keep me from seeing that three officers were already there, and apparently sound asleep. The second bunk on my right was empty; it had already been made up army-style. Trying not to disturb my new comrades, I undressed in the dark and crawled into the bunk for much-needed sleep.

First call blew at 5:45 A.M. Traditionally that should have signaled to everyone to hit the deck and rush into the latrine to wash and shave in time for reveille formation. This morning, however, no one jumped out of bed, though daylight had already brightened the big room. But everyone began to stir.

As I turned over to my left, I looked into a familiar face. It was Warren C. "Cal" Cornelius, my old friend and former sergeant from the 1st Battalion, 372d Infantry. Without waiting for him to open his eyes, I took my pillow and slammed it against his head. Cal woke up with a jump. When he saw me, we both leaped out of our beds and into each other's arms.

Soon the others were awake. As they sat up in their beds, Cal introduced me to these officers who would be my com- rades in this new adventure. They were 2d Lt. Edward Baker from Chicago and 2d Lt. Edwin Wills from Zacata, Virginia. Both Baker and Wills had recently arrived from Fort Huachuca, though I had not known them there. As we were talking, 1st Lt. James Porter from New York City, who was later to become our commanding officer until his assign- ment to Japan in 1946, and two Chicagoans, 2d Lt. Clifford Allen and 1st Lt. Jasper Ross, came in.

We went to breakfast together at the joint officer-enlisted men's mess. I took special note of the soldiers we encoun- tered: trim, sharp professionals, with a look of pride in their eyes. These I soon realized were no ordinary soldiers; they were the men who would be jumping with us. All enlisted men of the test platoon were already in training for their wings.

After breakfast, I went to the orderly room to turn in my orders assigning me to the "555th Parachute Infantry Company," and to make myself available to the company's first commander, Capt. William V. Johnson. Captain Johnson, a white paratroop officer who had been injured in action in North Africa, would be in charge of the cadre until our own black officers won their wings and took over command positions.

As I turned to leave the orderly room, the door opened and in stepped a tall, handsome, 180-pound soldier who was every inch the type of man one expected to see here. He approached me in one step, stood at attention, and introduced himself as First Sergeant Walter J. Morris.

Sergeant Morris, as turned out, was the first black soldier in uniform to become airborne. "So here we stand," I said, "you, the first Negro enlisted man accepted for the airborne forces, and me, the first officer." We smiled and shook hands.

I left the orderly room and headed for the supply room, located just below our sleeping quarters. Paratroopers, of course, have special uniforms and equipment, and it was here that I would get my first look at what paratroop gear would be like. As I entered the door, attention was called and a pleasant but pugnacious-looking sergeant approached me. He had all the marks of a prize fighter.

"Sergeant Webley, supply sergeant, sir. May I help you?"

First came fittings for the jump suits and parachute boots. While I was being measured, I looked at the small arsenal that was being stacked on the supply counter: a switchblade knife which would be carried in a zippered pocket close to the neck of my jump jacket; a machete; a .45 caliber pistol; a carbine with a collapsible metal stock; steel helmet; compass; binoculars. As Sergeant Webley handed me two pairs of jump boots, he explained, "Sir, these are issued free. After that, officers are expected to purchase their own boots." I smiled. "Thank you, sergeant. A privilege of rank."

Back at my bunk, I was putting my gear into my footlocker when Cal Cornelius returned and the two of us began to reminisce. Cal and I were old buddies. We served together in the New Jersey State, then National Guard. When that outfit was federalized in September 1940, we became the 372d Infantry. We used to see each other in summer training at Camp Seagirt, New Jersey he was a sergeant in Company B from Atlantic City and I was a corporal in Company A from Newark. I was damned glad to see him at Fort Benning.

Cal had been one of New Jersey's promising young light heavyweight boxers, and he knew that I had been a profes- sional football player. So he and I had more in common than the others: former athletes, old comrades, both with com- mon military backgrounds and months of soldiering behind us.

As Porter, Baker, Cornelius, and Allen came in and we talked, we knew we all had a common goal. Although paratroop officers were paid an extra $100 a month, not one of us had come for the money. Nobody mentioned jump pay. We were all there because we wanted to be.

In fact, the most exciting question was, "When do we start training?" Wills, who was later to become the platoon leader of the Second Platoon, and eventually the brains and operations officer for the company and the battalion, ex- plained that seventeen of the enlisted cadre were already in A-stage of the four-week parachute training program. Our own training would start later. We all knew it wouldn't be easy, but we looked forward to this tough job with eagerness and spirit. We knew that we were privileged and fortunate to be among the first black men on earth to train for parachute wings.

Sources:

Written By Brad Bigggs

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THE TRIPLE NICKLES America's First African-American Paratrooper Unit B orn within an army that had traditionally relegated blacks to menial jobs and programmed them for failure, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, or "Triple Nickles," succeeded in becoming the nation's first African-American parachute infantry battalion and the first African-American unit to be integrated into the "regular" army during World War II.

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555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (United States) - Wikipedia

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Pocket patch of the Triple Nickle Association

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555th Parachute Infantry Association known as the Triple Nickle

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Who Are the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II? The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism. They came from every section of the country, with large numbers coming from New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Each one possessed a strong personal desire to serve the United States of America at the best of his ability. Those who possessed the physical and mental qualifications were accepted as aviation cadets to be trained initially as single-engine pilots and later to be either twin-engine pilots, navigators or bombardiers. Most were college graduates or undergraduates. Others demonstrated their academic qualifications through comprehensive entrance examinations. No standards were lowered for the pilots or any of the others who trained in operations, meteorology, intelligence, engineering, medicine or any of the other officer fields. Enlisted members were trained to be aircraft and engine mechanics, armament specialists, radio repairmen, parachute riggers, control tower operators, policemen, administrative clerks and all of the other skills necessary to fully function as an Army Air Corp flying squadron or ground support unit.

The black airmen who became single-engine or multi-engine pilots were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee Alabama. The first aviation cadet class began in July 1941 and completed training nine months later in March 1942. Thirteen started in the first class. Five successfully completed the training, one of them being Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a West Point Academy graduate. The other four were commissioned second lieutenants, and all five received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings. From 1942 through 1946, nine hundred and ninety-two pilots graduated at TAAF, receiving commissions and pilot wings. Black navigators, bombardiers and gunnery crews were trained at selected military bases elsewhere in the United States. Mechanics were trained at Chanute Air Base in Rantoul, Illinois until facilities were in place in 1942 at TAAF. Four hundred and fifty of the pilots who were trained at TAAF served overseas in either the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) or the 332nd Fighter Group. The 99th Fighter Squadron trained in and flew P-40 Warhawk aircraft in combat in North Africa, Sicily and Italy from April 1943 until July 1944 when they were transferred to the 332nd Fighter Group in the 15th Air Force. The 332nd Fighter Group consisted originally of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 301st Fighter Squadron and 302nd Fighter Squadron. They prepared for combat at Selfridge Air Base, Michigan from March 1943 until December 1943.

Training was conducted in the P-40 Warhawk and P-39 Airacobra aircraft. The Group began overseas combat operations near Naples, Italy in February 1944 with the 12th Air Force, flying air patrols over Naples Harbor and the Mediterranean Sea. In April 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group transferred to the Adriatic Sea side at Ramitelli Air Strip, near Foggia, Italy and began conducting long-range heavy bomber escort missions for the 15th Strategic Air Force. In July 1944, the 99th Fighter Squadron was transferred to Ramitelli and the Group became the only four-squadron fighter group performing bomber escort missions in the 15th Air Force. This was a significant factor in the effectiveness and success of the Group as it established the incredible and unprecedented record of flying 200 of its 205 bomber escort missions (Never Lost a Bomber is a myth that started because of the very low bomber losses when the Tuskegee Airmen were escorting. No other escort group can claim such low losses.) without the loss of a single bomber to enemy aircraft. The 99th Fighter Squadron received two Presidential Unit Citations (June-July 1943 and May 1944) for outstanding tactical air support and aerial combat in the 12th Air Force before joining the 332nd Fighter Group. The 332nd Fighter Group received the Presidential Unit Citation for its longest bomber escort mission to Berlin, Germany, March 24, 1945. They destroyed three German ME-262 jet fighters and damaged five additional jet fighters without losing any of the bombers or any of its own fighter aircraft to enemy aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group also distinguished themselves in June 1944 when two of its pilots flying P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft discovered a German destroyer in the harbor at Trieste, Italy. One of the pilots, Lieutenant Gynne Pierson of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, using only the aircraft's 50-caliber machine guns, strafed the destroyer, causing it to explode and sink. This was another unprecedented aerial gunnery feat of World War II.

The tenacious bomber escort cover provided by the 332nd "Red Tail" fighters often discouraged enemy fighter pilots from attacking bombers they escorted. This resulted, however, in fewer enemy fighter challenges with resultant fewer enemy aircraft destroyed or damaged by the Group, as compared with other 15th Air Force fighter escort groups. The successful escort record did result in frequent expressions of appreciation from the bomber crews. The outstanding record of black airmen in World War II was accomplished by men whose names will forever live in hallowed memory. Each one accepted the challenge, proudly displayed his skill and determination while suppressing internal rage from humiliation and indignation caused by frequent experiences of racism and bigotry, at home and overseas. These airmen fought two wars - one against a military force overseas and the other against racism at home and abroad. The airmen who did not go overseas and trained at Selfridge Field, Michigan as bomber crew in the 477th Medium Bombardment Group experienced a great deal of racism. These highly trained military officers were treated as "trainees" and denied access to the base officers' club, an act contradictory to Army regulations. There was a rather heated reaction and the Group was transferred to Godman Field, Kentucky. The unfair treatment and hostility continued at Godman Field and in early 1945, the group was transferred to Freeman Field, Indiana where the hostilities finally reached a climax. When black officers tried to enter the Freeman Field Officers' Club, against direct orders for them to stay out, one hundred and three officers were arrested, charged with insubordination and ordered to face court martial. The court martial proceedings were quickly dropped against one hundred of the officers; two officers eventually had their charges dropped and one officer, Lt. Roger "Bill" Terry, was convicted. Fifty years later, on August 12, 1995, at the Tuskegee Airmen National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, fifteen of the original one hundred and three officers that were arrested received official notification that their military records had been purged of any reference to the Freeman Field incident. Also, Mr. Terry's court martial conviction had been reversed and his military record cleared.

The remaining officers received instructions for clearing their records. After the war in Europe ended in 1945, black airmen returned to the United States and faced continued racism and bigotry despite their outstanding war record. Tuskegee Army Air Field continued to train new airmen until 1946, with women entering the program in several support fields. Large numbers of black airmen elected to remain in the service but because of segregation their assignments were limited to the 332nd Fighter Group or the 477th Composite Group, and later to the 332nd Fighter Wing at Lockbourne Air Base, Ohio. Opportunities for advancement and promotion were very limited and this affected morale. Nevertheless, black airmen continued to perform superbly. In 1949, pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group took first place in the Air Force National Fighter Gunnery Meet at Las Vegas Air Force Base, Nevada. During this period, many white units were undermanned and needed qualified people but were unable to get the experienced black personnel because of the segregation policy. The newly formed U.S. Air Force initiated plans to integrate its units as early as 1947. In 1948, President Harry Truman enacted Executive Order Number 9981 which directed equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces. This order, in time, led to the end of racial segregation in the military forces. This was also the first step toward racial integration in the United States of America. The positive experience, the outstanding record of accomplishment and the superb behavior of black airmen during World War II, and after, were important factors in the initiation of the historic social change to achieve racial equality in America. These were the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.They accepted the challenge.

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The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen represents the culmination of the efforts of many individuals. It provides a place not only to record the contributions of Americans to the defense of our Nation during a period in our history when they were not thought of as the equal of other citizens, but a place where all of the youth of America may come to acquire inspiration, counseling and assistance in achieving excellence in their own educational and career pursuits.

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The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps (AAC), a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. Trained at the Tuskegee Army

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Facts & information about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American pilots in WWII in Black History

Tuskegee Airmen Facts

Years of Service

1940-1952

Branch

United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force

Fighting Groups

332nd Fighter Group
100th Pursuit Squadron
301st Pursuit Squadron
302nd Pursuit Squadron
477th Medium Bombardment Group
616th, 617th, 618th, 619th Bombardment Squadrons

Wars Fought

World War II

Accomplishments

First African-American military aviators

AKA

Red Tails
Red-Tail Angels

Tuskegee Airmen Articles

Explore articles from the History Net archives about The Tuskegee Airmen

" See all Tuskegee Airmen Articles

Tuskegee Airmen summary: Tuskegee Airmen is the name given to members of the U.S. Army Air Force units in World War II that were comprised primarily of African American flyers and maintenance crews, though a few white officers and trainers were also involved. The group compiled an impressive record, primarily in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, despite facing frequent resistance to their presence in the formerly all-white Army Air Corps. Although the best-known Tuskegee Airmen were the fighter pilots of the 332nd Pursuit Group (99th, 100th, 301st, and 302nd fighter squadrons), the 477th Bombard Group (the first black bomber group) was also part of the Tuskegee Airmen. Pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, and instructors all played a role.

The Tuskegee Experiment

Service in the U.S. Army Air Corps had been limited to white personnel from its inception as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1907 until near the end of the 1930s. (The U.S. Air Force did not exist as a separate branch within the U.S. military until after World War II; however, during that war large air groups were designated Eighth Air Force, Fifteenth Air Force, etc.) The officer corps of the Army included a high number of men from the South, the region of the old Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The notion that blacks were inherently inferior to whites was still a wide-spread belief in most of the United States but particularly in the South, where virtually all aspects of life were racially segregated, so it is not surprising that Southern military men readily accepted-in fact, they had helped to write-a 1925 Army War College study of black troops in World War I that concluded Negroes, the racial term then in use, were subservient, mentally inferior and "barely fit for combat."

In 1939, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took aim at the military's segregationist policies. Negro newspapers and civic groups around the country began a public campaign to integrate the armed forces. The African-American Pittsburgh Courier especially agitated for acceptance of blacks in the Air Corps.

In 1941, the campaign turned to the courts. Yancey Williams, a student at Howard University, filed a suit backed by the NAACP to force the Air Corps to accept him into training. The Corps' answer was to create a segregated unit to train black pilots and ground crews at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

That wasn't what the NAACP had sought; it wanted full integration. The 239 black aviators who comprised the National Airmen's Association also strongly objected, but to no avail. The plan was called the Tuskegee Experiment. Member of the Tuskegee Airmen believed it was called an experiment, "because we were supposed to fail." Contrary to what is commonly believed, however, the training at Tuskegee was the equal of that at white facilities.

The Tuskegee Airmen go to War

The 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated at Tuskegee on July 19, 1941, nearly six months prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (In the 1930s, fighter planes were called "pursuit planes"; hence, the Pursuit Squadron. During World War II the term was replaced with "fighter squadron.") After completing their training, in the late spring of 1943 the men were sent to North Africa, which the Allies had invaded in November 1942. They were assigned second-hand P-40 aircraft that were tough and durable but slow and obsolete, unable to maneuver as easily as the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 or Focke-Wulf FW 190 fighters they would be facing. In the summer of 1944 the group would be given P-51 Mustangs.

The 99th Pursuit Squadron, under the command of Benjamin O. Davis, the first black man to hold the rank of general in the U.S. Army, was unwanted by the commander of the fighter group it was assigned to. An impassioned plea from Davis led Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to intervene on their behalf and prevent the unit from being shipped back to the States. They saw action in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

In February 1944, the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Pursuit Squadrons (Fighter Squadrons), comprising the 332nd Pursuit Group began flying combat operations in Italy as part of the Twelfth Air Force. In April, they were transferred to the Fifteenth Air Force near Foggia, Italy, and in July the 99th Pursuit Squadron was transferred to their group; previously, it had flown as part of a predominantly white fighter group and had already won two Presidential Unit Citations.

Fighter groups gave their aircraft's tails a distinctive paint scheme, both for easy recognition and esprit de corps. The planes of the 332nd were painted red, which led to the group's nickname, the "Red Tails."

Their primary missions were to escort bombers striking targets in Southern Europe. Eventually, they would fly as far as Berlin. Davis insisted his men stay close to the bombers they were escorting, rather than peeling off to pursue enemy fighters. This was the same philosophy held by General Ira Eaker when he commanded the Eighth Air Force based in England. That policy changed in the Eighth when Eaker was replaced by Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who made the destruction of enemy aircraft the primary goal, in preparation for the D-Day invasions, and turned the fighters loose to "follow the enemy home and shoot him in his bed." Eaker was transferred to command the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy, which included the Tuskegee Airmen. Because they stayed close to the bombers and did not pursue fleeing enemy fighters, the men of the 332nd did not rack up as many kills as other fighter groups.

The Tuskegee Airmen 'Never Lost a Bomber'

On March 24, 1945, an African American newspaper, the Chicago Defender, ran an article claiming that in over 200 missions, the Tuskegee Airmen had never lost to enemy aircraft any bomber they had escorted. It wasn't true, but the story became widespread and was believed until the 21st century when comparisons of flight logs, mission reports and bomber losses were made. It was discovered a total of 27 bombers they escorted had been shot down by enemy aircraft. However, the average number of bombers lost by other escort groups of the Fifteenth Air Force was 46, nearly double the loss rate of bombers protected by the Red Tails.

Lee Archer

As noted earlier, obeying Davis' orders to stick close to the bombers reduced the group's kill totals among enemy aircraft. Surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen joke today that, "We get more aces as time goes on," a reference to how old memories become embellished. No member of the group shot down a total of five planes, the number required to become an ace. Some came close, with four. Some published reports claim pilot Lee Archer actually had five kills but that the number was reduced to prevent a black pilot from making ace. However, neither he nor Davis ever claimed Archer had shot down more than four enemy aircraft. A number of people today continue to investigate old records, hoping to find some overlooked bit of information that will confirm a fifth kill for Archer.

The group's kill total for enemy aircraft was 103. They also have long been credited with sinking a German destroyer, using only their machine guns. Actually, the ship-a former Italian destroyer converted by the Germans to be a torpedo boat-was severely damaged but not sunk. It limped into harbor, where it stayed for the rest of the war, so sunk or not, it was put permanently out of action.

The 477th Bomber Group

Some members of the Tuskegee Airmen were assigned to the 477th Medium Bombardment Group, which trained at Selfridge Field near Detroit, Michigan, to fly B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. It was never sent overseas. While the members of the fighter groups experienced varying degrees of both racism and acceptance in the Mediterranean, the bomber group faced the full brunt of racism that existed in the United States at that time. Their officers were barred from the white officers' base club, a violation of Army regulations. Tensions over their treatment caused the group to be transferred first to Kentucky and then to Indiana, where resentment over discrimination finally boiled over. On the night of April 5, 1945, nineteen black officers attempted to enter the officers' club there, in violation of provost marshal's orders, in has been called the Freeman Field Mutiny. Soon, seventeen more joined them, and all 36 were arrested. Twenty-one black officers attempting to enter the club the following day were also arrested. All but three were released following an investigation; those three were court-martialed for pushing the provost marshal, but only one, Lieutenant Roger C. Terry was convicted and fined $150. (The decision against Terry was set aside in 1995.)

Tuskegee Airmen, Conclusion

To paraphrase Daniel L. Haulman, Ph.D., chief of the Organizational Histories Branch of the Air Force Historical Research Agency who did most of the research in the 21st century that dispelled many stories about the airmen, the Tuskegee Airmen were neither the inferior flyers their opponents described nor the supermen depicted by their supporters. His " Nine Myths of the Tuskegee Airmen" can be found on the Website Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., a group dedicated to honoring the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen and perpetuating their legacy.

Although debunking several of the myths, both positive and negative, Haulman concluded that, "If they did not demonstrate that they were far superior to the members of the six non-black fighter escort groups of the Fifteenth Air Force with which they served, they certainly demonstrated that they were not inferior to them, either. Moreover, they began at a line farther back, overcoming many more obstacles on the way to combat ... Their exemplary performance opened the door for the racial integration of the military services, beginning with the Air Force, and contributed ultimately to the end of racial segregation the United States."

A number of them went on to careers in the military. In 1950, George S. "Spanky" Roberts, deputy commander of the 332nd Pursuit Group, became the first black man to command a racially integrated unit in the new U.S. Air Force. He retired a full colonel.

More information and photos can be found online at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum.

Articles Featuring The Tuskegee Airmen From History Net Magazines

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More Tuskegee Airmen Articles

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1940-1952 United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force 332nd Fighter Group 100th Pursuit Squadron 301st Pursuit Squadron 302nd Pursuit Squadron 477th Medium Bombardment Group 616th, 617th, 618th, 619th Bombardment Squadrons World War II First African-American military aviators Red Tails Red-Tail Angels Explore articles from the History Net archives about The Tuskegee Airmen " See all Tuskegee Airmen Articles Tuskegee Airmen summary: Tuskegee Airmen is the name given to members of the U.S.

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Behind Every Name a Story - Holocaust Survivors

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Behind Every Name a Story - Holocaust Survivors

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Behind Every Name a Story consists of essays describing survivors' experiences during the Holocaust, written by survivors or their families. We encourage all survivors to share their unique experiences to ensure their preservation for future generations.

The essays, accompanying photographs, and other materials, including submissions that we are unable to feature on our website, will become a permanent part of the Museum's records.

I had little confidence when I started. My hands were so shaky I could barely read my own writing. As I started writing, I was given confidence, support, and encouragement. If I can do this, then you can too.

Manya's Memory Project
Manya's biography

Sima could easily pass as a non-Jewish Pole because she had a light complexion and was blonde, but to be able to live as a Pole, she needed a Kennkarte (identification card), and to get a Kennkarte she needed a Polish birth certificate.

The Gestapo visited us in the morning. They knew my father from his visits as Seelsorger (minister) to the Jews in the local prison.

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Behind Every Name a Story consists of essays describing survivors' experiences during the Holocaust, written by survivors or their families. We encourage all survivors to share their unique experiences to ensure their preservation for future generations. The essays, accompanying photographs, and other materials, including submissions that we are unable to feature on our website, will become a permanent part of the Museum's records.

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The Survivors For the survivors, returning to life as it had been before the Holocaust was impossible. Jewish communities no longer existed in much of Europe. When people tried to return to their homes from camps or hiding places, they found that, in many cases, their homes had been looted or taken over by others.

Returning home was also dangerous. After the war, anti-Jewish riots broke out in several Polish cities. The largest anti-Jewish pogrom took place in July 1946 in Kielce, a city in southeastern Poland. When 150 Jews returned to the city, people living there feared that hundreds more would come back to reclaim their houses and belongings. Age-old antisemitic myths, such as Jews' ritual murders of Christians, arose once again. After a rumor spread that Jews had killed a Polish boy to use his blood in religious rituals, a mob attacked the group of survivors. The rioters killed 41 people and wounded 50 more. News of the Kielce pogrom spread rapidly, and Jews realized that there was no future for them in Poland.

Many survivors ended up in displaced persons' (DP) camps set up in western Europe under Allied military occupation at the sites of former concentration camps . There they waited to be admitted to places like the United States, South Africa, or Palestine. At first, many countries continued their old immigration policies, which greatly limited the number of refugees they would accept. The British government, which controlled Palestine, refused to let large numbers of Jews in. Many Jews tried to enter Palestine without legal papers, and when caught some were held in camps on the island of Cyprus, while others were deported back to Germany. Great Britain's scandalous treatment of Jewish refugees added to international pressures for a homeland for the Jewish people. Finally, the United Nations voted to divide Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Early in 1948, the British began withdrawing from Palestine. On May 14, 1948, one of the leading voices for a Jewish homeland, David Ben-Gurion, announced the formation of the State of Israel. After this, Jewish refugee ships freely landed in the seaports of the new nation. The United States also changed its immigration policy to allow more Jewish refugees to enter.

Although many Jewish survivors were able to build new lives in their adopted countries, many non-Jewish victims of Nazi policies continued to be persecuted in Germany. Laws which discriminated against Roma (Gypsies) continued to be in effect until 1970 in some parts of the country. The law used in Nazi Germany to imprison homosexuals remained in effect until 1969.

Key Dates

August 3, 1945
Harrison issues report on Jews in Germany
US special envoy Earl Harrison heads a delegation to the displaced persons' camps in Germany. Following World War II, several hundred thousand Jewish survivors are unable to return to their home countries and remain in Germany, Austria, or Italy. The Allies establish camps for displaced persons (DPs) for the refugees. Most Jewish DPs prefer to emigrate to Palestine but many also seek entry into the United States. They remain in the DP camps until they can leave Europe. Harrison's report underscores the plight of Jewish DPs and leads to improved conditions in the camps. At the end of 1946 the number of Jewish DPs is estimated at 250,000.

July 11, 1947
Refugee ship sails for Palestine despite British restrictions
Many Jewish DPs seek to emigrate to Palestine, despite existing British emigration restrictions. (In 1920, Great Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations to administer Palestine, and administered the territory until 1948.) Despite the restrictions, the refugee ship Exodus leaves southern France for Palestine, carrying 4,500 Jewish refugees from DP camps in Germany. The British intercept the ship even before it enters territorial waters off the coast of Palestine. The passengers are forcibly transferred to British ships and deported back to their port of origin in France. For almost a month the British hold the refugees aboard ship, at anchor off the French coast. The French reject the British demand to land the passengers. Ultimately, the British take the refugees to Hamburg, Germany, and forcibly return them to DP camps. The fate of the refugee ship Exodus dramatizes the plight of Holocaust survivors in the DP camps and increases international pressure on Great Britain to allow free Jewish immigration to Palestine.

November 29, 1947
United Nations votes for partition of Palestine
In a special session, the United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine into two new states, one Jewish and the other Arab. Less than six months later, on May 14, 1948, prominent Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion announces the establishment of the State of Israel and declares that Jewish immigration into the new state will be unrestricted. Between 1948 and 1951, almost 700,000 Jews immigrate to Israel, including more than two-thirds of the Jewish displaced persons in Europe. Holocaust survivors, the passengers from the Exodus, DPs from central Europe, and Jewish detainees from British detention camps on Cyprus are welcomed to the Jewish homeland.

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The Survivors For the survivors, returning to life as it had been before the Holocaust was impossible. Jewish communities no longer existed in much of Europe. When people tried to return to their homes from camps or hiding places, they found that, in many cases, their homes had been looted or taken over by others.

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The Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre

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Understand your world through our stories.

Visit Us Visit Us

Yorkshire Holocaust survivors share their experiences

lost youths

"I came from quite a comfortable home, never knew what hunger meant or to be deprived of anything!"

Stories Stories

Learning Learning

"Somehow the only thing that kept us from despairing was hope."

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The Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre - Remembering the past, protecting the future

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Visit Us Visit Us Yorkshire Holocaust survivors share their experiences "I came from quite a comfortable home, never knew what hunger meant or to be deprived of anything!" Stories Stories Learning Learning "Somehow the only thing that kept us from despairing was hope."

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The Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945-June 22, 1945) was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945-Easter Sunday-the Navy's Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. Though it resulted in an Allied victory, kamikaze fighters, rainy weather and fierce fighting on land, sea and air led to a large death toll on both sides.

Okinawa Island

By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, the war on the European front was nearing its end. Allied and Soviet troops had liberated much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing Germany's unconditional surrender.

In the Pacific theater, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan's Home Islands, one after another. After obliterating Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their sights on the isolated island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan.

Okinawa's 466 square miles of dense foliage, hills and trees made it the perfect location for the Japanese High Command's last stand to protect their motherland. They knew if Okinawa fell, so would Japan. The Americans knew securing Okinawa's airbases was critical to launching a successful Japanese invasion.

Landing on the Beachheads

As dawn arrived on April 1, morale was low among American troops as the Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses.

Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. But the Fifth Fleet's offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troops could have literally swum to shore-surprisingly, the expected mass of awaiting Japanese troops wasn't there.

On D-Day, American troops fought hard for every inch of beachhead-but troops landing on Okinawa's beaches surged inland with little resistance. Wave after wave of troops, tanks, ammunition and supplies went ashore almost effortlessly within hours. The troops quickly secured both Kadena and Yontan airfields.

The Enemy Waits

Japan's 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, defended Okinawa. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai.

As they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where they'd finally encounter enemy resistance. What they didn't know was the Japanese Imperial Army had them just where they wanted them.

Japanese troops had been instructed not to fire on the American landing forces but instead watch and wait for them, mostly in Shuri, a rugged area of southern Okinawa where General Ushijima had set up a triangle of defensive positions known as the Shuri Defense Line.

Battleship Yamato

American troops who headed North to the Motobu Peninsula endured intense resistance and over 1,000 casualties but won a decisive battle relatively quickly. It was different along the Shuri Line where they had to overcome a series of heavily defended hills loaded with firmly-entrenched Japanese troops.

On April 7, Japan's mighty battleship Yamato was sent to launch a surprise attack on the Fifth Fleet and then annihilate American troops pinned down near the Shuri Line. But Allied submarines spotted the Yamato and alerted the fleet who then launched a crippling air attack. The ship was bombarded and sank along with most of its crew.

After the Americans cleared a series of outposts surrounding the Shuri Line, they fought many fierce battles including clashes on Kakazu Ridge, Sugar Loaf Hill, Horseshoe Ridge and Half Moon Hill. Torrential rains made the hills and roads watery graveyards of unburied bodies.

Casualties were enormous on both sides by the time the Americans took Shuri Castle in late May. Defeated yet not beaten, the Japanese retreated to the southern coast of Okinawa where they made their last stand.

Kamikaze Warfare

The kamikaze suicide pilot was Japan's most ruthless weapon. On April 4, the Japanese unleashed these well-trained pilots on the Fifth Fleet. Some dove their planes into ships at 500 miles per hour causing catastrophic damage.

American sailors tried desperately to shoot the kamikaze planes down but were often sitting ducks against enemy pilots with nothing to lose. During the Battle of Okinawa, the Fifth Fleet suffered:

36 sunk ships

368 damaged ships

4,900 men killed or drowned

4,800 men wounded

763 lost aircraft

Hacksaw Ridge

The Maeda Escarpment, also known as Hacksaw Ridge, was located atop a 400-foot vertical cliff. The American attack on the ridge began on April 26. It was a brutal battle for both sides.

To defend the escarpment, Japanese troops hunkered down in a network of caves and dugouts. They were determined to hold the ridge and decimated some American platoons until just a few men remained.

Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand and particularly ruthless. The Americans finally took Hacksaw Ridge on May 6.

All Americans who fought in the Battle of Okinawa were heroic, but one soldier at the escarpment stood out-Corporal Desmond T. Doss. He was an army medic and Seventh-Day Adventist who refused to raise a gun to the enemy.

Still, he remained on the escarpment after his commanding officers ordered a retreat. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, he went alone into the battle fray and rescued 75 of his wounded comrades. His heroic story was brought to life on the big screen in 2016 in the film Hacksaw Ridge and he won a Medal of Honor for his bravery.

Suicide or Surrender

Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens believed Americans took no prisoners and they'd be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless took their own lives.

To encourage their surrender, General Buckner initiated propaganda warfare and dropped millions of leaflets declaring the war was all but lost for Japan.

About 7,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered, but many chose death by suicide. Some jumped from high hills, others blew themselves up with grenades.

When faced with the reality that further fighting was futile, General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff, General Cho, committed ritual suicide on June 22, effectively ending the Battle of Okinawa.

Battle of Okinawa Death Toll

Both sides suffered enormous losses in the Battle of Okinawa. The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed. General Buckner was killed in action on June 18, just days before the battle ended.

Japanese losses were even greater-about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It's estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed.

Who Won The Battle of Okinawa?

Winning the Battle of Okinawa put Allied forces within striking distance of Japan. But wanting to bring the war to a swift end, and knowing over 2 million Japanese troops were awaiting battle-weary American soldiers, Harry S. Truman chose to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6.

Japan didn't give in immediately, so Truman ordered the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. Finally, Japan had had enough. On August, 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender, marking the end of World War II.

Sources

Hellish Prelude at Okinawa. U.S. Naval Institute.
Okinawa: The Final Great Battle of World War II. Marine Corps Gazette.
Center of Military History, United States Army.
Operation Iceberg: The Assault on Okinawa-The Last Battle of WWII (Part 1) April-June 1945. History of War.
The Decision to Drop the Bomb. USHistory.org.
The Real 'Hacksaw Ridge' Soldier Saved 75 Souls Without Ever Carrying A Gun. NPR.

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The Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945-June 22, 1945) was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945-Easter Sunday-the Navy's Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan.

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De officiële website van de Anne Frank Stichting met de meest complete en actuele informatie over Anne Frank, haar dagboek en het Achterhuis. Bezoek ons museum en lees meer over onze wereldwijde educatieve activiteiten.

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Anne Frank was a German girl and Jewish victim of the Holocaust who is famous for keeping a diary of her experiences. Anne and her family went into hiding for two years to avoid Nazi persecution. Her documentation of this time is now published in The Diary of a Young Girl.

Early Years

She was born Annelies Marie Frank on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Her parents were Otto and Edith Frank.

For the first 5 years of her life, Anne lived with her parents and older sister, Margot, in an apartment on the outskirts of Frankfurt. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Otto Frank fled to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where he had business connections. The rest of the Frank family soon followed, with Anne being the last of the family to arrive in February 1934 after staying with her grandparents in Aachen.

The Fate of Jews in Amsterdam

The fate of the Frank family and other Jews in Amsterdam was wrapped up with the German occupation of the city, which began in May 1940. In early 1942, the Germans began preparations to deport Jews from the Netherlands to killing centers in the east. At this time, they required all Dutch Jews to be concentrated in Amsterdam. They also decided to intern all non-Dutch Jews in Westerborktransit camp. From Westerbork, German officials deported the Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor killing centers in German-occupied Poland. The first deportation transport left Westerbork on July 15, 1942, for Auschwitz-Birkenau. These deportations and the escalating anti-Jewish measures alarmed many Jews in the Netherlands, including the Franks.

During the first half of July 1942, Anne and her family went into hiding. They were eventually joined by four other Jews as well-Hermann, Auguste, and Peter van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer. For two years, they lived in a secret apartment at 263 Prinsengracht Street. The apartment was located behind the business offices where Otto Frank had worked as company director. Anne referred to the hiding place in her diary as the Secret Annex. Otto Frank's friends and colleagues, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, Johan Voskuijl, Bep Voskuijl, Jan Gies, and Miep Gies, had helped to prepare the hiding place and smuggled food and clothing to the Franks at great risk to their own lives.

While in hiding, Anne kept a diary in which she recorded her fears, hopes, and experiences.

Arrest and Deportation

On August 4, 1944, the German SS and police discovered the hiding place. It has been long thought that the authorities acted after being tipped off by an anonymous Dutch caller. But a more recent theory is that the Germans discovered the hiding place by chance, while investigating reports that illegal work and fraud with ration coupons were occurring at the house.

That day, an SS Sergeant ( Hauptscharführer) named Karl Silberbauer and two Dutch policemen arrested the Franks. The Gestapo sent the family to Westerbork transit camp on August 8. One month later, on September 3, 1944, SS and police authorities placed the Franks and the four others hiding with them on a train transport to Auschwitz-Birkenau in German-occupied Poland. This was the last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz.

The transport arrived in Auschwitz two days later with 1,019 Jews on board. Men and women were separated. All of the Secret Annex residents were selected for forced labor.

Like other Jews selected for labor, the women chosen from this transport, including Anne, Edith, and Margot, were tattooed with prisoner numbers. Records indicating their exact numbers have not been preserved. Although Anne Frank's death certificate documents her movement between camps, it does not include her tattoo ID number either.

Anne and her sister, Margot were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany in early November 1944.

The Fate of the Frank Family: How Did Anne Frank Die?

Anne Frank died in February or March 1945, shortly before British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945. Anne Frank died at the age of 15. Margot Frank died at the age of 19, also in February or March 1945. Both Margot and Anne died of typhus.

SS officials also selected Anne's parents for labor. Anne's mother, Edith died in Auschwitz in early January 1945.

Only Anne's father, Otto, survived the war. He was liberated from Auschwitz by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945. Otto was presented later with Anne's writings, which were preserved by Miep Gies one of the Dutch citizens who had hidden the Franks. Otto Frank was integral to getting his daughter's diary published. The diary of Anne Frank is the first, and sometimes only, exposure many people have to the history of the Holocaust. Anne Frank's writings also included short stories, fairy tales, and essays.

The home where the Franks hid in Amsterdam continues to attract a large audience. Now known as the Anne Frank House, it drew more than 1.2 million visitors in 2017.

Last Edited: Aug 3, 2021

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Anne Frank Biography: Who was Anne Frank?

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Anne Frank was a German girl and Jewish victim of the Holocaust who is famous for keeping a diary of her experiences. Anne and her family went into hiding for two years to avoid Nazi persecution. Her documentation of this time is now published in The Diary of a Young Girl.

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Timeline of Killing Centers and Selection Explanation

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Timeline of Killing Centers and Selection Explanation

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After deportation trains arrived at the killing centers, guards ordered the deportees to get out and form a line. The victims then went through a selection process. Men were separated from women and children. A Nazi, usually an SS physician, looked quickly at each person to decide if he or she was healthy and strong enough for forced labor. This SS officer then pointed to the left or the right; victims did not know that individuals were being selected to live or die. Babies and young children, pregnant women, the elderly, the handicapped, and the sick had little chance of surviving this first selection.
At the Killing Centers
Those who had been selected to die were led to gas chambers. In order to prevent panic, camp guards told the victims that they were going to take showers to rid themselves of lice. The guards instructed them to turn over all their valuables and to undress. Then they were driven naked into the "showers." A guard closed and locked the steel door. In some killing centers, carbon monoxide was piped into the chamber. In others, camp guards threw "Zyklon B" pellets down an air shaft. Zyklon B was a highly poisonous insecticide also used to kill rats and insects.

Usually within minutes after entering the gas chambers, everyone inside was dead from lack of oxygen. Under guard, prisoners were forced to haul the corpses to a nearby room, where they removed hair, gold teeth, and fillings. The bodies were burned in ovens in the crematoria or buried in mass graves.

Many people profited from the pillage of corpses. Camp guards stole some of the gold. The rest was melted down and deposited in an SS bank account. Private business firms bought and used the hair to make many products, including ship rope and mattresses.

Key Dates

October 1939
Germans begin killing of the impaired
The systematic killing begins of those Germans whom the Nazis deem "unworthy of life." Groups of "consultants" visit hospitals and nursing homes and decide who is to die. Selected patients are sent to one of six gassing installations established as part of the "Euthanasia" Program: Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim, and Sonnenstein. These patients are killed in gas chambers using carbon monoxide gas. The experts who participated in the "Euthanasia" Program are later instrumental in establishing and operating the extermination camps.

December 8, 1941
First killing center begins operation
The Chelmno killing center begins operation. The Nazis later establish five other such camps: Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau (part of the Auschwitz complex), and Majdanek. Victims at Chelmno are killed in gas vans (hermetically sealed trucks with engine exhaust diverted to the interior compartment). The Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka camps use carbon monoxide gas generated by stationary engines attached to gas chambers. Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the killing centers, has four large gas chambers using Zyklon B (crystalline hydrogen cyanide) as the killing agent. The gas chambers at Majdanek use both carbon monoxide and Zyklon B. Millions of Jews are killed in the gas chambers in the killing centers as part of the "Final Solution."

JUNE 22, 1944
First gassing at Ravensbrück concentration camp
The first documented gassing at the women's camp at Ravensbrück occurs. The gas chambers at Ravensbrück and at other camps that were not designed specifically as killing centers-including Stutthof, Mauthausen, and Sachsenhausen-are relatively small. These gas chambers were constructed to kill those prisoners the Nazis deemed "unfit" for work. Most of these camps used Zyklon B in their gas chambers.

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After deportation trains arrived at the killing centers, guards ordered the deportees to get out and form a line. The victims then went through a selection process. Men were separated from women and children. A Nazi, usually an SS physician, looked quickly at each person to decide if he or she was healthy and strong enough for forced labor.

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Arrival at camp – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools

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Early camps in Germany were controlled by different groups in different parts of the country, with different structures and conditions in each.

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In total, the Nazis established 356 ghettos in Poland, the Soviet Union, the Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary between 1939 and 1945. There was no uniformity to these ghettos. The ghettos in small towns were generally not sealed off, which was often a temporary measure used until the residents could be sent to bigger ghettos.

Larger cities had closed ghettos, with brick or stone walls, wooden fences, and barbed wire defining the boundaries. Guards were placed strategically at gateways and other boundary openings. Jews were not allowed to leave the so-called "Jewish residential districts," under penalty of death.

All ghettos had the most appalling, inhuman living conditions. The smallest ghetto housed approximately 3,000 people. Warsaw, the largest ghetto, held 400,000 people. Lódz, the second largest, held about 160,000. Other Polish cities with large Jewish ghettos included Bialystok, Czestochowa, Kielce, Kraków, Lublin, Lvóv, Radom, and Vilna.

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In total, the Nazis established 356 ghettos in Poland, the Soviet Union, the Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary between 1939 and 1945. There was no uniformity to these ghettos. The ghettos in small towns were generally not sealed off, which was often a temporary measure used until the residents could be sent to bigger ghettos.

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The ghetto was not a Nazi invention. Its origins can be traced back to medieval times, when restrictions on the places where Jews were allowed to reside were commonplace throughout Europe. Although this restriction is usually perceived as relating to towns or cities, it even applied in certain cases to entire countries.

For example, in 1791, Catherine the Great created the Pale of Settlement in western Russia. Most Jews were only allowed to reside within the Pale, and even there some cities were prohibited to them. Even earlier, in 1290, Edward I had expelled all Jews from England. They were not to be officially permitted to return until the time of Oliver Cromwell in 1655.

To an extent, only being allowed to live in specified parts of a city presented no great problems to an almost wholly Orthodox community. Judaism, with its many religious requirements, encouraged Jews to live in close proximity to each other and their religious institutions. Whilst they were generally free to come and go within the towns in which they dwelt, until the mid-19 th century there were special Jewish districts called "Jewish towns" in many larger Polish towns and cities.

This was especially true of places that until the end of the 18th century were the property of Polish kings. Jews could only live in these specified districts. They were not permitted to live inside the towns' walls, in the so-called "Christian towns", although Jews were permitted to trade with Christians and to even rent small shops within the Christian sector. In towns belonging to the church, Jews were not allowed to settle at all until 1861-1862 . By way of contrast, in smaller provincial towns which were the private property of aristocratic families, Jews were unreservedly welcomed because of the economic benefits they brought.

It was frequently a less than idyllic existence, but it was bearable. Anti-Semitism was endemic, based upon religious bigotry and economic envy. From time to time it erupted in pogroms, most notoriously under the leadership of Bogdan Chmielnicki, who between1648-1656 is estimated to have murdered 500,000 Jews in Poland and central and eastern Ukraine - a loss of Jewish life not to be exceeded until the years of the Holocaust.

The assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881 unleashed a wave of anti-Jewish violence that resulted in the start of the great emigration from Russia and Congress Poland to the west, a process that continued largely uninterrupted until the outbreak of the First World War. An even bloodier outbreak of pogroms in 1903-1906 only served to increase the flood of eastern European Jews seeking shelter from persecution.

Having immigrated to new countries, Jews tended to congregate in particular areas of a town or city even when no longer forced to do so, for the reasons already stated. That was a matter of choice. The Nazis eliminated that choice. Although ghettoisation as such was never introduced in the Reich itself, and only slowly appeared in the countries occupied by Germany, its effect was intentionally lethal. As will be detailed, whilst ghettos might be "open", permitting some communication with the outside world, or "closed", virtually sealed off from all exterior contact, almost all of them shared certain features in common.

Dilapidated housing, appalling sanitary conditions, inadequate and poor quality food, absence of medical supplies and facilities - this was the lot of the ghetto dweller. And most of those ghetto dwellers also shared a common end. They died of starvation, disease and exhaustion within the ghetto, or at shooting pits and death camps outside of it.

The first Nazi ghettos were never intended to be more than temporary, an interim concentration of Jews pending a decision concerning what the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" was going to be. That decision went through many convoluted changes before its ultimate determination.

The policy towards the incarcerated Jews also changed as the realisation dawned on the Germans that a captive labour force could be put to better use than sweeping snow, or breaking rocks. Later, the ghettos served as convenient points at which to concentrate that Jewish labour force prior to its liquidation.

Not every town had a ghetto. Reinhard Heydrich's strategy was to remove Jews from small villages and towns to larger conurbations. In some cases, ghettos were formed before the initial killing spree, in other cases afterwards. Hundreds of ghettos were established in Nazi occupied Europe, ranging in size from the 445,000 inhabitants of the Warsaw ghetto to those containing just a few families in rural quasi-ghettos.

In short, despite Heydrich's instructions, there was no consistently discernible pattern to ghettoisation, and policy decisions were frequently taken at a local level. As it became increasingly apparent where Nazi policy towards the Jews led, underground movements began to form in the ghettos. They were not always successful in organising resistance, and even if they did, none had a hope of success, but their dignity, courage and sacrifice were to provide an inspiration to generations as yet unborn.

Today, the term "ghetto" has acquired a somewhat different meaning. It is no longer applied solely, if at all, to Jews. Any ethnic minority residing near to each other in a specific area of a city create what is often described as a "ghetto." It may be that the choice of accommodation is forced upon them for economic reasons, but by and large, these communities congregate for the same reasons that Jews once did.

It is comforting to be surrounded by one's peers, religious or racial. But in no way can these modern "ghettos" be compared to the Nazi version. The ghettos of the Holocaust were described by one inmate as "a prison without a roof."

But they were much worse than that. A prison sentence offered at least the prospect of survival. For those interned in the ghettos, there was no such prospect. Slow and lingering, or swift and brutal, their fate was likely to be the same.

There were of course survivors, and it is from their evidence and the extraordinarily detailed archives and personal diaries of those who did not survive, that it is possible to construct some kind of historical record of individual ghettos. No writing can begin to adequately describe the misery and despair of life in the ghettos established by the Nazis.

But compelled by an ancient tradition to "Schreibt un farschreibt!" - "Write and record!" a legacy was left which at least enables us to attempt to do so.

Hilberg, Raul. The Destruction of the European Jews, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2003

SJ & CW Archive

COPYRIGHT: BJF H.E.A.R.T 2006

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The ghetto was not a Nazi invention. Its origins can be traced back to medieval times, when restrictions on the places where Jews were allowed to reside were commonplace throughout Europe. Although this restriction is usually perceived as relating to towns or cities, it even applied in certain cases to entire countries.

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The Warsaw ghetto uprising was a violent revolt that occurred from April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II. Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged the armed revolt to prevent deportations to Nazi-run extermination camps. The Warsaw uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe.

Warsaw Ghetto

Shortly after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, more than 400,000 Jews in Warsaw, the capital city, were confined to an area of the city that was little more than 1 square mile.

In November 1940, this Jewish ghetto was sealed off by brick walls, barbed wire and armed guards, and anyone caught leaving was shot on sight. The Nazis controlled the amount of food that was brought into the ghetto, and disease and starvation killed thousands each month.

Similar Jewish ghettos were established in cities throughout Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe during World War II. The Warsaw ghetto was the largest in Poland.

Treblinka

In July 1942, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi paramilitary corps known as the Shutzstaffel (SS), ordered that Jews be "resettled" to extermination camps. The Jews were told they were being transported to work camps; however, word soon reached the ghetto that deportation to the camps meant death.

Two months later, some 265,000 Jews had been deported from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp, while more than 20,000 others were sent to a forced-labor camp or killed during the deportation process.

An estimated 55,000 to 60,000 Jews remained in the Warsaw ghetto, and small groups of these survivors formed underground self-defense units such as the Jewish Combat Organization, or ZOB, which managed to smuggle in a limited supply of weapons from anti-Nazi Poles.

On January 18, 1943, when the Nazis entered the ghetto to prepare a group for transfer to a camp, a ZOB unit ambushed them. Fighting lasted for several days before the Germans withdrew. Afterward, the Nazis suspended deportations from the Warsaw ghetto for the next few months.

Did you know? On August 2, 1943, some 1,000 Jewish prisoners at Treblinka seized weapons from the camp's armory and staged a revolt. Several hundred inmates escaped; however, many were recaptured and executed.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Begins

On April 19, 1943, Himmler sent in SS forces and their collaborators with tanks and heavy artillery to liquidate the Warsaw ghetto.

Several hundred resistance fighters, armed with a small cache of weapons, managed to fight the Germans, who far outnumbered them in terms of manpower and weapons, for nearly a month.

However, during that time, the Germans systematically razed the ghetto buildings, block by block, destroying the bunkers were many residents had been hiding. In the process, the Germans killed or captured thousands of Jews.

By May 16, the ghetto was firmly under Nazi control, and on that day, in a symbolic act, the Germans blew up Warsaw's Great Synagogue.

An estimated 7,000 Jews perished during the Warsaw ghetto uprising, while nearly 50,000 others who survived were sent to extermination or labor camps. It's believed that the Germans lost several hundred men in the uprising.

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The Warsaw ghetto uprising was a violent revolt that occurred from April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II. Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged the armed revolt to prevent deportations to Nazi-run extermination camps. The Warsaw uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe.

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During World War II, the Nazis established more than 400 ghettos for the purpose of isolating and controlling the Jews.

During World War II, the Nazis established more than 400 ghettos in order to isolate Jews from the non-Jewish population and from neighboring Jewish communities. The Germans regarded the establishment of ghettos as a provisional measure to control and segregate Jews. The assumption behind this separation was to stop the Jews, viewed by the Nazis as an inferior race, from mixing with and thus degrading the superior Aryan race.

Nazi high officials also believed that the Jews would succumb to the unfavorable living conditions of the ghetto, including lack of food, water, and living space. Furthermore, the ghettos served as round-up centers that made it more convenient to exterminate large numbers of the Jewish population later.

What Ghettos Looked Like

The ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe - primarily Poland - were often closed off by walls, barbed-wire fences, or gates. Ghettos were extremely crowded and unsanitary. Starvation, chronic food and fuel shortages, and severe winter weather led to repeated outbreaks of epidemics and to a high mortality rate. Ghettoization, however, was seen as a temporary situation, and in many places the ghettos existed only for a brief time. With the implementation of the "Final Solution" in 1942, the Germans began to destroy the ghettos by deporting the Jewish occupants to forced-labor and extermination camps.

The first ghetto was established in Lodz, Poland, on February 8, 1940. Approximately 155,000 Jews, almost one-third of the city's total population, were forced to live in the Lodz ghetto. As Lodz was a center of textile production, this ghetto was of considerable economic importance to the German war machine. Jews played an important role as workers in the textile factories there. For this reason, the deportation of Jews from the Lodz ghetto was only completed in August 1944.

The Warsaw ghetto was the largest ghetto established in Poland. Approximately 450,000 Jews were crowded into an area of 1.3 square miles that was the Warsaw ghetto. Other major ghettos were located in Krakow, Bialystok, Lvov, Lublin, Vilna, Kovno, Czestochowa, and Minsk.

Conditions in the Ghettos

Conditions in the ghettos were appalling. For example, the majority of the apartments in the Warsaw ghetto were unheated during winter, and the Nazis decided that the inhabitants of the Warsaw ghetto could survive on an official food allocation of 300 calories per day (compared with 634 calories for the Poles and 2,310 for the Germans).

The Nazis ordered Jews to wear identifying badges or armbands with a yellow Star of David on them in the ghettos. Many Jews were also required to perform forced labor for the German Reich. The Nazi-appointed Jewish councils ( Judenrat) and Jewish police maintained order within the ghettos and were forced by the Germans to facilitate deportations to the extermination camps.

The ghettos, however, were still full of life. Illegal activities, such as smuggling food or weapons, joining youth movements, or holding cultural events such as concerts, often occurred without the approval of the Jewish councils (though in many cases the Jewish councils did in fact sponsor cultural activities).

Historian Emanuel Ringelblum, an inhabitant of the Warsaw ghetto, founded a clandestine organization that aimed to provide an accurate record of events taking place in the ghetto. Ringelblum's project came to be known as the Oneg Shabbat ("Joy of the Sabbath"). Oneg Shabbat records were hidden in a series of milk cans that were buried in various areas of the ghetto. While only a few of these milk cans were recovered after the war, they proved to be an invaluable source documenting life in the ghetto and German policy toward the Jews of Poland.

Jewish Resistance in the Ghetto

Between July and mid-September 1942, the Germans deported at least 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto. As a response to the deportations, several Jewish underground organizations created armed self-defense units known as the Jewish Fighting Organization (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa or ZOB) and the Jewish Fighting Union (Zydowski Zwiazek Wojskowy or ZZW). The Germans intended to begin deporting the remaining Jews in the Warsaw ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of Passover. The renewal of deportations provoked an armed uprising within the ghetto.

Though organized military resistance was soon broken, individuals and small groups hid or fought the Germans - who had planned to liquidate the Warsaw ghetto in three days-holding out for a month, until May 16, 1943.The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the first urban uprising in German-occupied Europe. It was also the largest and most successful Jewish uprising during the war and, as such, has served as a symbol of Jewish resilience and resistance to Nazi persecution.
READ: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
After the Warsaw ghetto uprising, revolts occurred in Vilna, Bialystok, Czestochowa, and in several smaller ghettos. In August 1944, the Nazis completed the destruction of the last major ghetto in Lodz. In contrast, in Hungary, ghettoization did not begin until the spring of 1944 after the German invasion and occupation of the country. In less than three months, the Hungarian police, in coordination with the Germans, deported nearly 440,000 Jews from ghettos in Hungary to extermination camps. The majority were sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

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Ghettos Under the Nazis - My Jewish Learning

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During World War II, the Nazis established more than 400 ghettos for the purpose of isolating and controlling the Jews. During World War II, the Nazis established more than 400 ghettos in order to isolate Jews from the non-Jewish population and from neighboring Jewish communities.

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Origin of the Term "Ghetto"

The term "ghetto" originated from the name of the Jewish quarter in Venice, Italy. Venetian authorities compelled the city's Jews to live in the quarter, which was established in 1516. In the 16th and 17th centuries, officials ranging from local authorities to the Austrian emperor ordered the creation of ghettos for Jews in Frankfurt, Rome, Prague, and other cities.

Ghettos during World War II

During World War II, the SS and other German occupation authorities concentrated urban and sometimes regional Jewish populations in ghettos. Living conditions were miserable. Ghettos were often enclosed districts that isolated Jews by separating Jewish communities from the non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities. The Germans established at least 1,143 ghettos in the occupied eastern territories. There were three types of ghettos:

closed ghettos

open ghettos

destruction ghettos

German occupation authorities established the first ghetto in occupied Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski in October 1939. The largest ghetto in occupied Poland was the Warsaw ghetto. In Warsaw, more than 400,000 Jews were crowded into an area of 1.3 square miles. Other major ghettos were established in the cities of Lodz, Krakow, Bialystok, Lvov, Lublin, Vilna, Kovno, Czestochowa, and Minsk. Tens of thousands of western European Jews were also deported to ghettos in the east.

The Germans ordered Jews in the ghettos to wear identifying badges or armbands. They also required many Jews to carry out forced labor for the German Reich. Nazi-appointed Jewish councils ( Judenraete) administered daily life in the ghettos. A ghetto police force enforced the orders of the German authorities and the ordinances of the Jewish councils. This included facilitating deportations to killing centers. Jewish police officials, like Jewish council members, served at the whim of the German authorities. The Germans did not hesitate to kill those Jewish policemen who were perceived to have failed to carry out orders.

Ghettos and the "Final Solution"

In many places, ghettoization lasted a short time. Some ghettos existed for only a few days. Others lasted for months or years. The Germans saw the ghettos as a provisional measure to control and segregate Jews while the Nazi leadership in Berlin deliberated upon options for the removal of the Jewish population.

With the implementation of the " Final Solution" (the plan to murder all European Jews) beginning in late 1941, the Germans systematically destroyed the ghettos. The Germans and their auxiliaries either shot ghetto residents in mass graves located nearby or deported them. Jews were deported to killing centers. German SS and police authorities also deported a small minority of Jews from ghettos to forced-labor camps and concentration camps.

In August 1944, German SS and police completed the destruction of the last major ghetto, in Lodz.

Resistance in the Ghettos

Jews responded with a variety of resistance efforts. Ghetto residents frequently smuggled food, medicine, weapons, or intelligence across the ghetto walls. These and other such activities often took place without the knowledge or approval of the Jewish councils. On the other hand, some Jewish councils and some individual council members tolerated or encouraged the smuggling because the goods were necessary to keep ghetto residents alive.

The Germans generally showed little concern in principle about religious worship, attendance at cultural events, or participation in youth movements inside the ghetto walls. However, they often saw a "security threat" in any social gathering and would move ruthlessly to incarcerate or kill perceived ringleaders and participants. The Germans generally forbade any form of consistent schooling or education.

In the very beginning, my mother and several other women organized a clandestine school for children who were below the age of work, and it was a wonderful thing because we had something to look forward to
- Charlene Schiff

In some ghettos, members of Jewish resistance movements staged armed uprisings. The largest of these was the Warsaw ghetto uprising in spring 1943. There were also violent revolts in Vilna, Bialystok, Czestochowa, and several smaller ghettos.

Ghettos in Hungary

In Hungary, ghettoization did not begin until the spring of 1944 after the German invasion and occupation. In less than three months, the Hungarian gendarmerie, coordinating with German deportation experts from the Reich Main Office for Security, concentrated nearly 440,000 Jews from all over Hungary except for the capital city, Budapest. They forced the Jews into short-term "destruction ghettos" and then deported them into German custody at the Hungarian border. The Germans deported most of the Hungarian Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center.

In Budapest, Hungarian authorities required Jews to confine themselves to marked houses (so-called Star of David houses). On October 15, 1944, leaders of the fascist Arrow Cross movement seized power in a German-sponsored coup. A few weeks later, the Arrow Cross government formally established a ghetto in Budapest. About 63,000 Jews lived in this 0.1 square mile area. Approximately 25,000 Jews who carried certificates indicating they were under the protection of a neutral power were confined in an "international ghetto" in the city. In January 1945, Soviet forces liberated that part of Budapest in which the two ghettos were located and liberated the nearly 90,000 Jewish residents.

Last Edited: Dec 4, 2019

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The term "ghetto" originated from the name of the Jewish quarter in Venice, Italy. Venetian authorities compelled the city's Jews to live in the quarter, which was established in 1516. In the 16th and 17th centuries, officials ranging from local authorities to the Austrian emperor ordered the creation of ghettos for Jews in Frankfurt, Rome, Prague, and other cities.

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The great battles of World War II are well known but there was a secret war fought below the surface. Military operations shrouded in secrecy altered the conflict time and again, despite efforts by intelligence officials on all sides to discover what the enemy was up to. From spy missions to code breaking, THE SECRET HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II: SPIES, CODE BREAKERS, & COVERT OPERATIONS (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-1701-2; on-sale date Oct. 25, 2016; ; hardcover) by Neil Kagan and Stephen G. Hyslop, is a richly illustrated account of these secret missions of World War II, which transports readers behind the battle lines and deep into the undercover war effort that changed the course of world history. From the authors who created Eyewitness to World War II and numerous other best-selling illustrated reference books, this is the shocking story behind the top-secret activity that shaped the outcome of the world's greatest conflict-and the destiny of millions of people.

National Geographic's landmark book illuminates World War II as never before by taking readers inside the secret lives of spies and spy masters; secret agents and secret armies; Enigma machines and code breakers; psychological warfare and black propaganda; and secret weapons and secret battle strategies. Each of the six heavily illustrated narrative chapters reveal the truth behind the deception that shaped the "secret war." Six essays showcase hundreds of rare photos and artifacts (many never before seen) with more than 50 specially created sidebars that tell the stories of spies, double agents, war heroes, brave civilians and secret operations that include the likes of such notables as James Bond-creator Ian Fleming and songstress Josephine Baker, who were both spies for the Allies during the war. This provocative book documents the mosaic of covert life during the conflict and emphasizes that the war was personal and complex. Featured are over 700 rare artifacts and photographs from every country caught up in the struggle, from home fronts as well as battlefronts, including 240 secret weapons, documents, and devices from the collection of the Museum of World War II, Boston, such as:

An innocent looking baby carriage with a secret compartment used to conceal sabotage gear and a radio.

Necklaces that contained a deadly dose of cyanide issued to agents to prevent them from divulging classified information if captured behind enemy lines.

Purses with spy cameras and violin cases filled with the materials to make a bomb.

Pistols cleverly disguised as a smoking pipe and a belt buckle.

Archival materials including a signed letter from Albert Einstein warning President Roosevelt about the possibility of an atomic bomb, political cartoons from Seuss, and an array of international posters urging silence and discretion.

Kagan and Hyslop reveal this little-known side of the war in captivating detail, weaving in extraordinary eyewitness accounts and information only recently declassified. With a foreword by Kenneth W. Rendell, the founder and executive director of the Museum of World War II, Boston, THE SECRET HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II is sure to be absorbing reading for military and history buffs.

About the Authors:

NEIL KAGAN heads Kagan & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in designing and producing innovative illustrated books. Formerly publisher/managing editor and director of new product development for Time-Life Books, Kagan created numerous book series, including the award-winning Voices of the Civil War. Recently he edited Great Battles of The Civil War, Great Photography of the Civil War, and for National Geographic, the best-selling books Concise History of the World, Eyewitness to the Civil War, The Untold Civil War, and Atlas of the Civil War.

STEPHEN G. HYSLOP has written several books on American history, including National Geographic's Eyewitness to the Civil War and Atlas of the Civil War. A former writer and editor at Time-Life Books, Hyslop contributed to many volumes on the Second World War, including Great Photographs of World War II, Lightning War, and Barbarossa. His articles have appeared in American History, World War II, and The History Channel magazine.

About National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC, a joint venture between National Geographic Society and 21st Century Fox, combines National Geographic television channels with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic Studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, catalog, licensing and e-commerce businesses. A portion of the proceeds from National Geographic Partners LLC will be used to fund science, exploration, conservation and education through significant ongoing contributions to the work of the National Geographic Society. For more information, visit  www.nationalgeographic.com and find us on  Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram,  Google+,  YouTube,  LinkedIn and  Pinterest.

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II: Spies, Code Breakers, & Covert Operations - National Geographic Partners

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The great battles of World War II are well known but there was a secret war fought below the surface. Military operations shrouded in secrecy altered the conflict time and again, despite efforts by intelligence officials on all sides to discover what the enemy was up to.

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I thought I knew quite a bit about the war, but was amazed by some of the tales I encountered while researching my latest book. There was the Japanese spy chief whose exploits caused him to be dubbed by his own men 'Lawrence of Manchuria'. And there was Karl-Heinz Kramer, a German spy in Stockholm who warned Berlin in September 1944 that the Allies were about to stage a mass parachute drop to seize a bridge over the Rhine. His forecast was ignored, and after the war it was discovered that Kramer's supposed British informants were figments of his imagination: the Arnhem message was an inspired but wild guess.

Meanwhile, one of the Soviets' wartime spy chiefs, Pavel Sudoplatov, earned his spurs by presenting a Ukrainian nationalist in Rotterdam with a handsome box of chocolates... which blew the man to pieces minutes later. In the far east, bitter hostility between British and American secret services reached a nadir in January 1945, when USAAF aircraft shot down two RAF Liberators, apparently deliberately, because they were carrying French agents into Indochina against Washington's wishes.

The Soviet superspy Richard Sorge once said that spying should be done bravely - and that was certainly how he did it. He began his brilliant campaign to penetrate the German embassy in Tokyo in 1933 by befriending the Wehrmacht colonel who soon afterwards became Hitler's ambassador - and by sleeping with the colonel's wife. Before Sorge was finally arrested eight years later, and dispatched to the gallows, there was scarcely a handsome woman within his reach whom he had not seduced, nor an embassy secret that had gone unreported to Moscow.

Not the least remarkable agent of the war was a man few people have ever heard of, the Special Operations Executive's (SOE's) Ronald Seth, who was parachuted into Estonia to start a resistance movement in October 1942. Seth was next sighted in Paris in 1944, having become a protégé of German intelligence, trained to drop back into Britain. This fabulously weird man's doings fill a thousand pages in the files of SOE, MI6, MI5, MI9 and Hitler's Abwehr (military intelligence). It almost defies belief that Seth's operational codename was 'Blunderhead'.

In my new book, as in all my books, I have attempted to paint the big picture - in this case, the significance of intelligence to each nation's war effort - then woven in human stories such as these about spies, codebreakers, guerrillas and intelligence chiefs. The Second World War witnessed an explosion of covert operations such that, in Professor Richard Aldrich's words, "secret service became the struggle's growth industry". Never in history had such vast resources been lavished upon garnering information. The Americans alone spent half a billion dollars a year on sigint - signals intelligence.

Harnessing civilian talent

Most of this was wasted, of course, but today we are in no doubt that the western Allies did intelligence better than their enemies, partly because they gave free rein to superb civilian talent. When the British official history began to be published 30 years ago, I suggested to its author, Harry Hinsley, a veteran of the codebreaking unit at Bletchley Park, that it seemed to show amateurs achieving much more than secret service professionals. Hinsley replied, rather testily: "Of course they did. You wouldn't want to think, would you, that in peacetime the best brains of our society wasted their lives in intelligence?"

I've always thought this important. Battles could be fought by men of limited gifts, the virtues of the sports field: fitness, grit, skill with weapons. But intelligence services suddenly needed brilliance - and Britain was the place where they got more of it than anywhere else. Most books on this theme focus on single nations. I have tried instead to explore the global story. I've written a lot about the Soviets, whose doings are unfamiliar to most western readers, and who created the largest spy networks the world has ever seen, across continental Europe and in Britain and the US.

The 'Red Orchestra', upper-middle-class, leftwing Germans, provided Moscow with superb intelligence about Hitler's war machine between 1935 and 1942. They were led by astonishing personalities: the Luftwaffe officer Harro Schulze-Boysen and his wife Libertas, the intellectual Arvid Harnack and his American wife Mildred, all four of whom eventually met dreadful deaths at Nazi hands.

Spymasters were often unsure which side their agents were really on, and in some cases doubt persists to this day. The British dwell obsessively on the treason of the so-called Cambridge Five. But fewer people notice what we might call the Washington and Berkeley 500 - a small army of American leftists who briefed Soviet intelligence not merely about the atomic bomb but also about every aspect of US policy and technology.

Many books about intelligence focus on what spies and codebreakers found out. The only question that matters, however, is of how far their discoveries changed outcomes. Did they prompt action by commanders in the field and at sea? It is fruitless to study in isolation any nation's pearls of revelation. These must be seen in the context of thousands of pages of trivia and nonsense that crossed the desks of analysts and warlords.

I am struck by the number of spies whose only achievement abroad was to stay alive, at hefty cost to their employers, while collecting information of which not a smidgen assisted anyone's war effort. Perhaps one-thousandth of 1 per cent of material from secret sources changed battlefield outcomes. Yet that fraction was of such value that nations begrudged not a life nor a pound, rouble, dollar or Reichsmark expended in securing it.

Until late 1942 the wartime sigint competition was much less lopsided in the Allies' favour than legend suggests. Hitler had his own Bletchley Parks, and the Germans broke important codes, with consequences for both the battle of the Atlantic and the north African campaign. Admiral Karl Dönitz's men achieved reasonably regular breaks into convoy communications, though fortunately only about one signal in 10 was broken quickly enough to concentrate U-boats on targets. A secret postwar American study of German naval intelligence concluded: "The enemy possessed at all times a reasonably clear picture of Atlantic convoys with varying degrees of accuracy as to the routes and day-by-day plotting."

Such failures sometimes had perverse consequences. Dönitz several times became fearful that the British were reading U-boat codes, and ordered inquiries. In the end, however, he allowed himself to be reassured by the vulnerability of the Allies' convoy traffic. He reasoned that if the Royal Navy was clever enough to read the German hand, its chiefs would have stopped this costly hole in their own communications.

Had the Allies' conduct in the battle of the Atlantic suggested omniscience, Dönitz would almost certainly have suspected the British breakthroughs in deciphering his encrypted communications, and slammed shut the window on U-boat operations that had been prised open by the brilliant codebreakers of Bletchley Park.

As for the land war, until late 1942 German and Allied sigint were in about the same place. The Afrika Korps thought the British 8th Army's wireless discipline very slack, and attributed to this some of Rommel's triumphs. The so-called 'Desert Fox' called the Wehrmacht's 621st Radio Interception Company his 'circus', and it was deemed a major disaster when in July 1942 New Zealanders overran and destroyed it. Worse for Rommel, at about the same time, Washington belatedly changed its diplomatic codes. For many months, he had been reading what he gratefully called his 'little Fellers' - the dispatches of Colonel Bonner Fellers, the American military attaché in Cairo, who revealed almost every detail about British deployments and intentions.

After Bletchley persuaded the Americans to repair this gaping security breach, the Germans never again secured such a superb source. For the rest of the war they read only lower Allied codes, though spasms of carelessness enabled the Germans to piece together orders of battle, just as the British and Americans did with German communiqués.

The Wehrmacht out-station in Athens, for instance, once read a message from a British paymaster in Palestine, instructing a division moving to Egypt to leave behind its filing cabinets. This enabled a big red pin to be shifted on the map of Montgomery's deployments. Later, the Germans discovered that the American 82nd Airborne division had been redeployed from Italy to Britain because they broke an administrative message about a paratrooper facing a paternity suit. They also deduced an impending attack in Italy when they decrypted a signal ordering a rum issue for the assault units.

Bletchley's brilliance

We should acknowledge that German codebreakers achieved important successes - before thanking our forefathers' lucky stars that they did not, in the end, match the men and women of the Government Code and Cypher School outside a dreary suburban town in Buckinghamshire: Bletchley Park.

Alan Turing was in a class of his own. Yet the Bletchley Park story is far more complicated than such simplistic films as The Imitation Game suggest. First, far from anybody at Bletchley persecuting Turing, his genius was always recognised there. Second, the GCCS's achievement was a team effort by one of the most remarkable groups of human beings ever assembled - Turing could have achieved nothing without that fellowship.

Legend has it that Bletchley, through Turing's Bombes - electro-mechanical machines that helped decipher messages encrypted using German Enigma machines - gained open access to the enemy's communications. This is untrue. The codebreakers didn't walk on all the water all the time. Though a lot of Luftwaffe and naval traffic was read from 1941 onwards, breaking army Enigma messages was hugely difficult. As late as September 1944, Hut 6 at Bletchley could read only 15 per cent of army messages. Many breaks took days to achieve, and reached battlefield commanders too late to influence events.

Moreover, an increasing number of the Germans' most secret messages were enciphered not with Enigma, but instead through teleprinters that employed an entirely different system. The achievement of Bletchley's people in cracking this system was arguably greater than that of breaking Enigma. The most widely used German teleprinter was the Lorenz Schlüsselzusatz (SZ) - codenamed Tunny at Bletchley - which transmitted in a non-Morse language. After British interceptors started to record this incomprehensible stutter, from August 1941 a Bletchley team probed its significance.

Piece by piece they groped towards the solution of the Lorenz riddle, handicapped by the lack of a physical example of the Germans' transmitter (whereas they had had an Enigma machine). The man who made the initial discoveries is scarcely known to posterity, yet deserves to be almost as famous as Turing.

Bill Tutte was a 24-year-old former chemistry student turned mathematician. The son of a gardener, he won a scholarship to the Cambridge and County Day School, then progressed to Trinity College. In October 1941, Tutte was assigned to study Lorenz, and spent months seeking to divine what kind of machine might generate the noises recorded by the interceptors. By sheer brainpower he eventually established that the teleprinter had two sets of five wheels, with 501 settable pins and a further two motor wheels, between them creating a range of combinations much greater than Enigma's. A Bletchley chief hailed Tutte's contribution as "one of the outstanding successes of the war" - and so it was.

Fishing for information

Establishing the machine's character was a vital beginning, yet the problems of reading its traffic remained huge. By the summer of 1942, the need to crack Lorenz had become desperately urgent. The more the Germans used it for top-secret communications, the less they used Enigma. Between July and October 1942, by extraordinary endeavours that owed little to mechanical assistance, a Bletchley team read some messages. It was learned that one of the teleprinters was named Sägefisch (sawfish), so different German keys used in setting Lorenz were allocated fish codenames at Bletchley - Bream, Grilse, Octopus and so on. Some of the most momentous German messages were encrypted in Jellyfish.

Bletchley reported in August 1943: "The quality of the intelligence derived from the Fish keys is of the highest order." Decryption attempts became far more successful towards the end of the year, when new technology - first, the 'Heath Robinson', then Colossus - was deployed.

Decrypts from both Enigma and Lorenz were known indiscriminately to Allied field commanders as Ultra, and these enabled them to plan operations in the second half of the war with a confidence vouchsafed to no previous warlords in history. But it deserves emphasis that, though Ultra was a marvellous tool, it was not an Excalibur, magicking victories. Reading an enemy's hand did not diminish its strength.

Until late 1942, again and again the British learned where the Germans intended to strike, but it did not save them from losing the battles that followed. Hard power was always indispensable to the exploitation of secret knowledge.

The British have always been justly proud of their deception successes, but others also played this game, notably the Soviets, sometimes with awesome success. Ian Fleming's thrillers are said to bear no relationship to the real world of espionage.

Yet, when reading contemporary commissars' reports and memoirs, I am struck by how uncannily they echo the mad, monstrous, imagined dialogue of such people in From Russia With Love. Some of the plots executed by Stalin's spymasters were no less fantastic than Fleming's, and dwarf in scale those of the western Allies.

For instance, in December 1941 a personable young man named Alexander Demyanov, descendant of a great noble family, skied into the German lines south-west of Moscow and announced that he represented a pro-Hitler resistance group committed to restoring the tsars.

The Abwehr embraced him, and a few months later parachuted him back into Russia, codenamed Agent Max. Demyanov soon reported that he had become a wireless operator at Red Army headquarters and, for more than two years thereafter, passed fabulous information to Berlin.

Stalin's pivotal deception

Colonel Reinhard Gehlen, chief of German intelligence on the eastern front, cherished Max as his star source. Meanwhile, the spy's dispatches found another fascinated audience - in Britain. Hugh Trevor-Roper, later a controversial Oxford historian, spent the war monitoring the Abwehr for MI6. During my research I decided that the snobbish, rude, arrogant Trevor-Roper was one of the most remarkable British intelligence officers of the war. From 1942 onwards he knew more about Hitler's secret services than anybody in Germany, because he was privy to the identities of all of the double agents controlled by the Twenty Committee (so named as a nod to that number in Roman numerals: XX - 'double-cross') in London.

Courtesy of Bletchley, the donnish officer pored over Agent Max's early dispatches - and warned the Soviets they had a security leak the size of the Grand Canyon. When they took no notice, Trevor-Roper decided that Max must be a double, controlled by Stalin's NKVD. In November 1942 came Stalingrad and operation Uranus, the Soviets' devastatingly successful double-envelopment of the German 6th Army. Around the same time further north, the Red Army also launched another big offensive, Operation Mars - which proved a bloodstained failure.

This caused the British to conclude that Agent Max could not conceivably be working for Moscow - because he had warned the Germans that Mars was coming, enabling them to shift reinforcements northwards to meet it. Nobody, reasoned these rational men serving a western democracy, could have sacrificed 77,000 Soviet lives to promote a deception. But Stalin did just that. The evidence now seems incontrovertible: that Agent Max was indeed the NKVD's Agent Heine; and that, on the Soviet warlord's personal authority, the Germans were told of Operation Mars to distract them from Uranus. This was surely one of the most remarkable intelligence stories of the war.

Many things about the 1939-45 era remain disputable, but no informed person doubts that Bletchley was one of the most remarkable institutions the world has ever known, forming a key part of the narrative of Britain's achievement in the conflict. It remains nonetheless weird, almost beyond imagining, that the Germans never recognised the vulnerability of Enigma and Lorenz. They received endless clues and tips: in my book I tell the story of how, in May 1942, a German commerce raider seized the Australian freighter Nankin, and found aboard top secret Allied reports based on Ultra intercepts, which were eventually forwarded to Berlin. And in 1943 a Swiss intelligence officer, exploiting a warning apparently from an American source, told the Abwehr that the Allies had broken the U-boat codes.

Even then, a most un-Germanic mental laziness prevailed. While the Third Reich executed wholesale Allied spies, traitors and saboteurs, its functionaries remained oblivious of the most deadly of all threats to its security - a few hundred tweedy, bespectacled young academics labouring in drab, suburban Buckinghamshire. The only explanation is hubris: an institutional unwillingness to believe that their British enemies, whom they so often humbled on the battlefield, could be that clever.

Although there are many stories in my book about bungles and failures, in intelligence as in everything else related to conflict, victory is won not by the side that makes no mistakes, but by the one that makes fewer than the enemy. By such a reckoning, the final triumph of the British and Americans was as great in the secret war as it became in the collision between armies, navies and air forces.

We should also acknowledge that, for many agents serving their countries abroad, the experience was irresistibly thrilling, albeit at risk of their lives. An SOE officer posted to the Levant described the impact on local listeners when he used the French word intelligence to describe his mission: "The sharp intake of breath by Arabs who had read their romans policiers, and knew the omnipotence, omniscience and ruthlessness of the British Secret Service, was flatteringly audible. Some instantly asked me if I was a lord." He loved it. So, too, did most other spies of many nations. Why else would they have taken the work?
Sir Max Hastings is a military historian and journalist

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WW2 espionage: The spies who surprised me

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I thought I knew quite a bit about the war, but was amazed by some of the tales I encountered while researching my latest book. There was the Japanese spy chief whose exploits caused him to be dubbed by his own men 'Lawrence of Manchuria'.

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James Bond truly isn't the only legendary spy out there.

The Imperial War Museum of London proudly displays the gadgets used by famous spies during the World War II in tribute to the heroes themselves.

Spy gadgets, often seen by many only in James Bond films, can now be viewed by the public in the museum. The gadgets were used by spies of the Special Operatives Executive during the World War.

The highly skillful men and women of the SOE faced danger and placed their lives on the line of their work. They employed every means including the use of devious devices to get vital information necessary to cripple the enemies and win the war.

The Imperial War Museum of London pays tribute to the great men and women of SOE during the same month of the death of Ferguson Smith. Smith, a Cold War spycatcher, was a legend since WWII to the Cold War. He died last September 15 at the age of 98.

The Mirror UK News reports how Amanda Mason, curator, reveals the tricks in using the gadgets in display in the Imperial War Museum.
THE SPY GADGETS AND TRICKS 1. Rodent Bombs
Rodent bombs were basically dead rats filled with explosives. The trick was to place the rats in factories near enemy camps and bases. Once the factory workers discover the rats, they would throw them to the fire and the rodent bombs would explode.

The original plan, however, was discovered by the Germans according to Amanda Mason. But, the rodent bombs became a scare that the Germans would leave them untouched to rot spreading diseases.
2. Biscuit Tin Radio
Communication was very crucial to pass on vital messages to and from the operatives.

"The SOE had a team dedicated to making radios and other gear look like everyday objects. The more ways you had to communicate, the more ways you had to get your message out," said Amanda.

To make the radio look inconspicuous, they hid it in a 2-pound Huntley & Palmer biscuit tin. They were sent to agents active in the resistance in France in 1944 by way of parachute.
3. Pipe Pistol
The British spies planned to use the pipe pistol but never got around creating more than just the prototypes. The pipe pistol was supposed to be used by British Home Guard or "Dad's Army" against enemy paratroopers.

The idea of a pipe pistol is simply clever. Back in the day when pipe-smoking was a hype, no one would think that this object would conceal a weapon. The pipe pistol could serve the dual purpose of a pipe for smoking tobacco even when loaded and a lethal weapon which could fire .22 caliber bullets through its stem.
4. Bicycle Charger
Another practical scientific application of mechanical energy to charge generators, the bicycle charger was employed to power batteries of radios by the resistance in France. The bicycles were attached to generators. When pedaled, the generator could store electricity for various uses.

"If you're operating in countryside with no way to charge the batteries a bike could be used as a dynamo," said Amanda.
5. Spike Letter Box
Another crafty innovation, the spike letter box was used to conceal secret messages. The messages would be rolled into the hollow stem of the spikes and placed inconspicuously into the fence.

"There were so many ways spies used to keep in touch depending on what happened to be available to them in any situation," said Amanda.

The resistance agents operating in France really found useful value in concealing their messages in an everyday object.
8. Compass Fly Button
This brass fly button did come in handy for Captain David Smiley in his missions in the Middle East and North Africa. The button can be used as a compass.

The "magnetic items which would point north: compasses in buttons, pencil clips and even magnetic fly buttons" was given to Smiley by magician Jasper Maskelyne in 1943.
9. Messages in Washing Lines
Among the exhibited gadgets is a washing line with clothes hanging on it including a handkerchief, eiderdown, lace and a pair of pants.

To a normal viewer, the washing line is pretty much a normal site. But to the resistance spies, it would have a whole different meaning.

"The resistance would use washing lines to convey secret messages. In this case the first letter of each object spells HELP. Spies used many different ways of sending coded signals," explained Amanda.
10. Overshoes
SOE agents were careful not to leave any tracks including their shoe prints. The prints of their military boots would alarm their enemies. To disguise their tracks, they would use rubber over shoes shaped as soles making it looked like the footprints were made by barefooted locals.

"But like a lot of special inventions that were made, we don't know how many of them were actually used and tried out in the field. Some never made it," said Amanda.
11. Counterfeit Documents
Fake documents were highly important to complete the false identities of spies. The fake documents should be able to pass enemy scrutiny.

"The SOE had a whole team of specialist forgers making fake papers. They used the most up-to-date information so they always knew what kind of new identification was required. They were really skilled in their work," Amanda explained.

An exhibit shows a fake passport for Adolf Hitler. Everything would have been fine from his occupation as "painter" to his distinguishing feature is "a little moustache". The only downfall of this fake document is the red "J" stamp. The "J" is the Nazi mark for a Jew identified for persecution.
THE SPIES 1. Forest Yeo-Thomas
The spy who hailed from London, Thomas came to be known under the code name White Rabbit. Known as the "bravest of the brave", he was the character that Ian Fleming brought to life in his famous James Bond work.

As a spy, he was captured and tortured in Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp. However, his capture did not deter his spirit nor his work. He escaped along with evidence that helped convict 22 war criminals.
2. Nancy Wake
The spy who hailed from New Zealand, Wake came to be known as White Mouse. Her spy work is the inspiration of the film character Charlotte Gray. She did liaison work for the Allies and the resistance in Southern France.

On one occasion, she cycled for three days without stopping to warn Britain of an impending German attack.
3. Eddie Chapman
Eddie Chapman was born in Co Durham in 1914. As a safecracker, he was jailed in Jersey by the Nazis. He was freed under the pretext of working as a spy for the Nazis in England.

He fed wrong information to the Nazis. He even convinced them that a Mosquito Bomber Factory had been "destroyed".
4. Juan Pujol Garcia
The Spaniard Garcia was born in 1912 and came to work as a spy for the Allies during the World War II. Codenamed as Garbo, he became one of the most famous double agents. Among the fake intelligence information that he sent to the Nazis was that the D-Day landings of the Allies would be at Calais. As it turned out, the landings were in the beaches of Normandy.

He was such a convincing Nazi that he was awarded an Iron Cross by the Germans. At the same time, he was also an awardee of Britain's MBE.

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James Bond truly isn't the only legendary spy out there. The Imperial War Museum of London proudly displays the gadgets used by famous spies during the World War II in tribute to the heroes themselves. Spy gadgets, often seen by many only in James Bond films, can now be viewed by the public in the museum.

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Welcome to The Holocaust Explained
This website has been created to help learners understand the essential facts of the Holocaust, its causes and its consequences. We aim to answer questions that people most often want to ask in an accessible, reliable and engaging way. Designed with the British school curriculum in mind, our content is organised across nine clearly defined and easy-to-navigate topic areas.

The Holocaust Explained includes hundreds of pages of content based on a wide variety of source material in the form of videos, images and text. It is managed by The Wiener Holocaust Library. The Library is the oldest archive of material on the Nazi era and the Holocaust in the world. It is Britain's national Holocaust archive, and enjoys an international reputation as a leading centre of research and learning.

Advanced content
All of the main learning materials on The Holocaust Explained have been designed to be accessible to learners from the age of thirteen to eighteen. We know that different people learn at very different speeds and also in quite different ways. That is why we have added advanced content aimed at people who feel they already have achieved a good basic understanding of a topic, but who wish to explore in greater depth.

In order to activate advanced content across the site, simply click the red button on the left-hand side of each page. On the mobile version, just tap on the topic menu.

The history of the Holocaust is complex and vast. While The Holocaust Explained is not able to cover every aspect of Holocaust history, it does seek to aid understanding and help learners to navigate through the sequence of events.

For this reason, we have included a timeline of important events in the history of the Holocaust.
Explore timeline

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The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools

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Welcome to The Holocaust Explained This website has been created to help learners understand the essential facts of the Holocaust, its causes and its consequences. We aim to answer questions that people most often want to ask in an accessible, reliable and engaging way.

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You've probably seen them hauling tourists around the streets of America's biggest cities, but in spite of that carefree utility, the wartime history of the "Duck" is one of significant import.

In April 1940, GMC Truck Engineering began to build a prototype of model DUKW353 2½-ton 6x6 amphibious cargo/troop carrier truck for the U.S. Army. After completion in June, that prototype passed Army acceptance tests and a purchase contract was issued. Production started on Nov. 10, culminating a very short concept-to-production period. This model was nicknamed the "Duck" because its coded serial letters were "DUKW."

The first model DUKW353 "Duck" trucks were delivered in late 1943. The chassis was based on model CCKW353 with high forward controls. A central tire inflation system was available, which allowed the driver to adjust tire pressure from his seat. Lowered pressure provided better flotation and traction on soft ground. Initially, Ducks were built on Chevrolet's Plant 2 assembly line in St. Louis, which previously built buses. (131,733 GMC trucks were produced that year, all of them military vehicles.)

Loaded with troops and fighting equipment, Ducks were part of the first waves of assaults from New Guinea to Normandy during World War II. And after those beachhead ballets were won, theses versatile vehicles continued to work, transporting tons of supplies from ships at sea to inland depots.

After playing an important role in the landing in Sicily, Ducks were used by the hundreds when the British invaded the "toe" of Italy. Then as Allied Forces began closing in on the Axis, Ducks helped to make successful landings at Salerno, Naples, Anzio and Nettuno. They were also used extensively at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Arawe, Hollandia, and Saipan in the South Pacific.

For navigation on the high seas, the Duck was designed with a 31-foot steel hull that surrounds the truck frame assembly. The driving power was switched from the wheels to a rear-mounted propeller with the flip of a lever. The rudder and front wheels were steered by the same mechanism.

To keep the hold "high and dry" when the water was rough, the Duck had a "surfboard" at the front, a tarpaulin top and powered bilge pumps. The chassis and wheels gave the vehicle additional balance and stability as well.

The Duck could reach speeds upward of 50 miles per hour on hard-surfaced roads, but those were a luxury in both theaters of the war. The vehicle was equipped with a unique tire inflation control system -- innovative engineering for the time -- that allowed drivers to adjust the tire pressure to give the best possible traction for whatever terrain they encountered.

And as the Nazis retreated eastward, the Duck's half-boat-half-truck capability came in handy, allowing the vehicles to cross waterways where bridges had been destroyed.

In March 1944, production of a limited selection of medium- and heavy-duty trucks for civilian use resumed under the control of the U.S. War Production Board. Those trucks were available only to operators certified worthy by the WPB. That year, GMC received the Army-Navy "E" Award for Excellence in the war effort. The U.S. Army considered the GMC 2½-ton 6x6 the best trucks in service during the war, and the GMC "Duck" as the most outstanding of new ordnance weapons.

During World War II, GMC built a total of 583,925 multi-drive military vehicles, including: 528,829 6x6 trucks, 21,147 Ducks (in Chevrolet's St. Louis plant) and 32 armored cars. Fifty-nine U.S. War Department contracts were fulfilled plus contracts with Great Britain, France and other allies. The value of GMC military sales during the war totaled $1.5 billion.
Read more about GM's extensive role in military history.
Show Full Article

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You've probably seen them hauling tourists around the streets of America's biggest cities, but in spite of that carefree utility, the wartime history of the "Duck" is one of significant import. In April 1940, GMC Truck Engineering began to build a prototype of model DUKW353 2½-ton 6x6 amphibious cargo/troop carrier truck for the U.S.

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The Crown Inn, where Alan Turing lodged
(my photo, 1979)

Alan Turing at War
After Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, British codebreaking operations were moved from London to Bletchley Park. This country house was near the then small railway town of Bletchley, half-way between Oxford and Cambridge.
See this modern map for the site, close to Bletchley railway station.

Between 4 September 1939 and the summer of 1944, Alan Turing lodged at The Crown Inn, at Shenley Brook End, a village to the west of Bletchley.

The Shenley area (see this map)
is now completely changed.

War did not stop Alan Turing being an individualist. In 1940 he buried some silver bars near Shenley. In 1944, 1946 and 1952 he tried to find them and failed. No-one knows what happened to his buried treasure!

Bletchley Park Mansion

Bletchley Park today
Bletchley Park can still be seen today because the wartime site was left largely unchanged after 1945.
In 1991, the site was saved from property development, and amazing work of reconstruction was done by the original curator, the late Tony Sale, and his collaborators.

Now the house and grounds are managed by the Bletchley Park Trust.

The Bletchley Park Museum website gives full details of how to visit the museum and the various events held there.

The website has a history section, with the origin of the Enigma work described here.

Tony Sale created a complementary website, www.codesandciphers.org.uk,
with more extensive technical explanation, copies of original documents, and a Virtual Tour of Bletchley Park with photographs.

Some parts of the Second World War material are covered by National Museum of Computing, also on the Bletchley Park grounds, but separately managed.

The huts: my photo, August 1998.

The nerve centre

Everything to do with intelligence was dominated by the technicalities of the Enigma cipher machine, the key to German communications.

Alan Turing's wartime life was spent mainly in the Huts erected in the grounds of Bletchley Park, where the technical work of codebreaking was done.

Hut Eight, where Alan Turing worked on the naval Enigma, is in the centre of the picture. To the left is Hut Six (Army and Air Force signals). To the right is Hut One. This is where, in March 1940, the machine that defeated the Enigma was first installed.

Most German communications were enciphered on the Enigma cipher machine. It was based on rotors whose movement produced ever-changing alphabetic substitutions.

Cheaper: a modern replica.

In fact, the Enigma had to be broken afresh over and over again. The hardware in the picture is not the whole story, and capturing it did not allow Enigma messages to be read. The German use of the Enigma depended on systems for setting the keys for each message transmitted, and it was these key-systems that had to be broken. There were many such systems, often changing, and the hardware was changed as well from time to time. The brilliant pre-war work by Polish mathematicians enabled them to read Enigma messages on the simplest key-systems. The information they gave to Britain and France in 1939 may have been crucial, but it was not sufficient for the continuation and extension of Enigma breaking over the next six years. New ideas were essential.

The cottage in the stable yard of Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing worked with Dillwyn Knox in the winter of 1939-40.
(My photo, July 2002).

The Bombe implemented a very ingenious algorithm for testing Enigma settings and rejecting all but a very few as inconsistent with the data. The Wikipedia page has a full explanation. Another source of on-line information on the use of the Enigma and the Bombe is on Tony Sale's site. This gives a full technical description and explanation of the Enigma machine and its use. It also offers a 'Virtual Bletchley Park' area with a page detailing his explanation of how Turing arrived at the idea of the Bombe, and another about the Polish breaking of the Enigma which preceded it. It includes an on-line simulator of the Bombe, and much more historical information.

The Bombes were built by British Tabulating Machinery at their factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. The first was in use by May 1940 and breaking German Air Force messages. It was called (with an optimism unjustified by current events) Victory. The second arrived in August, It was called Agnus Dei, the extraordinary choice of name being ascribed to Turing. (He might well have remarked that it would be an effective way of taking away the sins of the world.) Eventually, there were over 200 Bombes in the Bletchley vicinity.

Rotors on the mock-up Bombe, June 2001

Everything about the breaking of the Enigma cipher systems remained secret until the mid-1970s. Partial accounts then emerged constrained by continuing secrecy about technical matters. Gordon Welchman gave the central principle of the Bombe in describing his own contribution in The Hut Six Story, 1983.

Notable books are:

Hut 6, Bletchley Park, where the German Air Force signals were broken with the help of Turing's Bombes.
I took this photo in 1998. Snce then, the Hut has been splendidly restored by the Bletchley Park Museum.

Frode Weierud's CryptoCellar.
Geoff Sullivan's CryptoMuseum

Alan Turing and the Battle of the Atlantic
The Bombe was used with success from the summer of 1940 onwards, to break messages enciphered on the simpler Enigma system used by the German Air Force. But the most important messages were those to and from the U-boat fleet, and these were enciphered on a much more secure Enigma system.
Alan Turing took on this problem, going against the prevailing view that it would prove unbreakable. Although he had crucial new ideas at the end of 1939, not much practical progress could be made. In 1940 they were desperate.

See the October 1940 Operation Ruthless plan devised by Ian Fleming, later the creator of 'James Bond', to capture such information for Turing's work.

Colleagues and friends
These are some of the main people with whom Alan Turing worked. Alan Turing recruited Shaun Wylie as a fellow graduate student from his Princeton days. Joan Clarke was brought in by Gordon Welchman, when she finished her Cambridge fourth year in mathematics. She became Alan Turing's closest friend, and in early 1941 he proposed marriage to her, which she accepted. Immediately, however, he told her of his 'homosexual tendencies', and the engagement ended in August 1941: he quoted Yet each man kills the thing he loves from Oscar Wilde. His confidences to her showed that the refugee boy Bob was on his mind. His friend Fred Clayton had written a fictionalised account of how the connection with the refugees had come about, and he gave this to Joan as a way of airing the subject of his sexuality. After 1942 he had less to do with Hut Eight, and was most friendly with Donald Michie, who joined Bletchley Park in 1943.
Shaun Wylie, Joan Clarke and Jack Good spoke for the 1992 television documentary: see the YouTube version.

The breakthrough came in February 1941, with the capture of papers from the Krebs off Norway.

Books concentrating on the naval Enigma capture operations:

From then on, with the help of some further captures, the U-boat communications were effectively mastered. Alan Turing continued to head the cryptanalysis of all German Naval signals in Hut Eight.

The naval Enigma was more complicated than those of the other German services, using a stock of eight rather than five rotors. For the Bombe to work in a practical time it was necessary to find ways of cutting down the number of possibilities. Alan Turing developed 'Banburismus,' a statistical and logical technique of great elegance, to find the identity of the rotors of the enciphering Enigma before using the Bombe. Turing made major developments in Bayesian statistical theory for this work, with his assistant (I. J.) Jack Good, who joined in May 1941.

Two important papers by Turing describe his statistical theory. They can be obtained directly from the National Archives. They were only released by GCHQ in April 2012. See this news item.

See this news article about extending Turing's theory, with more technical web-page and downloadable pdf on 'Almost Good Turing.'
See Steve Hosgood's page on 'Banburismus' for a detailed description of the whole process. The Wikipedia pages on Banburismus and Sequential Analysis also explain the methods.
Tony Sale's site also has a sequence of pages on Naval Enigma explaining in considerable detail what Alan Turing did and how Banburismus worked.

On 1 February 1942, the U-boats changed to an even more complicated Enigma system, involving a fourth rotor. Their communications became effectively unbreakable until December 1942, when captures and brilliant tricks allowed codebreaking to be restored.

There is no known photo of Alan Turing during the war. This, taken just before the war, is not how he usually looked at Bletchley. He was a hippy before his time, dispensing with ties and suits.

Original reports (c. 1945) on Naval Enigma written by C. H. O'D. Alexander and A. P. Mahon
are available as transcriptions on Graham Ellsbury's website.
The chess champion Hugh Alexander became Turing's deputy in Hut 8, and took over in November 1942. Mahon took over later in the war.

The positions of these four rotors on the naval Enigma machines were of critical importance to the war and occupied the minds of Hut 8 day and night.

Fact and Fiction
An American film, U-571, drew on the story of the material captured in 1941 but fictionalised it as an American achievement. You can see US Navy comment on this fictionalisation here.
Robert Harris's thriller novel Enigma was adapted as a film Enigma by Tom Stoppard. It depicts the naval Enigma problem in the 1943 period. The story is fiction, and the film does not show the actual Bletchley Park location. The film also endows the fictional lead character with allusions suggesting he is 'really' Turing himself. See my review of the film.

However, more care was taken in representing the technical background. Tony Sale's detailed pages describe how he scrupulously devised suitable messages and Enigma methods for this film.

This was not the first (nor the last) fictional drama portraying Turing's role at Bletchley Park; the earliest was the distinguished novelist Ian McEwan's television film The Imitation Game (1980).

At the end of 1942, Alan Turing's war experience had changed him in many ways. It gave him experience of digital electronics. It made him fascinated by the idea of 'intelligent machinery'. And it made him a top level liaison between the United Kingdom and the United States. All these developments were to come together in the post-war world of the computer, with Alan Turing at its centre.

Continue to
the next Scrapbook page.

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The Crown Inn, where Alan Turing lodged (my photo, 1979) After Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, British codebreaking operations were moved from London to Bletchley Park. This country house was near the then small railway town of Bletchley, half-way between Oxford and Cambridge.

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Turingery and Delilah

In July 1942, Turing developed a complex code-breaking technique he named 'Turingery'. This method fed into work by others at Bletchley in understanding the 'Lorenz' cipher machine. Lorenz enciphered German strategic messages of high importance: the ability of Bletchley to read these contributed greatly to the Allied war effort.

Turing travelled to the United States in December 1942, to advise US military intelligence in the use of Bombe machines and to share his knowledge of Enigma. Whilst there, he also saw the latest American progress on a top secret speech enciphering system. Turing returned to Bletchley in March 1943, where he continued his work in cryptanalysis. Later in the war, he developed a speech scrambling device which he named 'Delilah'. In 1945, Turing was awarded an OBE for his wartime work.

The Universal Turing Machine

In 1936, Turing had invented a hypothetical computing device that came to be known as the 'universal Turing machine'. After the Second World War ended, he continued his research in this area, building on his earlier work and incorporating all he'd learnt during the war. Whilst working for the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Turing published a design for the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine), which was arguably the forerunner to the modern computer. The ACE project was not taken forward, however, and he later left the NPL.

Legacy

In 1952, Alan Turing was arrested for homosexuality - which was then illegal in Britain. He was found guilty of 'gross indecency' (this conviction was overturned in 2013) but avoided a prison sentence by accepting chemical castration. In 1954, he was found dead from cyanide poisoning. An inquest ruled that it was suicide.

The legacy of Alan Turing's life and work did not fully come to light until long after his death. His impact on computer science has been widely acknowledged: the annual 'Turing Award' has been the highest accolade in that industry since 1966. But the work of Bletchley Park - and Turing's role there in cracking the Enigma code - was kept secret until the 1970s, and the full story was not known until the 1990s. It has been estimated that the efforts of Turing and his fellow code-breakers shortened the war by several years. What is certain is that they saved countless lives and helped to determine the course and outcome of the conflict.

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Until the release of the Oscar-nominated film The Imitation Game in 2014, the name 'Alan Turing' was not very widely known. But Turing's work during the Second World War was crucial. Who was Turing and what did he do that was so important?

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Arthur Scherbius, a German engineer, developed his 'Enigma' machine, capable of transcribing coded information, in the hope of interesting commercial companies in secure communications. In 1923 he set up his Chiffriermaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (Cipher Machines Corporation) in Berlin to manufacture his product. Within three years the German navy was producing its own version, followed by the army in 1928 and the air force in 1933.

Enigma allowed an operator to type in a message, then scramble it by using three to five notched wheels, or rotors, which displayed different letters of the alphabet. The receiver needed to know the exact settings of these rotors in order to reconstitute the coded text. Over the years the basic machine became more complicated as German code experts added plugs with electronic circuits.

Britain and her allies first understood the problems posed by this machine in 1931, when Hans Thilo Schmidt, a German spy, allowed his French spymasters to photograph stolen Enigma operating manuals. Initially, however, neither French nor British cryptanalysts could make headway in breaking the Enigma cipher.

It was only after they had handed over details to the Polish Cipher Bureau that progress was made. Helped by its closer links to the German engineering industry, the Poles managed to reconstruct an Enigma machine, complete with internal wiring, to read the German forces' messages between 1933 and 1938.
Ultra intelligence
With German invasion imminent in 1939, the Poles opted to share their secrets with the British, and Britain's Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, became the centre for Allied efforts to keep up with dramatic war-induced changes in Enigma output.

Top mathematicians and general problem-solvers were recruited and a bank of early computers, known as 'bombes', was built to work out the Enigma's vast number of settings.

TThe Germans were convinced that Enigma output could not be broken, so they used the machine for all sorts of communications on the battlefield, at sea, in the sky and, significantly, within its secret services. The British described any intelligence gained from Enigma as 'Ultra', and considered it top secret.

Only a select few commanders were made aware of the full significance of Ultra, and used it sparingly to prevent the Germans realising their ciphers had been broken.

By Andrew Lycett

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Arthur Scherbius, a German engineer, developed his 'Enigma' machine, capable of transcribing coded information, in the hope of interesting commercial companies in secure communications. In 1923 he set up his Chiffriermaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (Cipher Machines Corporation) in Berlin to manufacture his product.

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Welcome! Meet the Code Talkers of World Wars I and II. Learn about their lives and military achievements.

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In early 1942, World War II was not going well for the Allies. France had fallen. Britain was still staggering from the Blitz. Japanese forces had crippled the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, attacked the Philippines and Guam, and were seizing territory in the south and central Pacific in assaults that included sinking British battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Repulse off Malaya. Germany armies had advance deep into the Soviet Union. Hitler's submarines were wreaking havoc on convoys leaving the United States for Russian ports.

In wartime, secure communications are crucial, but for the U.S. armed forces, securing messages become a bewildering problem. Japanese cryptographers, many of them educated in the United States and fluent in standard and colloquial English, were amazingly adept at breaking codes. Enemy forces often knew about American battle plans in advance, and no defense against Japanese codebreaking had materialized. "Military communications were made available to the enemy like sand sifting through a sieve," an analyst said.

An unlikely answer came from an unlikely source. Philip Johnston, a civil engineer who lived in Los Angeles, was the child of missionaries who had raised their son on the Navajo Reservation, which stretches across New Mexico and Arizona. Born in Kansas in 1892, Johnson had grown up speaking Navajo. In that language, unique to reservation dwellers and rarely used elsewhere, inflection determines a word's meaning. Depending on pronunciation, a Navajo word can have four distinct meanings. Navajo verb forms are especially complex. Outsiders generally find the language incomprehensible and have likened hearing it spoken to listening to the rumble of a freight train, the gurgling of a partially blocked drain, and the flushing of an old-fashioned commode. In 1942, there was no Navajo alphabet. The language did not exist in written form. At government boarding schools to which Indian children were sent, teachers and administrators often forbade their charges to speak Navajo or any other Indian language, demanding that they speak only English.

At 50, Johnson, who had served in France with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, was too old to fight in World War II, but he still wanted to serve. Reading an article about military security, he had an idea: base a secret code on Navajo. He thought through his concept and in February 1942 visited U.S. Marine Corps Camp Elliott near San Diego. At a meeting with Signal Corp Communications Officer Lieutenant Colonel James E. Jones, Johnston described how a code based on Navajo would thwart enemy codebreakers. Jones was skeptical but Johnston persuaded him to test the premise.

Back in Los Angeles, Johnston recruited four bilingual Navajos. He and they traveled on February 28 to Camp Elliott for a demonstration before Marine staff officers. Two Navajos were given a typical military field order and assigned to a room from which they were to transmit the message in Navajo to their companions several rooms away. Retranslated into English, the Navajo message accurately recapitulated the order as given, amazing the Marine observers.

Impressed, Camp Elliott commander Major General Clayton Vogel asked Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC, to authorize the immediate recruitment of 200 young, well-educated Navajos as Marine communications specialists. Headquarters authorized 30, reasoning that to be enough to prove Johnston's theory.

By April, Marine personnel were on the Navajo Reservation recruiting volunteers from Indian agency schools at Fort Wingate and Shiprock, New Mexico, and Fort Defiance, Arizona. Besides fluency in Navajo and English, candidates had to demonstrate that they were physically fit to serve as messengers in combat. Recruiters told volunteers only that they would be "specialists" serving at home and overseas. Officially, Marine recruits had to be between 16 and 35 years of age. Birth records were not usually kept on the reservation; some underage volunteers lied about when they were born, as did 36-year-old Fort Defiance resident Carl Gorman. Few volunteers had ever left the reservation. Many had never ridden on a bus or train. Several recruits' families insisted that their sons participate in a religious ceremony to pray for a safe return before departing for basic training at San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Officially the 382nd Platoon, U.S. Marine Corps, at boot camp, the group was referred to as "The Navajo School."

Military discipline-obeying orders, marching in cadence, and keeping one's quarters scrupulously clean, in Marine parlance "squared away"-was another new and sometime difficult experience, but nearly all the reservation recruits adjusted. Following basic training, the Navajos moved to Camp Pendleton at Oceanside, California. During a dress parade on a hot day, several white Marines passed out; the Navajos remained erect in formation and at attention during the personal inspection that followed. "They're a typical Marine outfit of budding specialists," the publication Marine Corps Chevron reported. "They gripe about the things that all Marines gripe about-liberty, chow and the San Diego weather."

The Navajos were assigned to devise a code in their language that would baffle enemy listeners. Code words had to be short and easily learned and recalled. The men developed a two-part code. A 26-letter phonetic alphabet used Navajo names for 18 animals or birds, plus the words "ice" (the letter I), "nut" (N), "quiver" (Q), "Ute" (U), "victor" (V), "cross" (X), "yucca" (Y), and "zinc" (Z). The second part was a 211-word English vocabulary with Navajo synonyms. Conventional Marine Corps codes involved lengthy encoding and deciphering procedures using sophisticated electronic equipment. The Navajo code, relying on the sender's and the receiver's brains, mouths, and ears, was much faster. In training and in combat, code-talkers' proficiency erased official distrust.

One volunteer dropped out. Several remained in California to train the next group. Two became recruiters. The rest reported to Guadalcanal in August 1942, assigned to the First Marine Division, commanded by Major General Alexander Vandegrift, who soon was asking headquarters for 83 more Navajo just to handle encoding and decoding for his division. A second group of volunteers went through boot camp, then was assigned to the code-talker program at Camp Pendleton, which by August 1943 had trained nearly 200 Navajo and whose administrator was Staff Sergeant Philip Johnston.

In jungle combat, stamina, Spartan habits, ingenuity, scouting and tracking skill, and utter disregard for hardship stood the Navajo in good stead. At first assigned mainly at the company-battalion level, code-talkers became virtually indispensable. Often, especially when a Marine regiment was fighting alongside an Army unit, white soldiers mistook the Navajo for the enemy, nearly costing several code-talkers their lives. Sometimes GIs "captured" and interrogated Navajo. Code-talker William McCabe, waiting on a Guadalcanal beach for his ship, joined a chow line. "I got lost among the big chow dump," he recalled, "All of a sudden I heard somebody say, 'Halt,' and I kept walking. 'Hey, you! Halt, or I'm gonna shoot!'. . . . [T]here was a big rifle all cocked and ready to shoot. I'm just from my outfit, I was coming here to get something to eat. And he said, 'I think you're a Jap. Just come with me.'" After that incident, a white fellow Marine accompanied McCabe at all times.

On the eve of the First Marine Division's departure for Okinawa, expected to be the bloodiest landing yet, the Navajo performed a sacred dance invoking their deities' blessings and protection for themselves and other Americans. They prayed that their enemies prove weak. Some white personnel scoffed from the sidelines, but when war correspondent Ernie Pyle reported the story, he observed that the Okinawa landings had gone easier than had been anticipated, a point he said Navajo Marines were quick to point out to skeptics. When Japanese resistance inland almost halted the American advance, a white Marine asked his foxhole mate, a Navajo, what he thought of his prayers now. "This is completely different," the Navajo said. "We only prayed for help during the landings."

Code talkers served with all six Marine divisions in the Pacific and with Marine Raider and parachute units, earning lavish praise for their performance in the Solomons and the Marianas and on Peleliu and Iwo Jima. Of Iwo Jima, Fifth Marine Division Signal Officer Major Howard Conner said, "The entire operation was directed by Navajo code. . . . During the two days that followed the initial landings I had six Navajo radio nets working around the clock. . . . They sent and received over 800 messages without an error. Were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines never would have taken Iwo Jima."

"Navajo School" graduated 421 code talkers assigned mostly to combat units overseas. Following Japan's surrender, several volunteered for occupation duty. Others were sent to Marine units in China. Code talker Willson Price stayed a Marine for 30 years, retiring in 1972.

Most code talkers came home to family reunions and purification rites, traditional dances, and curing ceremonies, coupled with maternal prayers of thanks for sons' safe return. These rites originated to protect returning Navajo from harmful influences they might have encountered or duties they had to to perform while away.

Few former code-talkers displayed evidence of serious psychological problems or combat fatigue, but reservation life nonetheless proved difficult. The men missed the excitement, the challenges, and especially the privileges of wartime service. Some re-enrolled in high school, others attended college on the G.I. Bill. Teddy Draper, Sr., who volunteered for occupation duty, became so fluent in Japanese that he served as an interpreter. "When I was going to boarding school [before the war], the U.S. government told us not to speak Navajo, but during the war, they wanted us to speak it!" Draper said. In combat, he thought, "If I can get back to the reservation safely, I want to become a Navajo language teacher and educate young Navajos."

Draper did return to the reservation and become a teacher, but his experience was an exception. On the reservation, jobs were nonexistent. The G.I. Bill provided money for home loans to veterans, but many banks refused Navajo veterans loans because Navajo families held reservation land parcels in trust and had no proof of title. Despite this shameful treatment, one former code-talker said, "We've faced difficult situations before, and tough trails have never defeated us! Somehow the Navajos survived."

In June 1969, the Fourth Marine Division honored its Navajo members at the unit's annual reunion in Chicago, presenting 20 former code-talkers with medallions honoring each man's wartime exploits. A few veteran code talkers still take part in holiday parades, often riding in convertibles. The Navajo Nation has chosen several to serve as chairman and vice-chairman, the tribe's top executive positions, and others have served on the Tribal Council. The Navajo Code Talkers' Association meets regularly at Window Rock, Arizona, the Navajo Nation capital.

In December 1971, President Richard M. Nixon presented the code talkers with a certificate of appreciation for the "patriotism, resourcefulness, and courage" they brought to bear in giving the Marine Corps its only unbreakable means of battlefield communication, saving thousands of American lives and perplexing the enemy to the very end. After the war, a former Japanese general acknowledged that Navajo transmissions had befuddled Japan's most highly skilled cryptographers. An interviewer informed him that the troublesome code had been based on a Native American language. "Thank you," the general said. "That is a puzzle I thought would never be solved."

William R. Wilson is a former New Mexico travel writer and photographer, whose articles and photographs have been featured in Life, Look, Better Homes and Gardens, Modern Maturity, Reader's Digest, and other family magazines. ✯

Click here to read an interview with Code Talker Chester Nez.

This story was originally published in the February 1997 issue of American History magazine. For more great articles, subscribe here.

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Codemakers: History of the Navajo Code Talkers

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In early 1942, World War II was not going well for the Allies. France had fallen. Britain was still staggering from the Blitz. Japanese forces had crippled the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, attacked the Philippines and Guam, and were seizing territory in the south and central Pacific in assaults that included sinking British battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Repulse off Malaya.

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World War II, which began in 1939 and ended in 1945, was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. Before the war, Germany, America, and the rest of the world were going through the Great Depression. The economy was very bad, unemployment was at an all-time high, and massive inflation caused money to lose its value. More than fifty nations in the world were fighting, with more than 100 million soldiers deployed. Countries like America and Britain were part of the Allied powers. Japan and Germany were part of the Axis powers.

Explore this section to learn more about World War II.

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Explore WWII History | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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World War II, which began in 1939 and ended in 1945, was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. Before the war, Germany, America, and the rest of the world were going through the Great Depression. The economy was very bad, unemployment was at an all-time high, and massive inflation caused money to lose its value.

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On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as "Victoryover Japan Day," or simply "V-J Day." The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan's formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan's capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.

From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japan's devastating surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, capped a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States and led to an immediate U.S. declaration of war the following day. Japan's ally Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, then declared war on the United States, turning the war raging in Europe into a truly global conflict. Over the next three years, superior technology and productivity allowed the Allies to wage an increasingly one-sided war against Japan in the Pacific, inflicting enormous casualties while suffering relatively few. By 1945, in an attempt to break Japanese resistance before a land invasion became necessary, the Allies were consistently bombarding Japan from air and sea, dropping some 100,000 tons of explosives on more than 60 Japanese cities and towns between March and July 1945 alone.

Did you know? Rhode Island is the only state with a holiday dedicated to V-J Day (its official name is Victory Day); it is celebrated on the second Monday in August. V-J Day parades are held in several other locations across the United States, including Seymour, Indiana; Moosup, Connecticut; and Arma, Kansas.

The Potsdam Declaration, issued by Allied leaders on July 26, 1945, called on Japan to surrender; if it did, it was promised a peaceful government according to "the freely expressed will of the Japanese people." If it did not, it would face "prompt and utter destruction." The embattled Japanese government in Tokyo refused to surrender, and on August 6 the American B-29 plane Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people and destroying a 5-square-mile expanse of the city. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000.
READ MORE: Why the US Dropped the Second A-Bomb
The following day, the Japanese government issued a statement accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. In a radio address in the early afternoon of August 15 (August 14 in the United States), Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept the surrender, blaming the use of the "new and most cruel bomb" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the country's defeat. "Should we continue to fight," Hirohito declared, "it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation but would also lead to the total extinction of human civilization."

Reaction to Japanese Surrender

In Washington on August 14, President Harry S. Truman announced news of Japan's surrender in a press conference at the White House: "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would." Jubilant Americans declared August 14 "Victory over Japan Day," or "V-J Day." (May 8, 1945-when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany's official surrender-had previously been dubbed " Victory in Europe Day," or "V-E Day.")

Images from V-J Day celebrations around the United States and the world reflected the overwhelming sense of relief and exhilaration felt by citizens of Allied nations at the end of the long and bloody conflict. In one particularly iconic photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine, a uniformed sailor passionately kisses a nurse in the midst of a crowd of people celebrating in New York City's Times Square. On September 2, Allied supreme commander General Douglas MacArthur, along with the Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese army, Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the official Japanese surrender aboard the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri, effectively ending World War II.
READ MORE: Americans Celebrated for Two Days After the End of WWII
V-J Day over the Years

Many V-J Day celebrations fell out of favor over the years due to concerns about their being offensive to Japan, now one of America's closest allies, and to Japanese Americans, as well as ambivalent feelings toward the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the administration of President Bill Clinton referred not to V-J Day but to the "End of the Pacific War" in its official remembrance ceremonies. The decision sparked complaints that Clinton was being overly deferential to Japan and that the euphemism displayed insensitivity to U.S. veterans who as prisoners of war suffered greatly at the hands of Japanese forces.

PHOTO GALLERIES

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On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as "Victoryover Japan Day," or simply "V-J Day." The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan's formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S.

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D-Day: The Allied Invasion of Normandy

The Allied invasion of Western Europe was code named Operation Overlord. It required two years of planning, training, and supplying by the United States and Great Britain, and was one of the most heavily guarded secrets of the war. On the morning of June 5, 1944, U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower announced "O.K. We'll go." Within hours an armada of 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 ships, and 500 naval vessels departed English ports to cross the narrow strip of sea to German-controlled Normandy, France. That night 822 aircraft, carrying parachutists and gliders, deployed troops over landing zones in Normandy. Intended to be the vanguard of the whole operation, the Airborne troops' landings were a tremendous success. Seaborne units then began to land on the beaches of Normandy at 6:30 on the following morning, June 6-D-Day. Although caught by surprise, the Germans fought fiercely, particularly on a stretch of beach code-named Omaha by the Allies. After suffering many casualties, the troops successfully landed and began to advance inland. There would be eleven more months of hard fighting in Europe before the Nazis were defeated, but the D-Day invasion gave the Allies the success they needed to start that fight.

Secondary Sources
Middle School:
Remember D-Day: Both Sides Tell Their Stories by Ronald J. Drez

D-Day: The Allies Strike Back During World War II by Terry Miller
High School:
D-Day, June 6, 1944: the Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

Crusade in Europe by Dwight Eisenhower

D-Day Normandy: The Story and Photographs by Donald Goldstein

The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion by John McManu

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Research Starters: D-Day | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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The Allied invasion of Western Europe was code named Operation Overlord. It required two years of planning, training, and supplying by the United States and Great Britain, and was one of the most heavily guarded secrets of the war. On the morning of June 5, 1944, U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower announced "O.K.

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During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
READ MORE: D-Day Facts About the Epic Invasion
Preparing for D-Day

After World War II began, Germany invaded and occupied northwestern France beginning in May 1940. The Americans entered the war in December 1941, and by 1942 they and the British (who had been evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940 after being cut off by the Germans in the Battle of France) were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel. The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. In November 1943, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), who was aware of the threat of an invasion along France's northern coast, put Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) in charge of spearheading defense operations in the region, even though the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would strike. Hitler charged Rommel with finishing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles.

In January 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was appointed commander of Operation Overlord. In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between Britain and France) rather than Normandy. In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics were used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions.

A Weather Delay: June 5, 1944

Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours. On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. He told the troops: "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you."

Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.

D-Day Landings: June 6, 1944

By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. However, by day's end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy's beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing.

Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.

For their part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of celebrated commander Rommel, who was away on leave. At first, Hitler, believing the invasion was a feint designed to distract the Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release nearby divisions to join the counterattack. Reinforcements had to be called from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored divisions to help in the defense. Moreover, the Germans were hampered by effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which helped protect advancing Allied troops.

In the ensuing weeks, the Allies fought their way across the Normandy countryside in the face of determined German resistance, as well as a dense landscape of marshes and hedgerows. By the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg, landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy, and were poised to continue their march across France.

Victory in Normandy

By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from northwestern France, effectively concluding the Battle of Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet troops moving in from the east.

The Normandy invasion began to turn the tide against the Nazis. A significant psychological blow, it also prevented Hitler from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviets. The following spring, on May 8, 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Hitler had committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30.

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Codenamed Operation Overlord, the invasion began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region during World War II.

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Liberation Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat from the camp. Also left behind were victims' belongings: 348,820 men's suits, 836,255 women's coats, and tens of thousands of pairs of shoes.

British, Canadian, American, and French troops also freed prisoners from the camps. The Americans were responsible for liberating Buchenwald and Dachau, while British forces entered Bergen-Belsen. Although the Germans had attempted to empty the camps of surviving prisoners and hide all evidence of their crimes, the Allied soldiers came upon thousands of dead bodies "stacked up like cordwood," according to one American soldier. The prisoners who were still alive were living skeletons.

Bill Barrett, an American army journalist, described what he saw at Dachau: "There were about a dozen bodies in the dirty boxcar, men and women alike. They had gone without food so long that their dead wrists were broomsticks tipped with claws. These were the victims of a deliberate starvation diet..."

Allied troops, physicians, and relief workers tried to provide nourishment for the surviving prisoners, but many of them were too weak to digest food and could not be saved. In spite of the liberators' efforts, many camp survivors died. Half of the prisoners discovered alive in Auschwitz died within a few days of being freed.

Survivors had mixed reactions to their newfound freedom. While a few looked forward to being reunited with other family members, some felt guilty for surviving when so many of their relatives and friends had died. Some felt overwhelmed, as one survivor, Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist, expressed:

"Timidly, we looked around and glanced at each other questioningly. Then we ventured a few steps out of the camp. This time no orders were shouted at us, nor was there any need to duck quickly to avoid a blow or a kick. 'Freedom,' we repeated to ourselves, and yet we could not grasp it."

Key Dates

July 23, 1944
Soviet forces liberate Majdanek camp
Soviet forces are the first to approach a major Nazi camp, reaching the Majdanek camp near Lublin, Poland. Surprised by the rapid Soviet advance, the Germans attempt to demolish the camp in an effort to hide the evidence of mass murder. The camp staff sets fire to the large crematorium at Majdanek, but because of the hasty evacuation the gas chambers are left standing. Soviet forces later liberate Auschwitz (January 1945), Gross-Rosen (February 1945), Sachsenhausen (April 1945), Ravensbrueck (April 1945), and Stutthof (May 1945).

April 11, 1945
American forces liberate Buchenwald camp
US forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, in April 1945, a few days after the Nazis began evacuating the camp. On the day of liberation, an underground prisoner resistance organization seizes control of Buchenwald to prevent atrocities by the retreating camp guards. American forces liberate more than 20,000 prisoners at Buchenwald. American forces also liberate the main camps of Dora-Mittelbau (April 1945), Flossenbuerg (April 1945), Dachau (April 1945), and Mauthausen (May 1945).

April 15, 1945
British forces liberate Bergen-Belsen camp
British forces enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, near Celle, Germany. Some 60,000 prisoners, most in critical condition because of a typhus epidemic, are found alive. More than 10,000 die of malnutrition or disease within a few weeks. British forces liberate other camps in northern Germany, including Neuengamme (April 1945).

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Liberation Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners.

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Allied Liberation

As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they began to encounter tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Many of these prisoners had survived forced marches into the interior of Germany from camps in occupied Poland. These prisoners were suffering from starvation and disease.

The SS evacuated most of the prisoners to concentration camps further west during the spring of 1944. In late July 1944, as Soviet forces approached Lublin, the remaining camp staff hastily abandoned Majdanek, without fully dismantling the camp. Soviet troops first arrived at Majdanek during the night of July 22-23 and captured Lublin on July 24. Captured virtually intact, Majdanek was the first major concentration camp to be liberated. Soviet officials invited journalists to inspect the camp and evidence of the horrors that had occurred there. In the summer of 1944, the Soviets also overran the sites of the Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka killing centers. The Germans had dismantled these camps in 1943, after most of the Jews of Poland had already been killed.

The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest killing center and concentration camp, in January 1945. The Nazis had forced the majority of Auschwitz prisoners to march westward (in what would become known as "death marches"). Soviet soldiers found over six thousand emaciated prisoners alive when they entered the camp. There was abundant evidence of mass murder in Auschwitz. The retreating Germans had destroyed most of the warehouses in the camp, but in the remaining ones the Soviets found personal belongings of the victims. They discovered, for example, hundreds of thousands of men's suits, more than 800,000 women's outfits, and more than 14,000 pounds of human hair.

In the following months, the Soviets liberated additional camps in the Baltic states and in Poland. Shortly before Germany's surrender, Soviet forces liberated the Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrueck concentration camps.

US forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, on April 11, 1945, a few days after the Nazis began evacuating the camp. On the day of liberation, an underground prisoner resistance organization seized control of Buchenwald to prevent atrocities by the retreating camp guards. American forces liberated more than 20,000 prisoners at Buchenwald. They also liberated Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, and Mauthausen.

British forces liberated concentration camps in northern Germany, including Neuengamme and Bergen-Belsen. They entered the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, near Celle, in mid-April 1945. Some 60,000 prisoners, most in critical condition because of a typhus epidemic, were found alive. More than 10,000 of them died from the effects of malnutrition or disease within a few weeks of liberation.

Impact of Liberation

Liberators confronted unspeakable conditions in the Nazi camps, where piles of corpses lay unburied. Only after the liberation of these camps was the full scope of Nazi horrors exposed to the world. The small percentage of inmates who survived resembled skeletons because of the demands of forced labor and the lack of food, compounded by months and years of maltreatment. Many were so weak that they could hardly move. Disease remained an ever-present danger, and many of the camps had to be burned down to prevent the spread of epidemics. Survivors of the camps faced a long and difficult road to recovery.

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As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they began to encounter tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Many of these prisoners had survived forced marches into the interior of Germany from camps in occupied Poland. These prisoners were suffering from starvation and disease.

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When World War II ended in 1945, six million European Jews were dead, killed in the Holocaust. More than one million of the victims were children.

Driven by a racist ideology that viewed Jews as "parasitic vermin" worthy only of eradication, the Nazis implemented genocide on an unprecedented scale. All of Europe's Jews were slated for destruction: the sick and the healthy, the rich and the poor, the religiously orthodox and converts to Christianity, the aged and the young, even infants.

Thousands of Jewish children survived this brutal carnage, however, many because they were hidden. With identities disguised, and often physically concealed from the outside world, these youngsters faced constant fear, dilemmas, and danger. Theirs was a life in shadows, where a careless remark, a denunciation, or the murmurings of inquisitive neighbors could lead to discovery and death.

Choices

The vast majority of Jews in German-occupied Europe never went into hiding, for many reasons. Hiding meant leaving behind relatives, risking immediate and severe punishment, and finding an individual or family willing to provide refuge. Many Jews, no doubt, held out the hope that the threat of death would pass or that they could survive until the Allied victory.

Sadly, the willingness or ability of the non-Jewish populations to rescue Jewish lives never matched the Nazis' vehement desire to destroy them. Even in countries where hatred for the German occupiers ran deep, anti-Nazism did not necessarily generate aid for Jews. The Nazis portrayed the Jews as carriers of contagion, as criminals, or as "Bolshevik" agents anxious to subvert European society. The Nazis further discouraged rescue by threatening severe penalties for those caught helping Jews.

Discovered

Life in hiding was always hazardous. Throughout German-occupied Europe, the Nazis made a concerted effort to locate Jews in hiding. German officials and their collaborators harshly penalized those who aided Jews and offered rewards to individuals willing to turn in Jews. Beginning in March 1943, the Gestapo (the German secret state police) granted some Jews in Germany reprieve from deportation in exchange for tracking down their co-religionists who had gone underground. By spring 1945, when the Nazi regime lay in ruins, these informers had turned in as many as 2,000 Jews. In other countries, neighbors betrayed others for money or out of support for the regime. In German-occupied Poland, blackmailers squeezed money or property from Jews by threatening to turn them in to the authorities.

Jews in hiding were discovered by chance during raids seeking conscripts for forced labor, resistance cells, black marketers, or by random searches of documents. A slip of the tongue, improperly prepared false documents, or gossip could lead to arrest and deportation.

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Life in Shadows: Hidden Children and the Holocaust

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When World War II ended in 1945, six million European Jews were dead, killed in the Holocaust. More than one million of the victims were children. Driven by a racist ideology that viewed Jews as "parasitic vermin" worthy only of eradication, the Nazis implemented genocide on an unprecedented scale.

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Parents, children, and rescuers faced daunting challenges once the decision was made to go into hiding. Some children could pass as non-Jews and live openly. Those who could not had to live clandestinely, often in attics or cellars. Children posing as Christians had to carefully conceal their Jewish identity from inquisitive neighbors, classmates, informers, blackmailers, and the police. Even a momentary lapse in language or behavior could expose the child, and the rescuer, to danger.

Living as a non-Jew required false identity papers, which were difficult to obtain in German-occupied Europe and were subject to frequent review by the authorities. Over the course of the war, children often had to move from one refuge to another. For the children who had to leave their parents behind, the emotional pangs of separation were constant and the worries many.

False Papers

For Jews to pass as "Aryans," it was essential to have false identity papers, which were often gained through contacts with the anti-Nazi resistance. Using forged or acquired papers, such as a birth or baptismal certificate, Jews sometimes could obtain legitimate documents under an assumed name from the authorities. These ruses posed great risks to the bearer since the Germans and collaborating police forces closely examined identity documents in their frequent searches for Jews, resistance members, and individuals evading conscript labor.

I had to keep my Jewishness hidden, secret, never to be revealed on penalty of death. I missed out on my childhood and the best of my adolescent years. I was robbed of my name, my religion, my Zionist idealism.
-Regine Donner

Hiding Places

Not all Jewish children could pass as "Aryans" and enjoy relative freedom of movement on the outside. Those who "looked Jewish," did not speak the local language, or whose presence in a rescuer's family raised too many questions had to be physically hidden. Children were kept in cellars and attics, where they had to keep quiet, even motionless, for hours on end. In rural areas, hidden children lived in barns, chicken coops, and forest huts. Any noise-conversation, footsteps-could arouse neighbors' suspicion and perhaps even prompt a police raid. During bombings, Jewish children had to remain hidden, unable to flee to the safety of shelters. Under these conditions, the children often suffered from a lack of human interaction and endured boredom and fear.

Circumcision

In a tradition dating back to the biblical patriarch Abraham, infant male Jews have been ritually circumcised as a sign of the Jewish people's covenant with God. Even during the bleakest days of Nazi persecution, Jews tried to observe this practice. Because non-Jews in continental Europe generally were not circumcised, German and collaborationist police commonly checked males apprehended in raids. For boys attempting to hide their Jewish identity, using a public restroom or participating in sports could lead to their discovery. More rarely, they underwent painful procedures to disguise the mark of circumcision or even dressed as girls.

Hiding under a Different Religion

Thousands of Jewish children survived the Holocaust because they were protected by people and institutions of other faiths. Dozens of Catholic convents in German-occupied Poland independently took in Jewish youngsters. Belgian Catholics hid hundreds of children in their homes, schools, and orphanages, and French Protestant townspeople in and around Le Chambon-sur-Lignon sheltered several thousand Jews. In Albania and Yugoslavia, some Muslim families concealed youngsters.

Children quickly learned to master the prayers and rituals of their "adopted" religion in order to keep their Jewish identity hidden from even their closest friends. Many Jewish youngsters were baptized into Christianity, with or without the consent of their parents.

Multiple Rescuers

Finding a rescuer was quite difficult, particularly one who would take care of his or her charges for a period of years. Some individuals took advantage of a persecuted family's desperation by collecting money, then reneging on their promise of aid-or worse, turning them over to the authorities for an additional reward. More commonly, stress, anguish, and fear drove benefactors to turn out the Jewish children from their homes.

Organized rescue groups frequently moved youngsters from one family or institution to another to ensure the safety of both the child and the foster parent. In the German-occupied Netherlands, Jewish children stayed in an average of more than four different places; some changed hiding places more than a dozen times.

Separation from Family

Among the most painful memories for hidden children was their separation from parents, grandparents, and siblings. For a variety of reasons-the lack of space, the inability or unwillingness of a rescuer to take in an entire family, or the decision of the parents not to abandon other family members in the ghetto-many Jewish children went into hiding alone. In France, for instance, the OSE ( Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, "Children's Aid Society") was able to smuggle children, but not their parents, out of internment camps.

Separation tormented both parents and children. Each feared for the other's safety and was powerless to do anything about it. Youngster and parent often had to bear their grief in silence so as not to jeopardize the safety of the other. For many hidden children, the wartime separation became permanent.

Security

A hidden child's safety and security demanded strict secrecy. Foster families created elaborate explanations for the presence of a new face in their home, identifying the child as a distant relative, friend, or surviving member of a bombed-out household. Convents and orphanages withheld youngsters' Jewish identities from documents, classmates, and staff. Organized rescue groups frequently moved children around and kept records in code to prevent their charges' discovery. In some rescue networks, parents were not permitted to contact their children or know their whereabouts.

The children themselves well understood the need for security. They kept away from situations where their true identity might be exposed, held fast to their false names and religion, and avoided mannerisms or language that might be construed as "Jewish" or foreign.

Abuse

Jewish children who lived in hiding generally were treated well by their rescuers. But not all youngsters had such experiences. Because they could not turn to local authorities for help or were afraid of being turned out, some children had to endure physical or sexual abuse by their "protectors." Studies conducted in the Netherlands estimate that more than 80% of the hidden children interviewed were treated well by their rescuers, while 15% were occasionally mistreated, and some 5% were treated badly.

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Parents, children, and rescuers faced daunting challenges once the decision was made to go into hiding. Some children could pass as non-Jews and live openly. Those who could not had to live clandestinely, often in attics or cellars. Children posing as Christians had to carefully conceal their Jewish identity from inquisitive neighbors, classmates, informers, blackmailers, and the police.

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"Island Hopping" is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. The US troops targeted the islands that were not as strongly defended by the Japanese. They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands.

MacArthur met with Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, and the two devised a plan. On April 26th, 1942, they laid out the plan; a two-pronged offensive codenamed "Cartwheel". They aimed to corner Japanese troops on Rabaul Island, with MacArthur's troops advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea, and Halsey's troops driving north from Guadalcanal, and taking control of the Solomon Islands.

In February 1945 US troops invaded Iwo Jima; the first American landing on Japanese territory. It was a bloody fight that last 36 days, and cost the US 6, 381 men. Nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers perished. In April came the invasion of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific in which the Japanese launched massive Kamikaze attacks on the US invasion fleet.

The island hopping strategy was very costly. The US soldiers were not used to the guerilla style of fighting, and the Japanese had the advantage of controlling many of the islands. Further, many US soldiers succumbed to illnesses such as Malaria, dysentery and skin fungus.

Ultimately, the island hopping campaign was successful. It allowed the US to gain control over sufficient islands in the Pacific to get close enough to Japan to launch a mainland invasion. However, the island hopping took a long time and was very costly; even after war was close to ending in Europe it appeared that the war might continue indefinitely in the Pacific. Fearing a drawn out war with many more casualties, the US made plans to end the war quickly and force Japan's surrender. They achieved this with the World's first Atomic bombs.

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"Island Hopping" is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W.

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After the Battle of Midway, the United States launched a counter-offensive strike known as "island-hopping," establishing a line of overlapping island bases, as well as air control. The idea was to capture certain key islands, one after another, until Japan came within range of American bombers. Led by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, the first stage of the offensive began with the Navy under Nimitz, and Marine landings on Guadalcanal and nearby islands in the Solomons. From that point on, Nimitz and MacArthur engaged in "island-hopping" amphibious drives that bypassed strongly-held islands to strike at the enemy's weak points. In an effort to liberate the people of the Philippine Islands, MacArthur pushed along the New Guinea coast with Australian allies, while Nimitz crossed the central Pacific by way of the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Carolines, and Palaus. Both campaigns would entail seemingly endless, bloody battles - ultimately leading to the unconditional surrender of the Japanese. Preparing for U.S. counterattack Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, flew to MacArthur's headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, where they discussed campaign strategy. MacArthur's headquarters issued plans on April 26th that laid out a two-pronged offensive, code-named CARTWHEEL, which would corner the Japanese at Rabaul Island. One prong - MacArthur - would advance along the northern shores of New Guinea and into the Bismarck Archipelago. The second prong - Halsey - would drive northwest from Guadalcanal and control the remainder of the Solomon Islands. Buna By November 1942 the Japanese had established a jungle fortress around Buna and Gona. Inexperienced with guerilla warfare, weather-beaten, sick, and short on artillery and rations, the Australians and Americans could not dislodge the dug-in Japanese. General MacArthur sent Lt. General Robert Eichelberger to lead the Buna campaign. On December 9, 1942, the Allies stormed Gona and captured it during the last week of January 1943. MacArthur then turned his attention to the key Japanese airfield at Lae and control of the coastline facing New Britain. After a series of land and sea attacks, the Allies landed in New Britain at the end of 1943. Solomon Islands Guadalcanal To make the first Buna Allied offensive in the Pacific more effective, the Americans readied a separate attack from a different direction. That decision brought American forces into the Solomon Islands and U.S. Army infantry onto the island of Guadalcanal. On the morning of August 7th, 1942, the First Marine Division followed heavy naval preparatory shelling, and landed on the north beaches east of the Tenaru River. In a three-month struggle marked by disease (diarrhea, malaria, dysentery, skin fungus), and many casualties, the marines took an airfield and established a beachhead roughly six miles wide and three miles deep. During the last weeks of 1942 and the first weeks of 1943, the Americans strengthened their foothold on Guadalcanal by reorganizing and bringing in fresh troops, the Second Marine Division and the 25th Infantry Division. The Japanese held off five American battalions for a month, which delayed the advance west long enough for the defenders to evacuate 13,000 men from the island. Allied forces quickly constructed landing strips - the first series of island hopping had begun. New Georgia Admiral Halsey landed troops on New Georgia, while MacArthur's troops moved to Nassau Bay, New Guinea. The New Georgia offensive, code-named TOENAILS, was a learning experience for Allied forces in the region. Shallow reefs surrounded those islands, making it difficult to navigate large watercraft through narrow rock channels. Also, Japanese soldiers in pillboxes, and deeply dug in, were nasty obstacles to overcome during the New Georgia Campaign. Heavy rains reduced visibility almost completely, and high winds and rough seas wreaked havoc with the landing operation. Amphibious vehicles had to follow the sound of breaking waves to find the shore. In the ensuing chaos, six landing craft became lodged on the coral reef, while others discharged troops at the wrong site and then had to reload. Over the next four days, marines and Solomon Island soldiers, supported by 105-mm howitzers from the 152d Field Artillery Battalion, rooted out the Japanese from Wickham Anchorage. On August 5th, 1943, the capture of Munda airfield was assured, giving the Allies a huge vantage point. However, it was only one phase of the New Georgia campaign. Japanese were still on New Georgia, as well as on other surrounding islands. Those islands had to be taken or neutralized before the Americans could continue island-hopping up the Solomons chain. While firing their remaining artillery, Japanese forces desperately attacked through the ravines and gullies of northern New Georgia. A pounding barrage of counter mortar fire by the 129th mounted tank-infantry rained down on the the Japanese, devastating them in front of the American line. After suffering terribly (more than 5,000 killed), the remaining Japanese troops left behind their wounded and retreated off the island. With the highest number of non-combatant U.S. casualties (jungle disease) in the island-hopping campaign, the New Georgia mission became a costly success. The next few weeks brought sporadic fighting as XIV Corps pursued the beaten Japanese. During those operations the First Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, became the first black American infantry unit to engage in combat during the war. The 25th Regimental Combat Team of the 93d Division also joined in the final operations of CARTWHEEL. Bougainville On November 1, 1943, the Allies attacked, going ashore at Empress Augusta Bay. The 60,000 elite Japanese troops, concentrated in the southern half of the island, did not want a repeat of Guadalcanal. Although the western part of Bougainville was left relatively undefended by the Japanese, the Allies concentrated on attacking from the sea and the sky. The Japanese responded with naval and air vessels from Rabaul, but were pummeled and sustained heavy casualties. Four days later, on November 5th, Admiral Halsey dispatched a carrier air strike against Rabaul, thus knocking down many Japanese planes and forcing the naval forces to flee to the open ocean. The battle for Bougainville proved to be the site of some of the fiercest battles during World War II. In November 1944, command of all island operations passed from General Griswold to Lt. Gen. Sir Stanley Savige of the Australian Army, and by mid-December Australian forces had relieved all American units. In the Solomons, most of the Japanese soldiers who escaped fought again another day. Gilbert Islands Near the close of 1943, a thrust at the Gilbert Islands from the Central Pacific, in which Tarawa, Makin, and Apamama were seized, paved the way for the assault on the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944. Previous raids by bombers of a U.S. Navy task force had brought the Gilberts under fire in January 1942. The following August, "devil dogs" (marines) spent an active night there demolishing installations and most of the small Japanese barracks. Landings at Makin and Tarawa, 105 miles away, were planned to begin simultaneously by two separate landing forces from Task Force 54, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner commanding. A complement of six fleet carriers, five light carriers, six battleships, six cruisers, and 21 destroyers were deployed; 7,000 troops of the 27th Infantry Division also were deployed. At 8:30 a.m., November 20th, 1943, the first landing craft were to touch the beach at each atoll*. While the 27th Division Landing Team, with attached units, took Makin on the 20th of November, the Second Marine Division was to assault Tarawa, leaving one of its combat teams in reserve for the support of one or both operations. If that reserve remained uncommitted, it was later to occupy Apamama. LVTs (Landing Vehicle, Tracked), popularly called "alligators," were ordered to move at once to the flanks and there establish positions defending the beaches. After four days of relatively low resistance, Makin was secured. However, Tarawa was a different story. Betio, the primary island of Tarawa atoll, is only two miles long and 600 yards wide, but it had the only airstrip in the islands and was vigorously defended by highly trained Japanese troops. Machine gun positions, concrete bunkers and pillboxes (Japanese foxholes), mines, and eight-inch coastal gun emplacements, told a story of formidable Japanese defenses. Admiral Keiji Shibasaki (Japanese commander on Betio) boasted that a million men could not take Tarawa in a hundred years. Shibaski soon realized his under-estimation of Allied capabilities - mostly by way of America's relatively new invention, the flame thrower. Banzai! After two hours of heavy bombing, and before dawn on November 20th, 1943, the first wave of marines stormed the Tarawa atoll. "Bloody Tarawa," as it soon was known, required 76 hours before a final "Banzai" (suicide) rush of the Japanese signaled the end. While the Americans inched inland, the 4,500 Japanese defiant defenders were slowly crushed. Only 17 Japanese troops, of the original 4,500, made it out alive. One thousand of the 5,600 Americans that rushed the beaches of Tarawa gave their lives - 3,000 of them were wounded. MacArthur pushes for the Philippines Meanwhile, American forces in the Southwest Pacific were approaching Mindanao, southernmost of the Philippine Islands, by advances through New Guinea in which Japanese armies were neutralized and isolated on New Ireland and New Britain. The capture of Wakde on the northeastern coast of New Guinea in May 1944 was followed by the seizure of Biak and Noemfoor. During the summer, a Japanese army attempting to break out from Wewak in Australian New Guinea was chastened. The invasion of Morotai in September placed American forces within 300 miles of Mindanao. Marshall Islands Near the close of 1943, a thrust at the Gilbert Islands from the Central Pacific, in which Tarawa, Makin, and Apamama were seized, paved the way for the assault on the Marshalls on 31 January 1944. American forces gained control of Kwajalein, Majuro, and Eniwetok, and their fleet and air arms moved forward. At the same time, American carriers attacked Truk heavily, and that formidable enemy naval base in the Carolines was thenceforth immobilized. Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Marianas fell to American arms in summer 1944. The capture of the Marianas, and later Iwo Jima, provided fixed bases for B-29 Superfortress air attacks against Japan and surrounding islands. With the first Battle of the Philippine Sea, the U.S. Navy administered a crushing defeat of the Japanese fleet that tried to interfere with the American push westward. In September and October, the Americans occupied Ulithi in the western Carolines for use as an anchorage and advanced fleet base, and took Angaur and Peleliu in the Palau Islands, situated close to the Philippines. Aleutian Islands Fighting in the Aleutians was known as the " Thousand-Mile War," the approximate distance between American bases on the Alaska coast, Dutch Harbor, and the westernmost Aleutian Islands. Attu and Kiska became a U.S. military priority because of a 57-mile gap that the Japanese feared the United States would use to attack their homeland - so the Japanese attacked first. Furthermore, the islands had important military value for the enemy because, if successfully held, they would more easily managed to take territory farther down the coast. A Canadian and American force of 100,000 troops was deployed to push the Japanese from America's northwestern-most territory. In May 1943, after nearly two weeks of bloodshed under frostbitten climatic conditions, across some of the globe's most forbidding terrain, the 2,000 Attu-based Japanese were uprooted by the American Seventh Infantry Division. Iwo Jima and Okinawa Iwo Jima The volcanic island of Iwo Jima was a crucial location for the island-hopping campaign to succeed. The island's proximity would make it possible for B-29 raids - halfway from Marianas Island to mainland Japan. Three airstrips, which the Japanese had been using for their Kamikaze** attacks, also made Iwo Jima a primary target. With the island captured, the Kamikazes would have to operate from Okinawa or Kyushu. On February 19th, 1945, the U.S. Marine Corps' legendary Third, Fourth and Fifth divisions landed on Iwo Jima at 8:59 a.m. That came after 10 weeks of relentless bombing from carrier-based planes and medium bombers. The preliminary bombardment was the heaviest up to that point in the war. A total of 70,000 U.S. Marines charged the sandy beaches of Iwo Jima, against an opposing force of 27,000 Japanese. The beaches were eerily quiet as the Higgins boats landed ashore and the marines began to offload. The minimal resistance, however, proved to be only a bluff to draw the exposed marines onto the beaches. It was then that 27,000 determined Japanese defenders, led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, opened up from a vast underground network of caves and tunnels. The relentless pre-invasion bombardment from naval and air forces had done little damage. While literally inching their way across the island, the marines were able to secure Iwo Jima after 36 days of brutal combat. But victory came at a heavy price. At the battle's conclusion, 6,281 Americans and more than 20,000 Japanese were killed. Twenty-two marines and five sailors received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions on Iwo Jima - the most bestowed for any campaign. Admiral Nimitz remarked, "Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Okinawa Code-named Operation ICEBURG, the invasion of Okinawa began on April 1st, 1945, when 60,000 troops (two marine and two army divisions) landed with little opposition. The day began and ended with the heaviest concentration of naval gunfire ever used to support an amphibious landing. Strategically, positions off the invasion beaches were occupied by 10 older American battleships, including several Pearl Harbor survivors - the USS Tennessee, Maryland, and West Virginia; as well as nine cruisers, 23 destroyers and destroyer escorts, and 117 rocket gunboats. Together they fired 3,800 tons of shells at Okinawa during the first 24 hours. The initial charge by U.S. troops was met by little opposition. However, the 100,000-plus Japanese who were dug into caves and tunnels on the high ground away from the beaches in an attempt to withstand the Allies' superior sea and air power. The battle proceeded in four phases: One, the advance to the eastern coast - April first through the fourth; Two, the clearing of the northern part of the island - April fifth through the 18th; Three, the occupation of the outlying islands - April 10th through June 26; and Four, the main battle against the dug-in elements of the 32nd Army - April sixth through the 21st of June. Although the first three phases encountered only mild opposition, the final phase proved extremely difficult because the Japanese were deep underground and naval gunfire support was ineffective. The battle of Okinawa proved to be the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. Thirty-four allied ships and other craft of all types were sunk, mostly by Kamikazes, and 368 ships and craft were damaged. The fleet lost 763 aircraft. The total American casualties in the operation numbered more than 12,000 killed (including nearly 5,000 navy and almost 8,000 marine and army) and 36,000 wounded. A-bomb On July 2, 1945, while the Sixth Marine Division rested, trained, and prepared for the expected invasion of mainland Japan, the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico. An alternative to invasion was now a definite possibility. The morning of August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, Nagasaki suffered a similar fate. No mainland invasion would take place; the fighting was over.

*an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon.
**Japanese Special Attack Group of suicide dive-bombing pilots that flew modified Mitubishi A6M fighter planes.

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After the Battle of Midway, the United States launched a counter-offensive strike known as "island-hopping," establishing a line of overlapping island bases, as well as air control. The idea was to capture certain key islands, one after another, until Japan came within range of American bombers.

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In many ways, the story of women's employment during WWI was repeated during WWII. Despite their success in wartime industries during WWI, similar stereotypes about women's capacity and ability to engage in 'men's work' were circulated by the employers and the government. Trade unions again expressed concerns about men's pay being pushed down and sought assurances that women's wartime work would only be temporary. However, the needs of the wartime economy won again. In December 1941, the government conscripted single women aged 20-30 as auxiliaries to the Armed Forces, Civil Defence, or war industries. Propaganda leaflets urged women to participate in the war effort.

Government figures show that women's employment increased during the Second World War from about 5.1 million in 1939 (26%) to just over 7.25 million in 1943 (36% of all women of working age). Forty six percent of all women aged between 14 and 59, and 90% of all able-bodied single women between the ages of 18 and 40 were engaged in some form of work or National Service by September 1943 (H M Government, 1943, p. 3). The level of employment could have been higher as domestic servants were excluded from these figures. Many domestic servants would have been redeployed to national service, but no exact figures exist.

Inequality and discrimination;

During WWII women worked in factories producing munitions, building ships, aeroplanes, in the auxiliary services as air-raid wardens, fire officers and evacuation officers, as drivers of fire engines, trains and trams, as conductors and as nurses. During this period some trade unions serving traditionally male occupations like engineering began to admit women members.

The entry of women into occupations which were regarded as highly skilled and as male preserves, for example as drivers of fire engines, trains and trams and in the engineering, metal and shipbuilding industries, renewed debates about equal pay. The trade unions were once again concerned about the impact on men's wages after the war when men would once again be working in these jobs. But the government's priority was the recruitment of workers to service industries and the war effort. Some limited agreement on equal pay was reached that allowed equal pay for women where they performed the same job as men had 'without assistance or supervision'. Most employers managed to circumvent the issue of equal pay, and women's pay remained on average 53% of the pay of the men they replaced. Semi-skilled and unskilled jobs were designated as 'women's jobs' and were exempt from equal pay negotiations.

Women workers resorted to aggitating on a local level to fight for equal pay, often without the support of their unions. Women workers at the Rolls-Royce plant at Hillington near Glasgow objected to being paid at a lower rate than unskilled men doing the same work. A court of Inquiry recommended a new grading system which was agreed by the Amalgamated Engineering Union. However, the women believed the new system would still leave 80% of them on the lowest rate and went on a one-week strike in October 1943, supported by most men in the plant. Eventually an agreement was reached on a set wage that was the same for men and women workers, depending on the kind of machines they worked on.

Another way in which women were discriminated against during WWII concerned the level of settlements offered to women by the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1939. Women received 7 shillings less than the 21 shillings a week that men received. Women were actively deployed in civil defence schemes as overnight fire watchers in factories, ambulance drivers, air raid wardens, members of first aid parties and messengers. Such women were at risk from bombing but were entitled to lower compensation for injuries compared to men. Trade unions, campaigners and some women parliamentarians took up this issue and despite initial government opposition to this demand, equal rates were introduced in April 1943.

With the increased employment of women during WWII, the need to meet working mothers' caring responsibilities had to be addressed. State funding was provided to establish about 1345 wartime nurseries, a huge increase from the 14 such nurseries which existed in 1940 (Summerfield 1984, p. 94). However, this was always considered a temporary measure for the period of the war and, despite the steady increase in women's employment rates since the 1920s, a married woman's place was still considered to be in the home

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In many ways, the story of women's employment during WWI was repeated during WWII. Women successfully undertook what had earlier been considered 'men's work' in wartime industries, and as auxiliaries to the Armed Forces and in Civil Defence.

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Some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II, both at home and abroad. They included the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force and defense industry. Women were critical to the war effort: Between 1940 and 1945, the age of "Rosie the Riveter," the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. World War II opened the door for women to work in more types of jobs than ever before, but with the return of male soldiers at war's end, women, especially married women, were once again pressured to return to a life at home, a prospect that, for thousands of American women, had shifted thanks to their wartime service.

Women in the Armed Forces in World War II

In addition to factory work and other home front jobs, approximately 350,000 women joined the Armed Services, serving at home and abroad. At the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and women's groups, and impressed by the British use of women in service, General George Marshall supported the idea of introducing a women's service branch into the Army. In May 1942, Congress instituted the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, later upgraded to the Women's Army Corps, which had full military status. Its members, known as WACs, worked in more than 200 non-combatant jobs stateside and in every theater of the war. By 1945, there were more than 100,000 WACs and 6,000 female officers. In the Navy, members of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) held the same status as naval reservists and provided support stateside. The Coast Guard and Marine Corps soon followed suit, though in smaller numbers.

Did you know? On March 10, 2010, nearly 70 years after they were disbanded, the Women Airforce Service Pilots received the Congressional Gold Medal.

One of the lesser-known roles women played in the war effort was provided by the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. These women, each of whom had already obtained their pilot's license prior to service, became the first women to fly American military aircraft. They ferried planes from factories to bases, transporting cargo and participating in simulation strafing and target missions, accumulating more than 60 million miles in flight distances and freeing thousands of male U.S. pilots for active duty in World War II. More than 1,000 WASPs served, and 38 of them lost their lives during the war. Considered civil service employees and without official military status, these fallen WASPs were granted no military honors or benefits, and it wasn't until 1977 that the WASPs received full military status. On March 10, 2010, at a ceremony in the Capitol, the WASPS received the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors. More than 200 former pilots attended the event, many wearing their World War II-era uniforms.

"Rosie the Riveter"

Though women had been joining the work force in greater numbers since the hardships of The Great Depression, the entry of the United States into World War II completely transformed the types of jobs open to women. Before the war, most working women were in traditionally female fields like nursing and teaching. Post- Pearl Harbor, women worked in a variety of positions previously closed to them, though the aviation industry saw the greatest increase in female workers. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry's total workforce (compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years). The munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as represented by the U.S. government's "Rosie the Riveter" propaganda campaign. Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious character, the strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women during World War II.

In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs, articles and even a Norman Rockwell-painted Saturday Evening Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force-and they did, in huge numbers. Though women were crucial to the war effort, their pay continued to lag far behind their male counterparts: Female workers rarely earned more than 50 percent of male wages.

Working Conditions For Women in World War II

With many fathers off fighting, mothers were faced with the burden of balancing childcare and work, and absenteeism became the symptom that caused factory owners-and the United States government-to finally acknowledge the issue. The Lanham Act or 1940 gave war-related government grants for childcare services in communities where defense production was a major industry. In 1942, Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in, encouraging her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to pass the Community Facilities Act, which led to the creation of the first U.S. government-sponsored childcare center. Roosevelt also urged for reforms like staggered working hours at factories to allow working mothers to go to grocery stores-stores that were often either closed or out of stock by the time women clocked out of work.

Not all women were treated equally in the workplace. African American women found that white women were not always welcoming at work-if they were even granted the same job opportunities in the first place-and were paid less than their white peers. Japanese American women fared even worse, as they were sent off to Japanese Internment Camps under Executive Order 9066.

Though women, as a whole, had access to more jobs than ever before, they were paid far less than men (roughly half, in most cases), and most found themselves pressured to relinquish jobs to the male soldiers returning home at war's end. But something had permanently shifted: World War II empowered women to seek new opportunities and fight for equal pay in the decades to come.

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Some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II, both at home and abroad. They included the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force and defense industry.

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Beginning a research paper on World War II can be daunting. With Research Starters, you can get a basic introduction to major WWII topics, see recommended secondary sources, and view primary sources you can use from the Museum's collection.

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Research Starters | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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Beginning a research paper on World War II can be daunting. With Research Starters, you can get a basic introduction to major WWII topics, see recommended secondary sources, and view primary sources you can use from the Museum's collection.

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Fall 1996, Vol. 28, No. 3

By Lisa B. Auel

When waging war against each other, human armies often enlist the aid of the animal kingdom. In past conflicts, horses, elephants, and camels hauled men and supplies; pigeons carried messages; dogs tracked enemies and protected troops. Their efforts helped to turn battles-and the fortunes of many a combat soldier.

Carrying on this tradition, U.S. forces employed thousands of animals during World War II. They could be found in every theater of the war: They were workers and warriors; they were soldiers' comrades-in-arms and companions in battle. Their widespread presence on the battlefields was documented by government photographers covering the war. Today, hundreds of photographs of dogs and cats and horses can be found among the World War II holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Still Picture Branch in College Park, Maryland.

In 1993 NARA opened "Buddies: Soldiers and Animals in World War II," a display of thirty-six of those images. Part of the NARA commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of World War II, the exhibit is now traveling to museums throughout the country.
Workers and Warriors
Horses, mules, and dogs were regularly employed by American forces to work on the battlefields of World War II. Horses carried soldiers on patrol missions in Europe and into battle in the Philippines. Mules, trained in the United States and shipped by the thousands into war zones, contributed their strength and sweat to the fight. Their backs bore the food, weapons, and sometimes the men of entire infantry units.

Some twenty thousand dogs served the U.S. Army, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. They guarded posts and supplies, carried messages, and rescued downed pilots. Scout dogs led troops through enemy territory, exposing ambushes and saving the lives of platoons of men. In the throes of combat, war dogs proved their intelligence, courage, and steadfast loyalty time and time again. Many photographs in National Archives holdings document the exploits-and the sacrifice-of America's animal warriors.
Comrades and Companions
Many U.S. military units in World War II adopted animal mascots. Though traditionally considered bearers of good luck, these mascots were really pets who belonged to all the men of a squad, company, or ship.

Military photographs show that individual soldiers also had their own pets. A few men smuggled them from the United States, but more often soldiers' pets were local animals left homeless by the war. For the adopted dog, cat, or bird, being in a soldier's care meant survival; for the soldier, a pet meant comfort and companionship on war's brutal battlefields. "Buddies" commemorates the heartfelt, enduring relationships between soldiers and animals during World War II.

Lisa B. Auel was on the staff of the National Archives and Records Administration Exhibits Branch and was curator of the 1993 exhibit "Buddies: Soldiers and Animals in Worlds War II."

Articles published in Prologue do not necessarily represent the views of NARA or of any other agency of the United States Government.

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Buddies: Soldiers and Animals in World War II

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En Español Fall 1996, Vol. 28, No. 3 By Lisa B. Auel Tec 4 S. Medeiroa, of the Army's 26th Division, holds the unit's mascot, Little Joe. Ottweiler, Germany. March 21, 1945. (111-SC-202435) When waging war against each other, human armies often enlist the aid of the animal kingdom.

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in full: Alan Mathison Turing ...(Show more)

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June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire (aged 41)

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Alan Turing, (born June 23, 1912, London, England-died June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire), British mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis, logic, philosophy, and mathematical biology and also to the new areas later named computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life.

Early life and career

The son of a civil servant, Turing was educated at a top private school. He entered the University of Cambridge to study mathematics in 1931. After graduating in 1934, he was elected to a fellowship at King's College (his college since 1931) in recognition of his research in probability theory. In 1936 Turing's seminal paper "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem [ Decision Problem]" was recommended for publication by the American mathematical logician Alonzo Church, who had himself just published a paper that reached the same conclusion as Turing's, although by a different method. Turing's method (but not so much Church's) had profound significance for the emerging science of computing. Later that year Turing moved to Princeton University to study for a Ph.D. in mathematical logic under Church's direction (completed in 1938).

The Entscheidungsproblem

What mathematicians called an "effective" method for solving a problem was simply one that could be carried by a human mathematical clerk working by rote. In Turing's time, those rote-workers were in fact called "computers," and human computers carried out some aspects of the work later done by electronic computers. The Entscheidungsproblem sought an effective method for solving the fundamental mathematical problem of determining exactly which mathematical statements are provable within a given formal mathematical system and which are not. A method for determining this is called a decision method. In 1936 Turing and Church independently showed that, in general, the Entscheidungsproblem problem has no resolution, proving that no consistent formal system of arithmetic has an effective decision method. In fact, Turing and Church showed that even some purely logical systems, considerably weaker than arithmetic, have no effective decision method. This result and others-notably mathematician-logician Kurt Gödel's incompleteness results-dashed the hopes, held by some mathematicians, of discovering a formal system that would reduce the whole of mathematics to methods that (human) computers could carry out. It was in the course of his work on the Entscheidungsproblem that Turing invented the universal Turing machine, an abstract computing machine that encapsulates the fundamental logical principles of the digital computer.

The Church-Turing thesis

An important step in Turing's argument about the Entscheidungsproblem was the claim, now called the Church-Turing thesis, that everything humanly computable can also be computed by the universal Turing machine. The claim is important because it marks out the limits of human computation. Church in his work used instead the thesis that all human-computable functions are identical to what he called lambda-definable functions (functions on the positive integers whose values can be calculated by a process of repeated substitution). Turing showed in 1936 that Church's thesis was equivalent to his own, by proving that every lambda-definable function is computable by the universal Turing machine and vice versa. In a review of Turing's work, Church acknowledged the superiority of Turing's formulation of the thesis over his own (which made no reference to computing machinery), saying that the concept of computability by a Turing machine "has the advantage of making the identification with effectiveness...evident immediately."

Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II

Code breaker

Having returned from the United States to his fellowship at King's College in the summer of 1938, Turing went on to join the Government Code and Cypher School, and, at the outbreak of war with Germany in September 1939, he moved to the organization's wartime headquarters at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. A few weeks previously, the Polish government had given Britain and France details of the Polish successes against Enigma, the principal cipher machine used by the German military to encrypt radio communications. As early as 1932, a small team of Polish mathematician-cryptanalysts, led by Marian Rejewski, had succeeded in deducing the internal wiring of Enigma, and by 1938 Rejewski's team had devised a code-breaking machine they called the Bomba (the Polish word for a type of ice cream). The Bomba depended for its success on German operating procedures, and a change in those procedures in May 1940 rendered the Bomba useless. During the autumn of 1939 and the spring of 1940, Turing and others designed a related, but very different, code-breaking machine known as the Bombe. For the rest of the war, Bombes supplied the Allies with large quantities of military intelligence. By early 1942 the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park were decoding about 39,000 intercepted messages each month, a figure that rose subsequently to more than 84,000 per month-two messages every minute, day and night. In 1942 Turing also devised the first systematic method for breaking messages encrypted by the sophisticated German cipher machine that the British called "Tunny." At the end of the war, Turing was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his code-breaking work.

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Alan Turing | Biography, Facts, Computer, Machine, Education, & Death

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Alan Turing was a British mathematician and logician, a major contributor to mathematics, cryptanalysis, computer science, and artificial intelligence. He invented the universal Turing machine, an abstract computing machine that encapsulates the fundamental logical principles of the digital computer.

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Quick Facts
"We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.""I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.""Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition.""A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human."

Sherborne School, Princeton University, Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, King's College (University of Cambridge), St. Michael's School

Who Was Alan Turing?

Alan Turing was a brilliant British mathematician who took a leading role in breaking Nazi ciphers during WWII. In his seminal 1936 paper, he proved that there cannot exist any universal algorithmic method of determining truth in mathematics, and that mathematics will always contain undecidable propositions. His work is widely acknowledged as foundational research of computer science and artificial intelligence.

Early Life

English scientist Alan Turing was born Alan Mathison Turing on June 23, 1912, in Maida Vale, London, England. At a young age, he displayed signs of high intelligence, which some of his teachers recognized, but did not necessarily respect. When Turing attended the well-known independent Sherborne School at the age of 13, he became particularly interested in math and science.

After Sherborne, Turing enrolled at King's College (University of Cambridge) in Cambridge, England, studying there from 1931 to 1934. As a result of his dissertation, in which he proved the central limit theorem, Turing was elected a fellow at the school upon his graduation.

In 1936, Turing delivered a paper, "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem," in which he presented the notion of a universal machine (later called the "Universal Turing Machine," and then the "Turing machine") capable of computing anything that is computable: It is considered the precursor to the modern computer.

Over the next two years, Turing studied mathematics and cryptology at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. After receiving his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1938, he returned to Cambridge, and then took a part-time position with the Government Code and Cypher School, a British code-breaking organization.

Cryptanalysis and Early Computers

During World War II, Turing was a leading participant in wartime code-breaking, particularly that of German ciphers. He worked at Bletchley Park, the GCCS wartime station, where he made five major advances in the field of cryptanalysis, including specifying the bombe, an electromechanical device used to help decipher German Enigma encrypted signals.

Turing's contributions to the code-breaking process didn't stop there: He also wrote two papers about mathematical approaches to code-breaking, which became such important assets to the Code and Cypher School (later known as the Government Communications Headquarters) that the GCHQ waited until April 2012 to release them to the National Archives of the United Kingdom.

Turing moved to London in the mid-1940s, and began working for the National Physical Laboratory. Among his most notable contributions while working at the facility, Turing led the design work for the Automatic Computing Engine and ultimately created a groundbreaking blueprint for store-program computers. Though a complete version of the ACE was never built, its concept has been used as a model by tech corporations worldwide for several years, influencing the design of the English Electric DEUCE and the American Bendix G-15 - credited by many in the tech industry as the world's first personal computer - among other computer models.

Turing went on to hold high-ranking positions in the mathematics department and later the computing laboratory at the University of Manchester in the late 1940s. He first addressed the issue of artificial intelligence in his 1950 paper, "Computing machinery and intelligence," and proposed an experiment known as the "Turing Test" - an effort to create an intelligence design standard for the tech industry. Over the past several decades, the test has significantly influenced debates over artificial intelligence.

Homosexuality, Conviction and Death

Homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, so when Turing admitted to police, called to his house after a January 1952 break-in, that he'd had a sexual relationship with the perpetrator, 19-year-old Arnold Murray, he was charged with gross indecency. Following his arrest, Turing was forced to choose between temporary probation on the condition that he receive hormonal treatment for libido reduction, or imprisonment. He chose the former, and soon underwent chemical castration through injections of a synthetic estrogen hormone for a year, which eventually rendered him impotent.

As a result of his conviction, Turing's security clearance was removed and he was barred from continuing his work with cryptography at the GCCS, which had become the GCHQ in 1946.

Turing died on June 7, 1954. Following a postmortem exam, it was determined that the cause of death was cyanide poisoning. The remains of an apple were found next to the body, though no apple parts were found in his stomach. The autopsy reported that "four ounces of fluid which smelled strongly of bitter almonds, as does a solution of cyanide" was found in the stomach. Trace smell of bitter almonds was also reported in vital organs. The autopsy concluded that the cause of death was asphyxia due to cyanide poisoning and ruled a suicide.

In a June 2012 BBC article, philosophy professor and Turing expert Jack Copeland argued that Turing's death may have been an accident: The apple was never tested for cyanide, nothing in the accounts of Turing's last days suggested he was suicidal and Turing had cyanide in his house for chemical experiments he conducted in his spare room.

Awards, Recognition and Royal Pardon

Shortly after World War II, Turing was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his work. For what would have been his 86th birthday, Turing biographer Andrew Hodges unveiled an official English Heritage blue plaque at his childhood home.

In June 2007, a life-size statue of Turing was unveiled at Bletchley Park, in Buckinghamshire, England. A bronze statue of Turing was unveiled at the University of Surrey on October 28, 2004, to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. Additionally, the Princeton University Alumni Weekly named Turing the second most significant alumnus in the history of the school - James Madison held the No. 1 position.

Turing was honored in a number of other ways, particularly in the city of Manchester, where he worked toward the end of his life. In 1999, Time magazine named him one of its "100 Most Important People of the 20th century," saying, "The fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine." Turing was also ranked 21st on the BBC nationwide poll of the "100 Greatest Britons" in 2002. By and large, Turing has been recognized for his impact on computer science, with many crediting him as the "founder" of the field.

Following a petition started by John Graham-Cumming, then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement on September 10, 2009, on behalf of the British government, which posthumously apologized to Turing for prosecuting him as a homosexual.

"This recognition of Alan's status as one of Britain's most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality and long overdue. But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind," Brown stated. "It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present. So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better."

In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II posthumously granted Turing a rare royal pardon almost 60 years after he committed suicide. Three years later, on October 20, 2016, the British government announced "Turing's Law" to posthumously pardon thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted for homosexual acts when it was considered a crime. According to a statement issued by Justice Minister Sam Gyimah, the law also automatically pardons living people who were "convicted of historical sexual offenses who would be innocent of any crime today.

In July 2019, the Bank of England announced that Turing would appear on the UK's new £50 note, along with images of his work. The famed scientist was chosen from a list of nearly 1,000 candidates nominated by the general public, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and mathematician Ada Lovelace.

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"We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done." "I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted."

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6 People You Didn't Know Were WWII Spies

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From baseball player Moe Berg to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" author Roald Dahl, learn about six famous people who once were wartime secret agents.

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The weapons revolution and the associated platforms transformed the world's navies. Nothing like a war to stimulate scientific interest.

World War 2 was a wake up call for the United States to build a new war machine despite the isolationist mind set of many policy makers and elected officials.

The stimulation was most acute after December 7, 1941, a date memorializing the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor .

Some countries, particularly those who would become mortal enemies of democratic institutions, used the peaceful years after World War 1 to transform their military services utilizing the newest technologies and scientific advances.

To an island nation like Japan, it was a no brainer that a modern navy was necessary to dominate what they euphemistically called The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. On the European side of the world, Hitler's Germany hungered for expansion, but knew they would be thwarted----as they were in World War 1----by the powerful British fleet. Both these dictatorships geared their industrial sectors to convert to a war footing. In Germany's case, it was accomplished in contravention of its treaty obligations of 1919.

As for Japan, their build up did not surprise many officials in Washington who had believed war with Japan was inevitable since the days of Teddy Roosevelt earlier in the century. As far back as 1936, Admiral Isaruko Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, led a plan to build more aircraft carriers than battleships.They launched the Hosho, the first specifically designed carrier (not converted) in 1922. Coincidentally, the Japanese had signed a treaty with the British in that year limiting the amount of carriers to be built in the future.

World War 2 Weapons and the navy

There was a lone voice in Washington D.C.,in 1925, insisting that the Army and Navy Departments were an ""almost treasonable administration of the national defense". Billy Mitchell, World War 1 air ace, levied this criticism at the government because they were fixated on building battleships instead of aircraft carriers. He insisted that battleships were vulnerable to bombing. A year later he was convicted of insubordination. And eight years later (1934) the U.S. did build its first all purpose carrier --- USS Ranger.

However, forewarned was not necessarily fore-armed. In 1939, both the British and American navies were, at best, prepared to fight with World War 1 technology. The United States would go to war in 1941, with only four all purpose carriers to face 10 Japanese aircraft carriers. The United states navy still had a passion for battleships, but in a concession to modernization, with cost cutting in mind, they converted 6 cruisers to carrier status.

The Pacific Ocean without sufficient American land air bases, some of which were lost to the Japanese (Henderson Field in the Philippines), learned the hard way the significance of aircraft carriers. However, their enemies had not recognized the resourcefulness of industrial America that produced over 100 carriers by wars end. These included fleet carriers, light carriers and escort carriers.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese, with 33 ships, struck the American navy's 86 ships anchored in Pearl Harbor (Oahu,Hawaii) . The Japanese planes were launched from 6 aircraft carrier. They bombed and torpedoed 8 battleships, but all but two (USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma) were repaired and fit for service. American dead 2407, including 60 civilians, and Japanese dead, 64.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

Fortunately, the U.S. Pacific carrier fleet was at sea and escaped the attack (Lexington, Saratoga and Enterprise). On that day, U.S. radar spotted 189 planes and assumed they were off the carrier, USS Enterprise. Wrong! It was the enemy.

A year earlier, November 11, 1940, a British fleet operating in the Mediterranean Sea launched their torpedo planes from their carriers against the heart of the Italian fleet. The planes struck 3 battleships amongst other ships and all but destroyed the Italian Mediterranean fleet.

The Allies would quickly learn the value of aircraft carriers and the prescience of Billy Mitchell. Belatedly, and posthumously, his service to the nation was recognized by President Franklin Roosevelt.

The aircraft carriers would be central to the American campaign to regain or hold the chain of Pacific islands that ultimately brought United States forces within 900 miles of the Japanese islands. Before their land forces subdued the Japanese on Okinawa, The USS Hornet had penetrated to within 800 miles from Japan. On April 18, 1942, 16 B-25s, under the command of Lt. Col, James Doolittle, took off from the flight deck of the carrier in rough seas to drop their bomb loads in the first raid on the Japanese home islands.

World War 2 Weapons and the navy

On June 6, 1942, the Hornet again was engaged along with the carriers, Enterprise and Yorktown, in the first American victory at Midway Island. Japanese lost 4 of its top of the line carriers out of a total of 6, but the crew of the Yorktown was forced to abandon ship. A day later it was dispatched by a Japanese submarine. One month earlier, May 8, the Lexington was sunk in the Coral Sea.

World War 2 Weapons and the navy

The Battle of the Coral Sea was the irrefutable evidence that the aircraft carrier had replaced the battle ship ( June 3-6, 1942). This was the first sea battle when the opposing fleets never had eye contact. The respective air forces were the optical nerve for the opposing admirals.

We can point to the various successes engendered by the carriers, but their absence from a battle highlights their significance. On August 8, 1942, an American fleet was screening a marine force during the battle for Guadalcanal, an island in the Solomon chain. Their carrier support had been withdrawn. The Japanese fleet pounded the American ships with a loss of 2,000 American sailors.

The month of October found the opposing fleets constantly engaged. Japanese Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto was mortally wounded when his flag ship was severely damaged, but the aircraft carrier USS Hornet was sunk on October 27. Unfortunately, in the same engagement the USS Hornet was sunk. Another tragedy in that Battle of Cape Esperance was the loss of the Cruiser USS Juneau, and the death of the five Sullivan brothers along with other crew mates.

In June 1942, the Japanese invaded American territory, the Aleutian islands. They were dug in and put up fierce resistance against an American force supported by planes off an escort carrier that put an end to the enemy on islands just off the American continent ( May 29, 1943.) How determined was the enemy? Rather than surrender, almost all left alive committed suicide.

By 1944, American aircraft carriers were operating in Japanese waters. Their planes regularly attacking Japan and Formosa. In 1945, the Americans had secured many land air bases and well within range of their heavy bombers.

What were the Germans up to? If they had any aircraft carriers, none appeared in battle. The United States currently has 10 operational aircraft carriers. Still important for regional conflicts, but now reliant on land based missiles replacing the airplane in a global conflict.

In World War 1 (1914-1918), the submarine was so significant that it largely contributed to the United States entry into that war in 1917. It was again ascendent in World War2 weapon systems.

The World War 2 submarines eclipsed the older versions in size, height and speed. The range increased from 1,500 miles to 8,500 miles. Most importantly the depth went from 100 feet to 700 feet. The engine rooms operated on diesel fuel. Diesel required oxygen and hence the need to surface. The Germans, late in the war, used a partial Dutch solution. They ran slightly below the surface and extended an intake tube above the surface.

These compact compartments were models of efficiency and complexity. The Japanese engines produced the fastest and longest range boats.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

The submarines were deadly not only against enemy shipping but proved to be coffins for many crews. The United States lost 52 subs (with over 2,000 dead), Germans-785 subs, Italians-85, Japanese 130. In May 1943, German Admiral Donitz was forced to recall his Atlantic submarine fleet because they were being sunk at a rate of 20 per month over a period of five months. By wars end, 28,000 German submariners died, but accounted for 3,000 Allied ships.

German crew abandoned submarine after depth charge attack launched from American ship.

British submarines were also active. They sunk 2 million tons of shipping and 57 top of the line warships. But they were at risk every moment at sea. HMS Thorn sunk August 9, 1942. Below is a periscope view from the USS Wahoo sinking the enemy ship.

A periscope view from the USS Wahoo sinking an enemy ship.

At the height of their effectiveness, German submarines hunted allied shipping in "wolf packs". A submarine would spot a convoy and radio submarines in adjoining zones, gather, and attack at night. In darkness, they might avoid detection from British or American anti submarine vessels. In contrast, American submarines generally operated singly and independently.

When measuring the losses against the havoc created, the weight of evidence supports the offensive value of the submarine. The World War 2 models carried more torpedoes and heavier deck guns than in World War 1. In European/Atlanic waters, deck guns often were used against unescorted merchant shipping, and at the same time provided surface time to recharge the submarine's batteries.

In measuring the technology of the torpedo, Japan's were best while the United States was poor and plagued with duds, premature explosions, running to deep and the horror of a circular route. By war's end, these problems had been solved.

The U.S. Mark XIV torpedo weighed over 3,000 lbs, 20 1/2 feet long with an explosive warhead twice the power of TNT. Its water cooled combustion chamber powered the torpedo to operate at about 50 MPH with a range of 4500 yards.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

In the war in the Pacific zone, United States submarines crippled Japanese merchant shipping and destroyed their capacity for supplying their far flung armies. It was reliably estimated that 5 million tons of Japanese merchant vessels were sunk and 700,000 tons of naval vessels. These numbers are best viewed by the following statistics of Japanese life: in the course of the war, imports fell 50%, caloric intake of civilians fell to 12% of minimum daily requirement. Oil imports from August 1943 to July 1944 dropped from 1.75 million barrels of oil monthly to 360,000 barrels per month. When measured that loss against their naval oil requirements of 1.6 million barrels of oil per month, time was against the Japanese military.

For some unknown reason, The Japanese submarines had no strategy to attack American merchant marine. Their entire emphasis was on U.S. naval vessels.

The American submarines sunk 8 Japanese aircraft carriers, 1 battleship and 11 cruisers, numerous smaller boats and contributed to the loss an damage of many others in conjunction with other naval and air activities.They had one advantage. The ability to intercept and decode Japanese messages. The system was dubbed "magic".

The cost efficiency in the utilization of submarines is further illustrated by this estimate: The Japanese expended 42 times more for anti-submarine warfare than the cost of the entire American submarine fleet built during the war-- 288 boats in the Atlantic and Pacific. There is a similarity when compared with the German U boat menace. The Allies expended 10 times more to protect shipping than the cost of the Germans to build their 1000 plus U boat fleet.

Submarines were often used to deliver limited amounts of supplies. In 1942 when the Japanese were attacking Bataan in the Philippines, U.S. subs managed to bring supplies to the besieged on Corregidor Island, and also took on board, and rescued, Filipino President Manuel Quezon.

Each of the navies had several classes of submarines. In general there were three classes: smaller, coastal when submerged displaced about 260 tons, medium displaced about 900 tons and the larger over 100 tons and up. However, there was a fourth class, the mini submarine. Almost all of the navies (other than the United States) had these small boats that generally crewed one or two sailors. Germany built 285 for two man crews that carried a torpedo and was responsible for sinking at least nine ships, but lost 35 of these subs. The Japanese employed five mini's on December 7, 1941 when they attacked Pearl Harbor. All were either captured or sunk.

The Japanese sneak attack strategy was not completely successful in Pearl Harbor. Their dive bombers overlooked the United States submarine pens and maintenance facilities.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

German

Japanese

Mines on land an sea were endemic. Submarines distributed their share and many times that resulted in sinking friendly vessels. For the most part they were planted in waters and left uncharted. In 1944, allied infantry suffered casualties off the Anzio beaches when their boats struck mines.

Mine sweepers were vessels designed specifically to locate and detonate mines. They were steel hulled and 95 were operative. They were 221 feet in length, crew of 100 and armed with 50 caliber guns, 2 depth charges and Bofar guns to protect against air attack. Six were lost by enemy attack-one sunk by a U-Boat.

In the early years of the 20th century, motor boat racing attracted the attention of European and American navies. The attraction was speed. Small, fast naval craft were used sparingly in World War 1 navies. The British were already cognizant of the value of small, fast boats for air/sea rescue and the Americans recognized their value for their defensive value along the country's long coast lines. General Douglas MacArthur favored them for the same reason in the Philippine Islands to shore up the American military presence. As war broke out on December 7,1941 their were 6 motor torpedo boats moored in Manila Bay. MacArthur ultimately was evacuated from the falling Philippines in one of these craft. They were already part of the lend lease package to Great Britain and, in a later plan, part of the force to be used in the invasion of Japan. They also saw service in the Mediterranean Sea used against enemy merchant vessels.

As World War 2 began, many navies, particularly those that would ally with Great Britain were in short supply of capital ships. To fill the temporary gap, the United States attention shifted to the small boats. In 1938, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president, had served as an assistant secretary of the navy. As President, he took particular interest in the small. speedy boats and requested congress to appropriate 15 million dollars for their construction. On December 7, 1941, a squadron (Squadron 1 part of 3 squadrons in the Pacific) of 12 patrol torpedo boats (PT Boat) were anchored in Pearl Harbor. Their 50 caliber machine guns were active against the Japanese planes. One of their 101 inch slugs struck a Japanese torpedo plane ("Flying Kate") that crashed in flames.

The boats were 77 feet long (to grow over 80 feet as the war progressed) and built by the Electric Boat Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was an all laminated wooden craft (marine plywood covering), fast at 40 knots and agile. It had a radius of 240 miles, carried 2 machine guns, 2 torpedoes, and an anti aircraft gun. The boat was stepless constructed with a flat hull made for greater stability in rough water. The crews were made up of volunteers. In May of 1942, the sentiment for these boats was thus expressed:
"With daring and fearless young naval officers------there is nothing but trouble and defeat ahead for the enemy------we need more of these boats".
This statement might easily have been made years after the public learned of the exploits of a young naval officer, John F. Kennedy, commander of Pt boat 109.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

The amphibious landing craft saw service in every theater of war. This was part of the arsenal of all the major military services. In the United States, they were under the command of the ground forces---be they marines or army.There were 80 distinct models used by all militaries. Most were self propelled. with exception of some landing barges.

Some of the self propelled boats had wheels (DUKW). These vehicles were first used in the American invasion of Sicily July 1943. 20,000 of these "boats" were manufactured by the United States. They were capable of carrying 5,000 pounds of cargo and 25 armed men. They were armed with machine guns. The bow of almost all amphibious craft had a ramp for easy off landing and loading.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

These boats had flat bottoms that could ride up onto beaches, Some carried rockets and sophisticated navigational instruments necessary for night time attacks.The best known are the landing craft used for the Normandy invasion ( June 6, 1944). Some, like the LTV, carried large equipment onto the beaches.

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

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August 7, 1942: Americans land in the Solomon Islands

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

Sources and references:

Hughes, Terry, Corletti, John. The Battle of the Atlantic. The Dial Press New york 1977.

Johnson, Frank D. United States PT Boats of World War II, Bedfrod Press, Poole-Dorset 1980

Lucas, James. Panzer Army Afrika, Presidio Press, Cal 1977.

Neilands, Robin. The Bomber War. Overland Press, Woodstock, New York 2001.

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Top of World War 2 Weapons and the Navy

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The weapons revolution and the associated platforms transformed the world's navies. Nothing like a war to stimulate scientific interest. World War 2 was a wake up call for the United States to build a new war machine despite the isolationist mind set of many policy makers and elected officials.

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The startling distinction between the "Great War" ( 1914-1918) and World War 2 was the emphasis on the air war. In World War 1, the airplane was basically utilized for observation and infrequently employed in offensive actions.That strategy was reversed as the first shots were fired in Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 (Operation--"Fall Weiss").

The German blitzkrieg was built around their armored tanks, 850 JU-87 dive bombers and 400 fighter planes acting in concert and coordination. Comparable Polish power: 210 bombers, 150 fighters. German armor established the bridgeheads, and the planes knocked out command posts. Then the Wehrmacht ("defense force" = infantry) crossed into the gaping breach. This was completely new era tactics never envisioned by the military planners of World War l, and probably not on the drawing boards of the western industrialized countries.

World War 2 Aircraft

However, the German planners also miscalculated. They failed to realize that their bombers were unprotected by fighters over enemy territory. The Ju-87 range limited their bombing time over England to 30 minutes, and also required constant changes to their ammo magazines every 75 fired rounds. They were particularly vulnerable to the British Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighters.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

Germany produced over 70 diverse or upgraded designs of aircraft. The United States probably surpassed that number prior to the December 7, 1941 entry into the war. Great Britain, with far more limited production capability, had over 40 models on their tarmacs. The Japanese were as prolific as the English. Gone were the days when bombs were dropped from open cockpits.

The British entered the war with their own fighter/dive bomber. The 2 seat Skua was the air arm of the Royal Navy. It operated at 200 MPH at sea level but was hampered by a poor rate of climb to a 20,500 foot ceiling. It had another draw back. This was a carrier based plane with no radio communication except by Morse code over by radio signal---and no other way than hand signals to fellow pilots in the air. Navigation was left to the map resting on the pilot's lap.

The Skua mounted 4 Browning machine guns in addition to a rear cockpit gun. It had one armor piercing 500 lb bomb load and four 20 lb incendiary bombs. Nevertheless, the plane had an exemplary history. The dive bomber sunk the German cruiser, Konigsberg while it was at anchor in the Bergen harbor a day after the Nazi invasion of Norway on April 8, 1940.

The Skua claimed the first air kill of a German plane ( September 25, 1939)---Dornier DO Flying Boat.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

In early June 1940, the British and French troops were cornered on the coastal beach of Dunkirk in north western France. The waters were filled with French and British warships boarding their trapped troops over nine days. The weather was so poor that the Luftwaffe had less than 3 days for their dive bombers to operate. They did sink 7 French and 6 British destroyers and 5 large passenger ships, Over 300,000 troops escaped to England.

The Germans lost 156 planes and the British lost 106 fighter aircraft. Winston Churchill claimed that the air war was an English victory despite losses displayed below on the Dunkirk Beach. Keeping up domestic morale was part of the war effort. Churchill had learned that the enemy could now be guided to English targets by a radio beam that could pierce fog.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering, Commander of the Luftwaffe, and a World War 1 air ace, guaranteed Adolph Hitler that the air force would destroy the British R.A.F. This would open the way for the invasion of England scheduled for September 15, 1940--Operation Sea Lion. The air strike--Operation Eagle-- would pit 3500 German planes against an estimated 700 Spitfires and Hurricanes commanded by air Chief Sir Hugh Dowding.

Despite numerical inferiority, the British held some strong cards. They established a "Chain Home" system of 30 radar stations along the English coast. The data gathered on altitude and numbers of enemy air craft was quickly disseminated to the military airfields in time to scramble their fighters. Germany also used radar effectively to defend against English bombers. Daylight raids would prove disastrous for both sides.

There was another British advantage. Their scientists had cracked the secret code of the German Ultra machine with their own Enigma decryption machine. They now knew the destination of the bombers. The ability to decode was kept under tight wraps. One of the toughest decisions of the war was failure to alert the citizenry of Coventry of an impending raid. Casualties were brutally high and 12 airplane factories were destroyed (November 14, 1940) by 300 German bombers . This triggered a series of revenge bombings. The British launched a 103 bomber raid against Mannheim.

Tactical bombing against a specific target was the new norm, rather than random drops. The original and unexplained policy, stated by Air Minister Kingsley Wood, prohibited the Royal Air Force from bombing German factories on the ground that they were private property. That policy by mid 1940 was dumped. The British in May 1940 began bombing the Ruhr Valley, the industrial heart of Germany. Although bomb sights were less than perfect, precision bombing was now part of bombing campaigns. In August of 1941, only one third of bomber commands made drops within 5 miles of the target as recorded by aerial photography. The Americans began the war with the Sperry bomb sight, but by 1943 the Norden sight replaced it with its greater accuracy.The Norden was a technological leap. The optical, mechanical gyroscope passed control of the plane, as it neared the bombing location, to the bombardier.

Britain's 7 bombers: Hadley Page Halifax , Hampden, Lancaster, Stirling, Wellington, Whitly, Blenheim

World War 2 Aircraft Halifax World War 2 Aircraft

In February 1941, Britain began turning out Hadley Page and Stirling bombers capable of reaching Hamburg targets. They bombed Cologne with a force of 1000 bombers. It was no secret that striking civilian morale and consequently reducing the work force was a prime object of these raids

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

United States Bombers--5 models: B-17 (Fortress),B-24J (Liberator), B-25J, B26E, B-29 (Super Fortress) with numerous model variations in addition to a dozen other models.

World War 2 Aircraft B-24J B-29 World War 2 Aircraft

The B-24 Liberator began its career in 1941. Over the next four years, 18,800 would be built. It was particularly effective in the Pacific although used in European Theater, and even attacked submarines. Because of its extensive range, they bombed Tokyo over a two hour span. Two hundred seventy-nine planes reached the target leaving enormous casualties on the ground, Twenty-nine planes were lost.

Below, the Liberator used in an attack destroying Romanian oil field August 1, 1943.

The introduction of the B-29 super Fortress into the European Theater brought the state of the art to the early years of the war. A computer calculated range, altitude, air speed and temperature. All guns were fitted with interceptors to prevent striking the plane.

The rear and waist gunners controlled their weapons, but the turret gunner from his vantage point coordinated all the guns. Targets were controlled by radar operator and bombardier.

By May 1944, these planes had bases around the globe. Their mission was the destruction of military assets, soldiers, industry and morale. In this year, they bombed Japan. By November, a string of islands were captured furnishing forward bases for the B-29.

Bomb loads were varied. Incendiary, anti personnel, smoke, deep penetration could create 80 foot craters. The English had introduced dam busters in 1943, and were used to flood the Ruhr Valley. Air reconnaissance revealed that 134,000,000 tons roared down the Ruhr Valley. Note the breach in the dam below.

The B-25 bomber was known as the Mitchell bomber named for World War 1 ace, Billy Mitchell who had preached the value of carrier based planes. On April 28, 1942, 16 Mitchells took off from the deck of the USS Hornet bound for a target 800 mile distant---Tokyo. This would be a first strike at the Japanese home islands. To save weight the plane was stripped. Guns were removed from the rear turret. The lead pilot was Lt. Colonel James Doolittle who would further distinguish himself in the war. The raid caused little damage. As per the plan, in which there was no provision for refueling and without the ability to land a B-25 on the deck of the carrier, they forced landed in China where some were rescued by Chinese and others captured. Ultimately, 14 crews returned with the exception of one crew member.

A month later, the B-25 performed exemplary service in the successful Battle of the Coral Sea.

The U.S. Navy had its pet dive bomber, Douglas SBD 3--Dauntless. It was powered with a 1000 HP engine and flew at 250 MPH. Its ceiling was 27,000 feet with a range of 1345 miles. Tucked under the wings were 100 lb bombs, but its main load were 1000 pound highly, explosive bombs. Add to that 5 guns and well armored protection. Despite certain limitations of power, range and hard to fly, they sunk more Japanese tonnage than any other plane.

The dive would start between 1000 to 2500 feet for a 6 plane squadron; all following the leader into a banking dive. The bombs were released manually, but toward the close of the war an electric release was added.

In early June, 1942, the battle for control of Midway was raging. Plane strength of about 300 planes was equivalent with Japanese force. The Japanese had a decided advantage in the number of ships off shore. The U.S. land based planes, combined with those on the carriers, attacked the enemy fleet, but were repulsed by the Zeros. A second attack aided by code breakers passed information to Admiral Nimitz. It caught the Japanese carrier based planes refueling. 37 Dauntless dive bombers from the Carriers Enterprise and Yorktown with Marauder bombers, and their2000 lb pound bomb load, helped to rout the Japanese ships. Midway Island was saved. .

World War 2 Aircraft

Night bombing depended on moonlight. Weather was always a factor for bomber activity. March 30, 1944, a raid was planned on Nuremburg over 500 miles from English bases.. Bomber Command was prepared to stand down on reports of bad weather. Then there was a conflicting report of improved weather and the raid was cleared. German fighters took advantage of the weather, and shot down 85 planes. German fighters were still capable of a strong defense.

In one three month period from August 1, 1941, the British lost 350 planes. By that winter, daylight raids were deemed completely ineffective, but night time raids, with deep penetrations meant no fighter escorts and heavy losses.

In 1942, the U. S. Air Command, USAAF, despite both British and German experience with daylight bombing, believed their heavier armored bombers, B-17, could accomplish what the British could not.The U.S. believed that the two strategies, day and night raids, would be effective. There was a minimal hope in the minds of the British and American commands that combined bombing would obviate the necessity for a land invasion. This undercurrent guided the mission of the U.S. Eighth Air Force. Help was on the way for the daylight bombers.

In 1943, the American P-51 and P-47 fighters with longer ranges, were an effective screen for the bombers, and reduced their losses significantly. This was even true for daylight raids

The Boeing B-17 "Fortress" would go through 15 evolutionary designs, and 12,000 were manufactured by several American corporations. The first of 20 planes were introduced to British pilots in 1940, and then, in 1942, Americans were heavily dependent on the "Forts". This huge, 4 engine plane with nose and turret guns, was the only heavy bomber in the RAF prior to their manufacture of the Stirling and the Hadley Page. On one bombing flight, a B-17 squadron was led by Major Paul Tibbets who would, three years, later carry and drop the first atomic bomb on Japan.

The American Command believed that the Flying Fortress had the guns and armor to fly without fighter escort. In October 1943, the bomber loss count for the month was 176. The German fighters were very effective as well as their anti aircraft guns that filled the sky with flak. The B-17s flew in tight formations adding to the density of the bombs and fire power, but offered the Germans better targets. These bombers would ultimately drop from a high altitude over 600,000 tons of bombs. Another hazard of a tight formation was the possibility of being struck by a bomb from a friendly bomber flying at higher altitude. Definitively the B-17 insured U.S. air superiority in Europe despite armor limitations. The crewman, in the nose, lacked bullet proof glass, suffered from cold temperatures and oxygen malfunction that caused nausea.

In October 1944, this B-17 returned safely to English airfield from a raid on Cologne with the unfortunate loss of the nose gunner after a direct hit from ground fire. A testament to the flying skills of the pilot and a superbly engineered plane.

The records of the U.S. 20th Air Force clocked 49 missions for its 3,058 aircraft and dropped over 11,000 tons of bombs. Their contribution to the 600 tons that fell through bomb bay doors mainly on German cities.

The B-17 Fortress was not extensively used in the Pacific Theater.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

The variety of bombers flying across the globe was extensive and each year brought either a new model or a variation of an original. The variations were almost infinite. . The United States had over 30 models in their air arsenal.

The coup de grace: On July 24, 1945, General Spaatz, Commander of the new U.S. Strategic Air force set a date for a visual drop of the atomic bomb. August 2 was chosen. Paul Tibbits Jr. to fly the mission. He was a veteran pilot of many bombing missions in Europe. As a young officer, he had been chosen to fly General Eisenhower to Africa from England during Operation Torch.

His plane, a B-29, named "Enola Gay", took off from a secret Utah base. On August 2, after the "bomb" was dropped, he visually noted the destruction of Hiroshima sustained by a 900 lb atomic bomb, dubbed "Little Boy". Seven days later, "Fat Boy' was dropped on Nagasaki, a victim of the bomb and the weather. The original target was the City of Kokura, but cloud cover caused the plane to divert its target.

September 2, 1945: General Douglas McArthur, aboard the USS Missouri , observed the Japanese sign the surrender agreement. He declared; "The proceedings are closed".

aboutjapan.japansociety.org

German-4 models: Dornier, Heinkel , Junkers Stuka, Junkers 188 Avenger, The German engineering genius produced the first pressurized cabin in a Junker 864. This eliminated the need for the crew wearing oxygen machines at high altitudes. In 1942, they could breath normally at 40,000 feet over England.

An American nurse stationed in a medical station in Anzio, Italy vividly recalled the hospital hit by a German bomb. Sergeant Smith was her assistant. "I saw Smitty clutch at his desk and then sink to the floor. I lay next to Smitty in the ambulance. What about a cigarette , he asked. I got one out and handed it to him. He drew two deep puffs and it fell from his fingers. Smitty was dead".

Japanese flew 4 models of the Mitsubishi. Each carried a different Ally code name: Betty, Sally,, . Nakajima manufactured 2 models: Helen, and Nakajima -Kate. Each model was an effective bomber, but not necessarily in its own defense. The "Peggy" was found best of class. All were well armored.

The "Sally" had a range of 1350 miles. It fared poorly against British Hurricane fighters and the U.S. P.40s in the skies over China and Burma,

The "Helen" had a short range for a bomber, was slow, and carried a small bomb load.

The "Betty G4M" had a 3,000 mile range, well armed and a bomb load over 2,000 lbs. Their Achilles heel was their unprotected tanks. When they altered those tanks to make them self sealing, they reduced the rate of speed. They were comparable to the British Blenheim bomber.

The Nakajima "kate" was a single wing dive bomber that carried a 1760 lb torpedo. On December 7, 1941, 144 took off from their carrier decks. Their torpedoes were responsible for much of the damage suffered by the U.S. navy in Pearl Harbor. In later engagements. they sunk 4 U.S. carriers at sea: Hornet, Lexington, Wasp, Yorktown. As the war began, the Japanese air force had a 2-1 edge in numbers over allied airplanes.

In a comparable action on December 7, 53 Japanese bombers escorted by 36 fighters hit Clark Field in the Philippines destroying B 17s and P-40s on the ground.

The Japanese had a strategy that the United states was yet to learn, and that curve began while the Americans were on the defensive. The enemy plan began with good intelligence, and then centrally integrated ground, air and navy services acting in concert. Their air force provided the initial strikes in the way the artillery barrage did on the ground.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

The bombers were all vulnerable to the fighters. But not all fighters were created equal. Nor were all pilots even given the equality of training. Speed, maneuverability, rate of climb, range, fire power, armor, reliability determined the fighter's survivability. Every sortie might involve meeting an enemy fighter, and the inevitable "dog fight". Each air force had its standouts in terms of performance.

World War 2 Aircraft

The Supermarine MK24 Spitfire was the British pick during the air battle over Britain. Reputably, faster than the Hurricane, but slower to build. However, it was the Hawker Hurricane that carried the greatest burden in the Battle for Britain. Its rate of victories was greater than that of the Spitfire. The Hurricane's 20mm cannon was devastating, and performed equally as well in the Pacific as in European skies. The Hurricane pilots were particularly adept in emphasizing the strong points of their craft and avoiding its limitations. Both of these single seat fighters prevented a Nazi invasion.

War History on Line

The Vought Corsair began its career as a land based plane. The U.S, Navy converted it for sea duty in 1943.This single seat fighter flew at 400 MPH. Its kill ratio of Japanese planes was 11 to 1. The plane was still in use in Korea over 10 years later.

The U.S. Curtis P-40. like the British Hurricane, had system limitations, but was very reliable and durable. It was mostly associated with the "Flying Tigers" operating in China nnder the leadership of General Claire Lee Chennault. The dual quality of fighter and bomber made it the 3rd most manufactured plane in the U.S. air force. 3,000 of these planes were highly prized by Soviet pilots supplied under the "Lend Lease" program. Ultimately it was replaced by the P-39, P-47, P-51. The P-51 Mustang outclassed all German fighters. Its formidable range allowed it to accompany deep penetration bombers in Germany. No longer could German fighters await escort fighters to return to English bases to refuel and leave their bombers without fighter protection. It restored the U.S. daylight bombing viability.

P-40 fighter below -furnishing ground support for American infantry assaulting Solomon Island beach June 30, 1943.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

The Germans were active in manufacturing high design fighters. Their Focke-Wulf FW 190 could out fly the Spitfire but could not compete with the P-51. The Messerschmitt 109K was constantly active over Britain, and on the continent. It had a range of 420 miles at a speed of 354 MPH. As good as the Spitfire in many respects, except high speed maneuverability was poor, but its 20mm cannons and 9mm guns provided high fire power.

The Lightning P-38 was an impressive twin tailed fighter. The Germans referred to it as a "forked tail devil". It mounted a 20mm cannon and 4 machine guns.The Germans had a design for a Heinkel fighter, but never was manufactured.

The Japanese sought to match the American P-38 with their Nakajima Ki-84, but could not. They produced a plane that was the equal of the P-51, but fell short of the higher performing Lightning. The Japanese produced 3,000, but too late in the war to make a difference.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

Nakajima

The Japanese navy used its Mitsubishi Zero as its Pacific work horse. 43 of those planes left their 6 carrier flight decks on the morning of December 7, 1941, and flew 275 miles to attack Pearl harbor to drop its torpedoes and strafe Hawaiian civilians. It was also part of a second flight of 170 planes one hour later. This plane was part of the Japanese success in the first 6 months of its Pacific Island campaign. The Japanese success was incomplete. They missed the three U.S. aircraft carriers that were out to sea, and failed to destroy the large fuel dumps and submarine pens.

In a similar action on the same day, Zeros strafed Americans and Philippians on Luzon Island. It was all out war as President Roosevelt responded with his declaration of war.

World War 2 Aircraft

The paratrooper is the true hybrid of the World War 2 air war. His duty began in flight and started again on the ground behind enemy lines. He was a member of the Airborne Service.

On September 1, 1939, the German paratrooper was the first enemy soldier to invade Polish airspace, and the first to contact Polish soil. He was in the vanguard of what the world would soon call the Nazi blitzkrieg designed to shock and disorient the enemy. These soldiers were considered special and carried a specific identity card.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

The template that they set on that September day would be reenacted dozens of times over the next seven years. This included the training to prepare this soldier for the danger in the air, and on the ground. The risks began on the plane that transported them that was a target of enemy artillery and planes; in the air, after the jump, the same target without the plane's shell for protection. Once on the ground the risk of the light infantry man is assumed."Light" infantry because there is a lack of resources other than the weapons carried and no transportation. However, as the war progressed, air drops with supplies, became routine.

Once the paratrooper slipped out of the parachute's harness he would join his comrades, and proceed to targets that included capturing and holding bridgeheads and cross roads for the armor and troops to follow. The paratroopers were charged with the duty to destroy enemy command posts and interrupt their zones of central control.

The Germans rapidly repeated these tactics in their April 1940 invasion of Norway and Holland. In Norway, the Germans coordinated the paratrooper attack with a sea operation. In Holland, the invasion began with a two division air drop.

On September 5, 1943, Americans attacked the Japanese on New Guinea. The attack began with an air drop accompanied with a protective smoke screen.

World War 2 Aircraft

In Europe, at almost the same time as the new Guinea air drop, paratroopers sought to gain a beachhead at Salerno targeting Naples and Rome. The drop was in the wrong zone and resulted in stiff ground resistance. The paratroopers suffered 30% casualties. Nevertheless, the paratroopers held the ground permitting General Mark Clark's forces to gain a foothold.

Both daytime and night time drops were risky. The former creates an open target for enemy gunners and the latter creates confusion in locating comrades. On D Day, June 6, 1944, the first drops were in darkness. Some paratroopers fell into marshes and drowned. Many of the airborne troops arrived over their targets in gliders and crashed with significant casualties. The American airborne divisions were represented by the 82nd and 101st divisions that were immediately engaged with the German defenders.

Easy Company 506 was ordered to secure an area several miles from the American beachhead on Utah Beach. They immediately ran into 3 artillery pieces at Becourt emplaced with guns trained on Utah Beach. The guns were protected by an infantry platoon. The paratroopers dispatched the enemy and saved innumerable Americans landing on the French beach. General Eisenhower spoke to paratroopers before they bordered their transport planes and wished them good luck.

World War 2 Aircraft

During the September following the Normandy invasion, General Bernard Montgomery pushed a plan (Market Garden) to invade the German industrial heart in the Ruhr Valley.

The invasion began with air drops in Holland using the British 1st Airborne and the U.S. 82nd and 101st Divisions. There were early successes in capturing bridges, but German resistance was fierce. The 101st was subjected to a heavy aerial attack. The attacking force also included Polish paratroops.

Although the airborne forces had achieved many of its objectives, they only had the ability to hold their gains for short periods expecting reinforcements. Those reinforcements were not forthcoming in a timely manner. After several days, the Allied troops were forced to withdraw. Their efforts to cross the several rivers that protected Germany was successful, but they could not hold their gains against strong German resistance. What had been an offensive action, became a defensive retreat. In short, Market Garden was a failure, and an unnecessary loss of lives.

World War 2 Aircraft

World War 2 Aircraft

As the war in Europe was closing in 1945, the Americans and Germans were racing to create a new class of airplanes that never saw service in the war.

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The startling distinction between the "Great War" ( 1914-1918) and World War 2 was the emphasis on the air war. In World War 1, the airplane was basically utilized for observation and infrequently employed in offensive actions.That strategy was reversed as the first shots were fired in Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 (Operation--"Fall Weiss").

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The backstory of weapons employed in World War 2 on land, sea and air was the intense focus of the scientific /tech communities to create the means for the greatest devastation.

Earlier wars may have planted the seeds for lethality, but this new war that engulfed the planet was a quantum leap into the future of weaponry.

The reader will hardly forget the game changer: the atomic bomb that made hyperbole an understatement.

The weapons were often utilized with a degree of barbaric cruelty and hatred. How else can history explain over 60 million dead?

Automation became a standard for what had merely been mechanical.

Introduction of full rapid fire required new platforms that created new systems for delivery.

The aircraft carrier, the amphibious landing craft, the self propelled gun, the dive bomber became terms common in civilian discourse.

Our identification of these weapons into Land, Sea, Air does not limit their use to these broad categories. Many of the systems crossed these boundaries and were employed effectively in all environments.

Naval officer and Medal of Honor winner, John D. Bulkley: It's not the captain but "t he men who do the fighting, man the guns, they're the guys that really win the war".

These arms were regularly described by all belligerents as those weapons used by an infantry squad, but not necessarily limited to the infantry. They are portable.

Pistols

The pistol was notoriously inaccurate and useful only in close combat. This weapon was carried by infantry officers, tank crews and pilots. There were no significant innovations from those pistols used in World War 1. All were semi-automatic. (Each trigger pull fired a single shot.)

United States: .45 caliber M1911-----considered the best pistol carried.

Germans: .38 caliber Walther----considered more reliable than their

Luger Model 1908. The most sought after souvenir by

U.S. servicemen in European Theater Operations..

World War 2 Weapons

British: .38 caliber Webley and Enfield 2

Soviets: Nagent revolver 1895 and Tokarev pistol---------not widely issued

Italy: Beretta .33 caliber-------not accurate but widely issued- small and compact

Japan: Nambu Type 94----unsafe. Many officers preferred ceremonial sword.

Was sometimes used by officers to commit suicide ("Seppuk" to avoid capture.)

Many of the armies entered the war equipped with World War 1 rifles. Americans were issued 1903 Springfield, bolt action. The Japanese were using a weapon that was in vogue in the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904.

United States: By 1945, the standard rifle was the 9 lb Garand M1 (John Garand) with a maximum range of 5500 feet. The rifle was semi automatic and self loading. It was gas operated and fed with an 8 clip .30 caliber cartridge. Its sight was extremely accurate and the gun unaffected by weather. The butt carried swabs, brush and cleaning rod. Its simplicity was confirmed by every infantryman who could it tear it down and put it together in the dark. It was described as 9 plus pounds of terrific "knock down" power and never jammed.

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

British: Reliable Lee Enfield NO. 4 AND 5

Italy: Mannlicher Modello 91

Japan: Arisaka, Meiji, Mosin The Arisaka was a copy of the German Mauser rifl 38" long and used as a sniper weapon when telescope sight added (6.5 cal.).

Germany: Karabiner 98K, one of many numerous upgrades, fired a Mauser cartridge 7.92x57mm. Many German rifles utilized earlier Czechoslovakian designs. Used by Wehrmach(infantry), kriegsmarine (Subs), Luftwaffe (air), Waffen SS (multi services from police to panzer).

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

The Thompson gun had its origin at the end of world War 1. It was the notorious weapon of choice for 1930's gangsters when known as the "Tommy" gun.The gun was fully automatic. (Gun continuously fires as long as the trigger remains depressed.)

United States: This gun was occasionally issued to non commissioned officers but its low velocity and failure to penetrate light armor was a significant problem.It was found somewhat ineffective in jungle battle. The M1 model had a 50 round box magazine instead of the familiar looking round drum. Marines were issued the weapon in the Pacific and used on Okinawa ( April-June 1945).

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

Britain: Their commandos favored the Thompson gun. They would also manufacture their version of the submachine gun---the Sten gun.

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

Japan: Used their machine gun when they captured the oil fields on Java,rarely utilized.

Germany; The following illustrates the MP 40 and its deadly stream of fire.

Germany: Most innovative-- produced a semi or fully automatic assault rifle. The machine pistol 43 (Sturmgewehr=storm rifle) had shorter range than most rifles, a less powerful bullet. It's compact form made it more controllable and proved very effective on Russia's, eastern front. Although referred to as a rifle, it had the qualities of a sub-machine gun.

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

The significant use of steel for defense had its counterpoint in the armor piercing projectiles. Technology utilized two methods.

A. Kinetic energy---depended on velocity of at least 3,000 feet per second. It was constructed of tungsten/carbide material that was denser than steel.

B. Chemical development of a hollow, higher explosive charge generating high, penetrating heat traveling at 2,000 feet per second. Utilized by all belligerents.

Hand held hollow materials containing explosives and thrown at an enemy have been used in multiple centuries. The grenade in World War 2 became an integral weapon in every infantry man's kit. The United States manufactured over 87 million grenades for use in close quarter fighting.

Marine Corporal Robert Johnsmiller reported his grenade experience on Red Beach, Tarawa while crawling through the bodies of dead comrades (Gilbert Islands Campaign November 20, 1943) :

" A Japanese hand grenade landed next to me. alerted by my buddy to 'roll', I quickly moved my body as it went off". Wounded, he kept crawling forward until he reached a trench. He looked into the ditch and saw a Japanese soldier looking up at him. He pulled back and signaled to his comrades."We quickly dispatched grenades into the emplacement and silenced the threat".

The corporal's grenade wound----a lost eye.

Grenades evolved that differentiated between offensive and defensive use. The defensive grenade (MKII) when exploded emitted deadly fragments at super speed. The offensive grenade (MKIII) created an explosive blast.

Some grenades were utilized for signaling or screening. Some even had handles for throwing. One grenade manufactured, when thrown, emitted tear gas.

There also was the "home made" grenade known as the molotov cocktail (Soviet Commissioner for Foreign Affairs---Vyocheslav Molotov). When Great Britain feared invasion, the government distributed to its citizens this type of weapon which followed the molotov formula: a solution of phosphorus and benzine. This explosive appeared in a number of innovative forms. The simple bottle was the most used and first appeared in numbers with Finnish troops in the their run-up pre -World War 2 fight against the Soviet Union. The Russians used the more traditional long handle type of grenade similar to German "potato masher".

The grenade could also be attached to the muzzle of a rifle adding to the effectiveness of the infantry man.There also was a stick on grenade applied to a tank body timed to explode.

The U.S. grenade was made of cast iron and grooved to improve the grasp of the throwing hand and increase its deadly fragments ("frag grenade"). Its pineapple appearance gave rise to that popular description of the grenade.

The German and Japanese grenades followed a different design, but their effect was similar to the American explosives.

World War 2 Weapons

The Germans introduced the flame thrower in world War 1. The technology which had been based on portable tanks or canisters filled with gasoline carried by the infantryman was now also added to the tank's arsenal. In the Pacific Theater, the flame thrower was used by Americans and Japanese effectively against foxholes, caves, pill boxes with the hidden soldier as a target.

On Okinawa in the spring months of 1945, American marines referred to their effort to force Japanese surrender with flame throwers as " cave flushing". The Japanese often chose death from burns and suffocation rather than surrender..

World War 2 Weapons

Machine guns are a hybrid falling between small arms and traditional artillery. Small arms are usually represented as portable and hand held by an individual soldier. With the possible exception of the light machine gun, any weapons system that requires a crew to carry and operate will fall outside the domain of small arms.

Machine guns were employed by all the armed services.During the Pacific campaign to retake New Guinea, in early 1943, American air men mounted extra machine guns in order to increase strafing power against the Japanese.

The power of the automatic machine gun on Okinawa prompted a marine to write."It was an appalling chaos". Ernie Pyle, famed front line reporter, was hit and killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet in this Pacific Island battle.

It was hardly different in the Italian campaign to capture Cassino. General Mark Clark commanded the American Fifth Army. He ordered his men to cross the Rapido River into the face of German machine gun emplacements. Clark finally had to order a withdrawal with high casualties. The Germans were barely damaged ( January-February 1944).

The machine gun was to be a factor in the Pacific until the day the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri ( Sept. 2, 1945). In the U.S. effort to pacify Luzon Island in the Philippines, and protect Manila Bay, hidden Japanese machine guns on Bataan could not be dislodged protecting over 100,000 Japanese troops in the place where they had treated American prisoners with barbartic cruelty--the Bataan death march.

Czechoslovakia, the country that was unable to defend itself in 1939, was the major designer of the "state of the art" machine gun. The British Bren gun was a product of the Czech design. The American Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was the U.S. answer for its light machine gun. Both guns were light enough to be carried or could be mounted on a bipod. This flexibility made the gun a valuable asset at squad level. Sometimes employed as a small arm, and sometime manned by a crew.

Bren BAR

weight 22.5 lbs. 15.5 lbs.

caliber .303 rimmed .30 rimless

cooled air air

pressure gas cylinder gas cylinder

magazine curved above barrel box below barrel

World War 2 Weapons

Bren (left)

The German MG 34 weighed 26 lbs. This heavy air cooled gun was used extensively. It fired 7.92mm at a rate of 800-900 rounds per minute.

The Russians answer was an 80 lb. gun that fired 600 rounds per minute.

The British relied on an upgraded World War 1 Vickers that replaced their Lewis heavy machine gun. It was water cooled, weighed 40lbs and fired 450 rounds per minute.

The Japanese had 7.7mm gun (Type 92) that was poorly designed but used effectively by well trained crews. It fired 550 rounds per minute and weighed 70 lbs.

In 1944, American's had gained a marked superiority in numbers and effectiveness of its big guns. General William H. Simpson remarked: "Never send an infantryman in to do a job that an artillery shell can do for him".

However, in 1939, the Germans set the standard for the disposition of their cannon. When they attacked Poland, they introduced the concept of big gun mobility. Nevertheless, in 1940, in a full fledged war, the Allies held a two to one ratio over the Germans with 14,000 field guns. But the Germans neutralized the disadvantage with their tactic of blitzkrieg (lightning) warfare which exploited weaknesses in the allies defensive lines with rapid strikes by their panzer (tank) corps discussed below. Ultimately, that disadvantage in numbers would contribute to the German defeat. By June 1944, The Allies fielded 1182 assault weapons against 337 comparable pieces. Despite the long odds, General Erwin Rommel had built along the French coast his famous defensive "fortress" wall installing an array of huge cannon believing that it made the coast impregnable.

Artillery that crushed infantry units, shot down airplanes, sunk enemy shipping accounted for half of all battle casualties. The panoply of weapons were generally described as light, medium and heavy, The Library of Congress World War II Companion (see Reference below) further defines the classification summarized as follows:

1. Guns with high velocity and flat trajectories-------coastal, fixed defense or on tracks as shown below. This railroad gun was manufactured on orders from Hitler and used sporadically. Aside from the railway gun, these other big guns were fixed as though set in concrete----as many were.

2. Howitzers with low velocity fire with a higher trajectory to drop over defensive cover; a front line gun. This weapon was mobile and transportable by appropriate vehicles.

The Germans developed a howitzer with a 30 mile range with thousand plus projectle weight. A front line gun.

Long guns were adept at supporting infantry advances and, as in World War 1, could lay down "creeping barrages" that cleared enemy areas as troops moved under this umbrella.

3. Mortars dropped shells at the greatest angle over obstacles--light ( U.S. 81mm muzzle loaded); heavy, fixed or self propelled as the German 60cm below (Sturmtiger).

This was a front line, mobile gun. The Howitzer and mortar could also be mounted and made a self-propelled weapon system. A front line gun.

4. Rockets represented a new form of delivering an explosive. It came in several forms: hand held as the American anti-tank weapon, recoiless "Bazooka", or mounted on a platform as the Russian Katyusha. The rocket increased the speed to the target, but not always accurate.

The bazooka, on the other hand, was quite effective, and was armed with a rocket shaped missile with its own motor that produced exceptional heat that could penetrate armor. The Germans picked up many on the North African battlefields dropped by Ameicans. They retrofitted the design to increase rocket size and manufactured them for their use.

The power of these guns and the noise they generated was greatly feared by enemy troops. A survivor of the surrender of Corregidor May 6, 1942, an American island fortress in the Philippines, reported that the wounded sought refuge in tunnels and caves to avoid the "mind numbing" barrage of Japanese guns.

At the battle of Kursk on the Russian front, July 15-17, 1943, a German infantryman reported: "First came a dreadful barrage"----3 hours long.

World War 2 Weapons World War 2 Weapons

Below: a"smaller" big gun howitzer

World War 2 Weapons

88 mm mortar section Guadalcanal August 1942

World War 2 Weapons

The 75mm gun was used to maximum proficiency as a field gun when mounted on a tank. However, its armor piercing projectile met its match IN 1944 in Normandy when matched against the new and more heavily armored German Tiger and Panther tanks. The 75mm also had the capability of firing "shot" against German infantry.

World War 2 Weapons

In 1943, Americans began, in secret, to build a 40 ton computer that could rapidly calculate artillery firing tables. Associated Press

The Nazi government maintained a secret scientific site located in the north eastern corner of Germany on Peenemunde, an island in the Baltic Sea. The German scientists had previously produced the V1 which was known as a "flying bomb". An RAF airstrike on Peenemunde, August 17.1943. was evidence that this secret location had been revealed.

The V1 launch sites were scattered in France and were overrun by advancing Allied forces in 1944. Now other bases for launch tests were hurriedly constructed to accommodate the scientists and engineers.The production of the V2 (now hyphenated as V-2) was now a priority for Hitler. Test launches had begun in 1942 with liquid oxygen as the fuel. The V2 product was second generation.

In September 1944, the first non test launch from Holland against London hit that city leaving high casualties. It traveled at 3800 miles per hour and could not be intercepted. Over 3,000 of the V2 ballistic missiles accounted for casualties of over 6,000 dead and wounded.(Some claims are as much as 9,000 victims.)

The German rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun, worked at Peenemunde, and in the post war era was brought to the United States where he distinguished himself in the U.S. space program.

World War 2 Weapons

As the war proceeded, both the Allies and Axis armies were constantly innovating. We noted above that the heavy Browning Automatic (BAR), primarily aimed at land based targets, was effective against low flying planes. The German 88 mm was also primarily an anti-tank weapon, but excellent performing as an anti-aircraft gun. Nevertheless, all the combatants utilized heavier weapons as well with a greater ceiling range.

The Bofar "AA" gun was designed by a Swedish inventor in 1929. Its accuracy and reliability was established through a succession of wars prior to World War 2. The Chrysler Corporation was the principle manufacturer that produced this highly effective weapon at a modest cost. The rate of fire for this 40mm gun was 120 shells per minute. It was equally proficient on land and on the high seas with a ceiling of 23,600 feet and level range of 12, 500 feet.

As with almost all of the big guns used in batteries, firing was directed by a central control.

The British Royal Navy used its version of a .40mm gun referred to as a Pom Pom Gun (after the sound when firing). Also referred to as a "2 Pounder" referring to the weight of its projectile. Like the U.S. Bofar's versatility, it had proved its worthiness in World War 1 trenches and on the HMS Kelvin in World War 2.

World War 2 Weapons

If there was a star in the artillery firmament, the U.S. 90mm anti-aircraft gun would be the weapon of choice. The German 88 would tie for first place with its anti- tank, anti- aircraft, anti -personnel capability. Although the British 76.2 gun also became known as a tank killer. The Japanese could make no such claim. Their anti-tank gun was so ineffective that their solution was a jerry-built land mine from torpedoes.

The U.S. 90 M1 was a semi-automatic field gun. Because of its size, mobility was accomplished by mounting the gun on a tractor base that could reach a speed of 35 MPH. The gun was operated in a battery of four and fire directed under a central control. Its projectile could reach an altitude of 30,000 feet. In 1943, a redesign---the M2----of its breech increased its rounds per minute to 23-28. It added a remarkable new feature. Its blast could illuminate the sky and replaced the need for searchlights to spot and follow enemy planes. This versatile gun could be lowered for horizontal firing and effectively was used against Wehrmacht infantry. Its rate of fire exceeded most other artillery pieces. The gun crew used a telescopic gun sight. Range was limited by the 30 second fuze time to explode over enemy infantry concentrations.

World War 2 Weapons

It still required manpower.

The German 88mm proved to be a scourge against allied pilots, and deadly on the ground in the battle of the Battle of the Bulge ( Christmas 1944). It also was a target of American fire in that cauldron of the Ardennes Forest.

Can you visualize yourself in a Sherman tank, or a U.S. pilot targeted by the 88-----or the crescendo of noise that crashed through the Ardennes woods as you lay in a snow packed crater on that Christmas day in 1944?

Defense Media Network The variable use of the 88mm gun.

August 1944 the U.S. Army began its Po Valley offensive in Italy. The Sherman tanks with powerful 75mm guns were slowed by many river crossings, bad weather and road traffic. September 4 they were ordered to assault a ridge two miles away. The German 88 batteries opened fire. Result: 24 tanks lost. 64 dead.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the value of a good video?

World War 2 Weapons

In world War 1, German military placed little emphasis on an armored vehicle operating on caterpillar type tracks (panzer). The British had been the first country to introduce a tank on the battlefield. Their French ally was not far behind. The Versailles treaty ( JUNE 28, 1919) ending that conflict prohibited Germany from manufacturing tanks. The Germans found ways to disguise their efforts to build a fighting force of panzer divisions. As they began the war, their Panzer I and II models were battle ready.

September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland spearheaded by 3,000 tanks. On May 10, 1940, they invaded Belgium which brought France and Britain into the defense of that country and formerly declared war on ( September 3, 1939). The first tank battle in history occurred on May 14 on Belgian territory. From the Allies view point, the French had delayed German advances. The photo below shows Germans inspecting captured French tanks. The high profile of the tank would be a problem that the military designers sought to lower in future designs.

World War 2 Weapons

The Germans began their war with about 3000 tanks, but used only three of the ten panzer divisions in their lightning strike (blitzkrieg) intended to target France and gain control of the English Channel ports. Their military planners had two pathways. One was to butt heads with the heavily fortified French Maginot line to the south as anticipated by France, or to cross the supposed impenetrable Ardennes Forest. The Germans chose to hook around the French flank, in a north westerly advance, through the forest, and avoided the French Maginot Line.

Arrayed against the panzers, were the combined tank forces of Britain, France, Belgium, and Holland. Their combined forces were about 2 times the size of the German divisions and fielded better built tanks. There was one German design that tipped the scale in its favor. Each of their tanks were equipped with a radio, and all of the tanks were subject to central control---much like big gun artillery systems.

The Germans chose the forest route and did run into delays caused by their own traffic. Nevertheless, the strike through the least point of resistance against the French line appeared to be the future for panzer attacks.

A French pilot reported that the panzers advanced like water, "and almost at the point where it meets no resistance". The French had 3254 tanks that were positioned at the wrong place and time to meet the panzers in open battle

A bit more than one month later, the French surrendered in Paris ( June 22, 1940).

World War 2 Weapons

The French turned over to the German victors about 2000 tanks including the well designed French Renault R-35. Both armies had mounted 37mm guns, but the Germans noted the inadequacy of the 37mm which could not pierce enemy armor and converted to a 55mm long gun. The German light tank (right) was eight foot high and weighed 24 tons. Its shell was high explosive armor piercing up to 77mm effective at short range. There were several upgraded designs and all told, about 6,000 were manufactured. This series of German tanks were among the 37 different types of panzers manufactured. They were extremely innovative with captured tanks using parts and pieces to rebuild their own designs.The escaping French left their share of tanks on the road to Dunkirk beaches in June 1940.

Abandoned Renault German redesign

In the early days of the German invasion, Colonel Erhard Raus commanded a panzer brigade. In his post war memoirs, which included his later years as general of all eastern front panzer divisions, recalled that a single KV-l denied his entire brigade passage through a choke point on a Russian road.

This behemoth weighed 45 tons, 22 feet long, and had multiple turrets each with 76.2mm guns. In addition, the crew of 5 manned 3 to 4 machine guns. As the invasion began, there were 508 KV-1 on line. There would be several evolutions with upgrades including torsion bar suspension system. One of the reasons why Germans could advance no further than the Caucus region in 1943.

The alternative was another monster sized T-35 that was a mechanical failure. Losses resulted more from breakdowns than battle. This vehicle was extensively used in the battle for Moscow ( October 1941). It was often abandoned and seized as pictured below. Outwardly, with similar dual turrets, but required a crew of 7.

World War 2 Weapons

In 1943, the German command brought there own mammoth to the battle at Kursk (Russia July 1943). A German infantryman supporting the armor recalled the moment he viewed the new tank: "Fortunately, we were protected by a German tank named Ferdinand, the biggest and heaviest tank that I had ever seen. It was so big that the ground was practically shaking when it was 3 kilometers away. Not even the Russians had one like it. But the there was a thunderstorm---- the ground went soggy and that was the end of Ferdinand".

The Americans began the war with a surplus of Stuart light tanks. All told they would field over 1 dozen types of tanks. The year before, 1941, the British were using the Stuart lend lease tanks in North African deserts. Reports from that source established the inadequacy of the tank when armies were converting to medium sized armored tanks with heavier armor and larger cannon. The reports were reinforced in 1942 when Americans in these same tanks faced the Afrika Korps (Operation Torch). Ultimately they were retired from the European theater, but did well in the Pacific theater at Guadalcanal , Tarawa and Saipan.The Stuart M3 was called the President (the "Grant" and the "Lee"). Stuart 1 and the little beefier Stuart 5 were less than 15 feet long, and some of the Stuart 5 models carried a 75mm guns. Its size lent to a 36 MPH rate. Its range was 70 miles.

The Sherman series medium tank became the U.S. workhorse. About 50,000 of Sherman series were built. Many went to Britain and about 8,000 to Russia under lend lease. This M4 medium tank ran on a Ford 8 cylinder liquid cooled 450 HP engine.

It first engaged the enemy in North Africa ( 1942) and its principal opponent was the Panzer IV. Each had 75mm guns with a turning turret and a 5 man crew. The Sherman had alternate rubber road tires mounted on each side of the treads. The Sherman's presence in Africa presaged the end of American employment of the Stuart tank in Europe.

At the second battle of El Alamein ( Oct 23-Nov 4 1942) in the North African desert, the British and Americans threw 1,000 tanks into the battle including a preponderant number of Shermans. The Germans countered with about 500 panzers. The Allies took the victory and the Germans and Italians had lost well over 400 tanks.

The German military designers and engineers in 1943 were able to achieve the production of 2 superior tanks, the medium panther and heavy tiger. Combined the German war machine was able to produce about 8,000 units. Their 88mm guns dominated tank on tank battles. They had the unique quality of turning in place to immediately face the enemy while the Sherman had a longer turning arc decreasing their mobility.

When the Sherman crews complained that their shells bounced off the heavy armor of the German tanks, General Patton advanced a new strategy to support his belief in the Sherman tank. He suggested that the crew first hit the German tank with a high explosive projectile and then follow with a white phosphorous shell that was an incendiary that would ignite any excess oil or gas on the enemy tank and create the dreaded fire in the cabin. That seemed to work well.

When the enemy climbed through the hatch to escape burning, the opposing tank gunners would machine gun the soldiers escaping the conflagration. Neither side had any compunction with this strategy.

Panther Tiger

The Tiger's armor was heavier as was their big gun.

The Nazi ally in the Pacific Theater of operations was much less enthusiastic about tank warfare.The Japanese had determined that their interests and resources were better applied to investment in naval, air and amphibious equipment. Their light tank was ineffective and often not introduced in the island campaigns and mostly appeared in the early years of the war. Nevertheless, their arsenal had produced 12 types including prewar designs. Below: Type 95

World War 2 Weapons

On the D Day invasion landing in Normandy ( June 6, 1944), the Americans began landing the first of their 5 armored divisions in addition to off loading lesser amounts of British and Canadian tanks: light tanks 1,141 and medium 5,083. They faced 1347 German tanks. However, only one panzer division was near the coast. General Erwin Rommel had foreseen the need for more tanks, but was overruled by Hitler who insisted on holding the main panzer divisions in reserve and believed the Normandy landings were a diversion from the real invasion at Calais.

On the British beachhead, code name---Sword Beach, their troops faced about 30 panzers that had organized a counterattack. They were repulsed by artillery fire from the Ally ships off shore. As the British moved inland, the Germans became aware of the Allies deception and that Normandy was the main invasion target. They threw 6 1/2 armored divisions against the British and Canadians as they advanced inland toward the City of Caen. Lt. General Bernard Montgomery led these forces and underestimated the German defenses. It was not until mid July that three British tank divisions were able to defeat the Germans south of Caen. What Montgomery planned to accomplish in one week, took over one month.

World War 2 Weapons

The planners of the Normandy invasion (Operation Overlord) underestimated potential tank losses. In the three month period June to August 1944, actual losses exceeded 25%. The Germans lost about 500 tanks in the same period.

The Sherman tank, highly favored by General George S. Patton, formed the spearhead of the armored advances. Within days of landing in Normandy, Patton's 3rd Army began hooking north (Operation Cobra) through the Loire Valley intent on denying retreating German forces a defensive line on the Seine River. In a continuous 25 day advance, his tanks had covered 300 miles with only light pressure from the Germans.

www.battleofnormandytours.com

Our British friends and ally have constructed a significant web site that adds information to this discussion of tanks.

http://adayinatank.co.uk/the-tanks/#facts
The liberation of Paris, August 25, 1944, is in good part the story of tank warfare. The interesting views of the combatants is a story well portrayed in this video.

World War 2 Weapons

In 1944, the Germans anticipated an invasion that would attempt to breach the Atlantic Wall they had constructed with fortifications running from Spain through Holland. General Erwin Rommel, now Field Marshal, well aware of the threat spoke to his chief engineer:
"------I want mines that detonate when a wire is tripped, mines that explode when a wire is cut; mines that can be remotely controlled and mines that will exploded when a beam of light is interrupted---"
An agreed upon estimate approximates that land mines were deployed in the multi millions. Basically there were anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines.The latter were generally detonated by a heavy weight and the former with lower explosive power that fired out steel ball bearings in all directions about waist high. The Brits referred to this "S" mine as a "Bouncing Betty".

In February 1943, The Americans were suffering a stinging loss and retreat at the Kasserine Pass, Tunisia. A few months later the American General Lesley McNair remarked, "The enemy's tremendous application of land mines makes them almost a new arm of combat".

Both type devices could be exploded with delayed fuzes or trip wires.

General Rommel ordered the installation of a half million mines around El Alamein in 1942. The British retaliated in kind. The idea was to reduce the mobility of the tanks in the desert. Tourists have been discouraged from entering the area 70 plus years later.

The German anti-tank mine could also be detonated by personnel weighing 100 pounds. Weight on the hinged cover--about 18" by 14" wooden box-- would lower onto a lever connected to a detonator. Its power could destroy the tank treads or a small vehicle.

World War 2 Weapons

World War 2 Weapons

The Axis powers were particularly innovative in preparing booby trap mines. The Germans hid it in potential battlefield souvenirs; Luger pistol, field glasses or a body. The Japanese, with supply lines lengthened or cut, would hide grenades surrounded by metal fragments in hollowed coconuts or ceremonial swords attached to trip wires.

All the armies developed detection tools. Some used expendable prisoners even infantrymen. Machine guns raked opened fields. Any device or animal would be used to clear safe passage through a field. Tanks used a variety of extensions to test the ground.

World War 2 Weapons

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The backstory of weapons employed in World War 2 on land, sea and air was the intense focus of the scientific /tech communities to create the means for the greatest devastation. Earlier wars may have planted the seeds for lethality, but this new war that engulfed the planet was a quantum leap into the future of weaponry.

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Concentration camps ( Konzentrationslager; abbreviated as KL or KZ) were an integral feature of the regime in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945.

The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy.

The First Concentration Camps in Germany

The first concentration camps in Germany were established soon after Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933. In the weeks after the Nazis came to power, the SA ( Sturmabteilung; commonly known as the Storm Troopers), the SS ( Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons-the elite guard of the Nazi party), the police, and local civilian authorities organized numerous detention camps to incarcerate real and perceived political opponents of Nazi policy.

German authorities established camps all over Germany on an ad hoc basis to handle the masses of people arrested as alleged subversives. The SS established larger camps in Oranienburg, north of Berlin; Esterwegen, near Hamburg; Dachau, northwest of Munich; and Lichtenburg, in Saxony. In Berlin itself, the Columbia Haus facility held prisoners under investigation by the Gestapo (the German secret state police) until 1936.

Centralization of the Concentration Camp System

The SS gained its independence from the SA in July 1934, in the wake of the Röhm purge. Hitler then authorized SS leader Heinrich Himmler to centralize the administration of the concentration camps and formalize them into a system. Himmler chose SS Lieutenant General Theodor Eicke for this task. Eicke had been the commandant of the SS concentration camp at Dachau since June 1933. Himmler appointed him Inspector of Concentration Camps, a new section of the SS subordinate to the SS Main Office.

After December 1934, the SS became the only agency authorized to establish and manage facilities that were formally called concentration camps. Local civilian authorities did continue to establish and manage forced-labor camps and detention camps throughout Germany. In 1937, only four concentration camps were left: Dachau, near Munich; Sachsenhausen near Berlin; Buchenwald near Weimar; and Lichtenburg near Merseburg in Saxony for female prisoners.

Purposes of the Camp System

Concentration camps are often inaccurately compared to a prison in modern society. But concentration camps, unlike prisons, were independent of any judicial review. Nazi concentration camps served three main purposes:

To incarcerate people whom the Nazi regime perceived to be a security threat. These people were incarcerated for indefinite amounts of time.

To eliminate individuals and small, targeted groups of individuals by murder, away from the public and judicial review.

To exploit forced labor of the prisoner population. This purpose grew out of a labor shortage.

Concentration Camp Administration

Already as commandant of Dachau in 1933, Eicke developed an organization and procedures to administer and guard a concentration camp. He issued regulations for the duties of the perimeter guards and for treatment of the prisoners. The organization, structure, and practice developed at Dachau in 1933-34 became the model for the Nazi concentration camp system as it expanded. Among Eicke's early trainees at Dachau was Rudolf Höss, who later commanded the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Special "political units on alert" ( Politische Bereitschaften) originally guarded the SS concentration camps. They were renamed "SS Guard Units" ( SS-Wachverbände) in 1935 and "SS Death's-Head Units" ( SS-Totenkopfverbände) in April 1936. One SS Death's-Head Unit was assigned to each concentration camp. After 1936, the camp administration, including the commandant, was also a part of the SS Death's-Head Unit.

Although all SS units wore the Death's-Head symbol (skull and crossbones) on their caps, only the SS Death's-Head Units were authorized to wear the Death's Head Symbol on their lapels. The "SS Death's-Head Division" of the Waffen SS was created in 1940. Its officers were recruited from concentration camp service. They also wore the Death's-Head symbol on their lapel.

The SS Death's-Head Unit at each camp was divided into two groups. The first was the camp staff, which covered:

the commandant and his personal staff

a Security Police officer and an assistant to maintain and update prisoner records

the commandant of the so-called protective detention camp (Schutzhaftlagerführer) which housed the prisoners, and his staff (including the labor allocation officer, the roll call officer, and the Blockführer, who were responsible for the individual prisoner barracks)

an administrative staff responsible for the fiscal and supply administration of the camp

an infirmary run by an SS physician assisted by one or two SS sanitation officers and/or medical orderlies.

The second group constituted the guard detachment ( SS-Wachbataillon), which prior to 1939 was at battalion strength.

The model established by Eicke in the mid-1930s characterized the concentration camp system until the collapse of the Nazi regime in the spring of 1945. The daily routine at Dachau, the methods of punishment, and the duties of the SS staff and guards became the norm, with some variation, at all German concentration camps.

Authority to Imprison People in Concentration Camps

After 1938, authority to incarcerate persons in a concentration camp formally rested exclusively with the German Security Police (made up of the Gestapo and the Criminal Police).

The Security Police had held this exclusive authority de facto since 1936. The "legal" instrument of incarceration was either the "protective detention" ( Schutzhaft) order or the "preventative detention" ( Vorbeugungshaft) order. The Gestapo could issue a "protective detention" order for persons considered a political danger after 1933. The Criminal Police could issue a "preventative detention" order after December 1937 for persons considered to be habitual and professional criminals, or to be engaging in what the regime defined as "asocial" behavior. Neither order was subject to judicial review, or any review by any German agency outside of the German Security Police. As the concentration camp system expanded, the camps fell within the exclusive authority of the SS. The German judicial administration had no jurisdiction with the growing camp system.

Expansion of the Camp System

Nazi Germany expanded by bloodless conquest into Austria and Czechoslovakia between 1938 and 1939. The numbers of those labeled as political opponents and as "asocials" in German society increased, requiring the establishment of new concentration camps.

By the time the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, unleashing World War II, there were six concentration camps in the so-called Greater German Reich: Dachau (founded 1933), Sachsenhausen (1936), Buchenwald (1937), Flossenbürg in northeastern Bavaria near the 1937 Czech border (1938), Mauthausen, near Linz, Austria (1938), and Ravensbrück, the women's camp, established in Brandenburg Province, southeast of Berlin (1939), after the dissolution of Lichtenburg.

Forced Labor

From as early as 1934, concentration camp commandants used prisoners as forced laborers for SS construction projects such as the construction or expansion of the camps themselves. By 1938, SS leaders envisioned using the supply of forced laborers incarcerated in the camps for a variety of SS-commissioned construction projects. To mobilize and finance such projects, Himmler revamped and expanded the administrative offices of the SS and created a new SS office for business operations. Both agencies were led by SS Major General Oswald Pohl, who would take over the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps in 1942.

Beginning a pattern that became typical after the war began, economic considerations had an increasing impact on the selection of sites for concentration camps after 1937. For instance, Mauthausen and Flossenbürg were located near large stone quarries. Likewise, concentration camp authorities increasingly diverted prisoners from meaningless, backbreaking labor to still backbreaking and dangerous labor in extractive industries, such as stone quarries and coal mines, and construction labor.

Concentration Camps after the Outbreak of World War II

After Nazi Germany unleashed World War II in September 1939, vast new territorial conquests and larger groups of potential prisoners led to the rapid expansion of the concentration camp system to the east. The war did not change the original function of the concentration camps as detention sites for the incarceration of political enemies. The climate of national emergency that the conflict granted to the Nazi leaders, however, permitted the SS to expand the functions of the camps.

The concentration camps increasingly became sites where the SS authorities could kill targeted groups of real or perceived enemies of Nazi Germany. They also came to serve as holding centers for a rapidly growing pool of forced laborers used for SS construction projects, SS-commissioned extractive industrial sites, and, by 1942, the production of armaments, weapons, and related goods for the German war effort.

Despite the need for forced labor, the SS authorities continued to deliberately undernourish and mistreat prisoners incarcerated in the concentration camps. Prisoners were used ruthlessly and without regard to safety at forced labor, resulting in high mortality rates.

Last Edited: Jun 27, 2019

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Concentration camps ( Konzentrationslager; abbreviated as KL or KZ) were an integral feature of the regime in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy.

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Early Camps (1933-38)

, and persons accused of "asocial" or socially deviant behavior. Many of these sites were called From its rise to power in 1933, the Nazi regime built a series of incarceration sites to imprison and eliminate real and perceived "enemies of the state." Most prisoners in the early concentration camps were political prisoners-German Communists, Socialists, Social Democrats-as well as Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah's Witnesses , homosexuals concentration camps. The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy.

After Germany's annexation [Anschluss] of in March 1938, Austrian political prisoners came into the Nazi concentration camp system. Following the violent Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") pogroms in November 1938, Nazi officials conducted mass arrests of adult male Jews throughout the country, the first time Jews were arrested en masse precisely because they were Jews. Over 30,000 German Jews were incarcerated in the , Buchenwald , and concentration camps in Germany, initially until each could provide proof of their ability to emigrate. Sachsenhausen

Types of Camps

Many people refer to all of the Nazi incarceration sites during the Holocaust as concentration camps. The term concentration camp is used very loosely to describe places of incarceration and murder under the Nazi regime, however, not all sites established by the Nazis were concentration camps. Nazi-established sites include:

Concentration camps: For the detention of civilians seen as real or perceived "enemies of the Reich."

Forced-labor camps: In forced-labor camps, the Nazi regime brutally exploited the labor of prisoners for economic gain and to meet labor shortages. Prisoners lacked proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest.

Transit camps: Transit camps functioned as temporary holding facilities for Jews awaiting deportation. These camps were usually the last stop before deportations to a killing center.

Prisoner-of-war camps: For Allied prisoners of war, including Poles and Soviet soldiers.

Killing centers: Established primarily or exclusively for the assembly-line style murder of large numbers of people immediately upon arrival to the site. There were 5 killing centers for the murder primarily of Jews. The term is also used to describe "euthanasia" sites for the murder of disabled patients.

Other types of incarceration sites numbered in the tens of thousands. These included but were not limited to early camps; "euthanasia" facilities for the murder of disabled patients; Gestapo, SS and German justice detention centers; so-called "Gypsy" camps, and Germanization facilities.

Concentration Camps

Concentration camps are often inaccurately compared to a prison in modern society. But concentration camps, unlike prisons, were independent of any judicial review. Nazi concentration camps served three main purposes:

1. To incarcerate real and perceived "enemies of the state." These persons were incarcerated for indefinite amounts of time.

2. To eliminate individuals and small, targeted groups of individuals by murder, away from the public and judicial review.

3. To exploit forced labor of the prisoner population. This purpose grew out of a labor shortage.

The First Concentration Camp

The major purpose of the earliest concentration camps during the 1930s was to incarcerate and intimidate the leaders of political, social, and cultural movements that the Nazis perceived to be a threat to the survival of the regime. The first Nazi concentration camp was Dachau, established in March 1933, near Munich.

In many of the concentration camps, the Nazi SS either installed or had plans to install gas chambers to assist in their daily business of killing prisoners who were too weak or sick to work. Before the widespread use of gassing in the concentration camps, weak, ill and exhausted prisoners selected by camp physicians were murdered at "euthanasia" (T4) facilities from 1941-1943 in a secret program called 14f13. Gas chambers were also to kill small targeted groups of individuals whom the Nazis wanted to eliminate (Polish resistance fighters, Soviet POWs, etc.). This was the purpose of the installation of gas chambers, for example, at Mauthausen, Sachsenhausen, Stutthof, Auschwitz I, Ravensbrück, Lublin/Majdanek, etc.

Camp Structure
All concentration camps were structured in the same way. Each had an internal camp staff that consisted of five sections:

1. Commandant's Headquarters (consisting of the commandant and his staff)

2. A protective detention office run by a Security Police officer who maintained prisoner records in terms of arrival, discharge, discipline and death and who received his instructions from the Reich Central Office for Security

3. Commander of the Protective Detention Camp

4. Administration and Supply

5. SS Physician

Forced-Labor and Prisoner-of-War Camps

Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Nazis opened forced-labor camps where thousands of prisoners died from exhaustion, starvation, and exposure. SS units guarded the camps. During World War II , the Nazi camp system expanded rapidly. In some camps, Nazi doctors performed medical experiments on prisoners.

Following the June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union , the Nazis increased the number of prisoner-of-war (POW) camps and subcamps. Some new camps were built at existing concentration camp complexes (such as Auschwitz ) in occupied Poland. The camp at Lublin, later known as Majdanek , was established in the autumn of 1941 as a POW camp and became a concentration camp in 1943. Thousands of Soviet POWs were shot or gassed there.

Transit Camps

Jews in Nazi-occupied lands often were first deported to transit camps such as in France, en route to the Westerbork in the Netherlands, or killing centers in German-occupied Poland. The transit camps were usually the last stop before deportation to a killing center.

Killing Centers

Killing centers first made their appearance in Nazi Germany in the execution of Operation T4, the so-called "euthanasia" program. It was the Nazi state's first program of mass murder, where disabled patients in German facilities were murdered in gas chambers using carbon monoxide gas.

To help carry out the " Final Solution" (the genocide or mass destruction of Jews), the Nazis established killing centers in German-occupied Poland, the country with the largest Jewish population. Killing centers were designed for efficient mass murder. The first one, which opened in December 1941, was , where Jews and Roma were gassed in mobile gas vans. In 1942, the Nazis opened the , , and killing centers to systematically murder the Jews of the General Government (the territory in the interior of German-occupied Poland). Here Nazi planners borrowed the gassing technique from the "euthanasia" program to murder Jews in gas chambers using carbon monoxide gas generated by engine exhaust.

At the Auschwitz camp complex, the Birkenau killing center had four gas chambers, known here as crematoria. Here gassing took place using the pesticide Zyklon B (hydrogen cyanide, or prussic acid). During the height of deportations to the camp in 1943-44, an average of 6,000 Jews were gassed there each day. Over 2,772,000 Jews (or 46% of Jewish victims) were murdered at killing centers.

Millions of people were imprisoned, mistreated, and murdered in the various types of Nazi camps. Under SS management, the Germans and their collaborators murdered more than three million Jews in the killing centers alone. Only a small fraction of those imprisoned in Nazi camps survived.

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and persons accused of "asocial" or socially deviant behavior. Many of these sites were called From its rise to power in 1933, the Nazi regime built a series of incarceration sites to imprison and eliminate real and perceived "enemies of the state."

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Children were especially vulnerable in the era of the Holocaust.

The Nazis advocated killing children of "unwanted" or "dangerous" groups either as part of the "racial struggle" or as a measure of preventative security. The Germans and their collaborators killed children for these ideological reasons and in retaliation for real or alleged partisan attacks.

Nazi Germany and its collaborators killed about 1.5 million Jewish children and tens of thousands of Romani (Gypsy) children, 5,000-7,000 German children with physical and mental disabilities living in institutions, as well as many Polish children and children residing in the German-occupied Soviet Union. Jewish and non-Jewish adolescents (13-18 years old) had a greater chance of survival, as they could be used for forced labor.

The fates of Jewish and non-Jewish children can be categorized in the following ways:

children killed when they arrived in killing centers

children killed immediately after birth or in institutions

children born in ghettos and camps who survived because prisoners hid them

children, usually over age 12, who were used as forced laborers and as subjects of medical experiments

children killed during reprisal operations or so-called anti-partisan operations.

In the Ghettos

In ghetto settings, Jewish children died from starvation, disease, and a lack of adequate clothing and shelter. The German authorities were indifferent to the high death rates. They considered most of the younger ghetto children to be unproductive and hence "useless eaters." Because children were generally too young to be used for forced labor, German authorities often selected them, the elderly, ill, and disabled, for the first deportations to killing centers, or as the first victims led to mass graves to be shot.

These trucks bode no good, I mean especially for the little girl.
-Brigitte Friedmann Altman

Only later did I find out that my mother had gone out of the ghetto, sold a diamond and pearl ring to get me an orange. That was the last birthday gift from my parents.
-Gerda Weissmann Klein

In the Killing Centers

Camp authorities sent the vast majority of young Jewish children directly to the gas chambers upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau and other killing centers. SS and police forces in German-occupied Poland and the German-occupied Soviet Union shot thousands of children at the edge of mass graves along with their parents.

Sometimes the selection of children to fill the first transports to the killing centers or to provide the first victims of shooting operations resulted from the agonizing and controversial decisions of Jewish council ( Judenrat) chairmen. The decision by the Judenrat in Lodz in September 1942 to deport children to the Chelmno killing center was an example of the tragic choices made by adults when faced with German demands. Janusz Korczak, director of an orphanage in the Warsaw ghetto, however, refused to abandon the children under his care when they were selected for deportation. He accompanied them on the transport to the Treblinka killing center and into the gas chambers, sharing their fate.

Non-Jewish Children

Non-Jewish children from certain targeted groups were not spared. Examples include

Romani (Gypsy) children killed in Auschwitz

5,000-7,000 German children, the vast majority of them non-Jews, killed as victims of the Euthanasia Program

Children murdered in reprisals, as in the destruction of the Czech town of Lidice; and

Children shot as civilians in the German-occupied Soviet Union together with their parents.

In Concentration and Transit Camps

The German authorities also incarcerated a number of children in concentration camps and transit camps. SS physicians and medical researchers used a number of children, including twins, in concentration camps and killing centers like Auschwitz for medical experiments which often resulted in the deaths of the children. Concentration camp authorities deployed adolescents, particularly Jewish adolescents, at forced labor in the concentration camps, where many died because of conditions.

The German authorities held other children under appalling conditions in transit camps and concentration camps. They also interned non-Jewish orphaned children whose parents the German military and police units had killed in so-called anti-partisan operations. Some of these orphans were held temporarily in the Lublin/Majdanek concentration camp and other detention camps.

In Occupied Poland and the Occupied Soviet Union

In their "search to retrieve 'Aryan blood'" in German-occupied areas, SS race experts ordered hundreds of children in occupied Poland to be kidnapped and transferred to the Reich. The children were to be adopted by racially suitable German families. Although the basis for these decisions was allegedly "race-scientific," often blond hair, blue eyes, or fair skin was sufficient to merit the "opportunity" to be "Germanized."

Resistance and Rescue

I was very lucky, and now and then I would bring a slice of bread, I would bring a carrot, or a potato, or an egg, and these were very, very great achievements. My mother made me promise that I wouldn't do it anymore, but I disobeyed.
-Charlene Schiff

In spite of their acute vulnerability, some children discovered ways to survive. Because of their small size, children could smuggle needed food, medicines, and supplies from the outside into ghettos in German-occupied eastern Europe. Children in youth movements later participated in underground resistance activities. Many children escaped with parents or other relatives-and sometimes on their own-to family camps run by Jewish partisans.

Kindertransport (Children's Transport) was the informal name of a rescue effort between 1938 and 1940 which brought thousands of refugee Jewish children (without their parents) to safety in Great Britain from Nazi Germany and German-occupied territories.

Some non-Jews hid Jewish children and, as in the case of Anne Frank, entire families as well. In France, almost the entire Protestant population of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, as well as many Catholic priests, nuns, and lay Catholics, hid Jewish children in the town from 1942 to 1944. In Italy and Belgium, many children survived in hiding.

After the War

After the surrender of Nazi Germany, ending World War II, refugees and displaced persons searched throughout Europe for missing children. Thousands of orphaned children and juveniles found themselves in displaced persons (DP) camps. Many surviving Jewish children fled eastern Europe with or without their families as part of the mass exodus ( Brihah) to the western zones of occupied Germany, en route to the Yishuv (the Jewish settlement in Palestine). Through Youth Aliyah (Youth Immigration), thousands migrated to the Yishuv, and then to the state of Israel after its establishment in 1948.

Last Edited: Oct 1, 2019

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Children were especially vulnerable in the era of the Holocaust. The Nazis advocated killing children of "unwanted" or "dangerous" groups either as part of the "racial struggle" or as a measure of preventative security. The Germans and their collaborators killed children for these ideological reasons and in retaliation for real or alleged partisan attacks.

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Before the Nazi seizure of powe r, many German law enforcement, social work, and welfare professionals as well as many ordinary German citizens believed that compulsory labor was a productive way to integrate social "outsiders" into the local labor force. They believed that labor would habituate these "outsiders" to proper social habits and personal discipline. These so-called outsiders included

persons receiving welfare benefits

juveniles and others engaged in petty crime

persons unable for whatever reason to hold down a job

persons who engaged in socially unacceptable behavior, such as excessive consumption of alcohol or promiscuous sexual activity

The basic notion, shared by professionals and ordinary citizens elsewhere in Europe and in North America, was that maintenance of social "order" was dependent upon the productive labor of all citizens, and that those who could or would not engage themselves on their own initiative should be compelled to do so.

Nazi ideology also identified hard manual labor as a preferred means not only of punishing intellectual opponents, but also of "educating" Germans to be "racially conscious" and to support the racial goals of National Socialism. From the establishment of the first concentration camps and detention facilities in the winter of 1933, forced labor-often pointless and humiliating, and imposed without proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest-formed a core part of the concentration camp regimen. By labeling those incarcerated in the concentration camps as criminals, subversives, and asocials who would be "educated" in the camps to proper labor and social discipline, the Nazi leadership could draw upon acquiescence and even support among the German people for the concentration camps.

As early as 1937, the Reich economy began to experience labor shortages in key sectors. As the Nazi leadership prepared Germany for war, the SS leadership in the concentration camp system saw the prisoner population as a convenient reservoir of forced laborers to produce construction materials for the future SS settlements in eastern Europe. These settlements would mark the nerve centers of the "Thousand-Year Reich." For this reason, many of the concentration camps established in the mid-1930s were located nearly quarries or factories: for example, Sachsenhausen (1936) was constructed next to a brickworks; Mauthausen (1938) and Gross-Rosen (1940) next to stone quarries.

After 1938, the Nazis increasingly exploited the forced labor of "enemies of the state," so-called asocials, and so-called criminal elements for economic gain and to meet desperate labor shortages. In 1938, the German Criminal Police conducted two major roundups of so-called asocials and so-called criminals to increase the number of forced laborers available in the camps. Initial plans to house large numbers of Soviet prisoners of war and, later, Jewish forced laborers at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Lublin/Majdanek in the winter of 1941-1942 also aimed at creating a captive labor force for the grandiose construction plans of the SS.

In addition to the SS, the German civilian authorities also required inexpensive labor for more immediate construction, urban renewal, and transportation projects. By the end of 1938, German municipal authorities deployed German and Austrian Jews, most of whom had been deprived of independent employment opportunities by antisemitic legislation, at forced labor at a variety of municipal projects.

When Germany conquered Poland in the autumn of 1939 and established the Generalgouvernement, the German occupation authorities required all Jewish and Polish males to perform unpaid forced labor. The German authorities required Polish Jews to live in ghettos and deployed them at forced labor, much of it manual. For example, in the Lodz ghetto, German state and private entrepreneurs established 96 plants and factories that produced goods for the German war effort.

After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and the Soviets halted the invaders before Moscow in the late autumn of 1941, the German economy, needing to produce for a long war, developed an insatiable need for forced labor. Already in 1941, the SS authorities deployed tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners at forced labor in the I.G. Farben "Buna" rubber plant at Monowitz, less than two miles from the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. As early as summer 1940, regional SS and civilian authorities in occupied Poland exploited Jews as forced laborers in special forced-labor camps for Jews under SS, German civilian, or German military jurisdiction.

After the major shooting operations in the occupied Soviet Union in 1941-1942 and the major operations to deport Jews in occupied Poland to the killing centers in 1942-1943, most of the remaining Jews in occupied Poland and the Soviet Union survived as forced laborers in these special camps for Jews or in concentration camps. During the implementation of the " Final Solution," the ability to work offered the chance of survival to Jews, for those deemed unable to work were the first to be shot or deported.

In the spring of 1942, Himmler reorganized the administration of the concentration camps, linking them to the SS Business Administration in the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office. The purpose of these administrative changes was to mobilize concentration camp labor for broader deployment in the German armaments and related industries. Between 1942 and 1945, hundreds of subcamps of concentration camps were established adjacent to coal mines, munitions and aircraft parts factories, sites for underground tunnels, and other sites convenient to production of goods for the German war effort. In the summer of 1942, for example, Auschwitz-Monowitz, or Auschwitz III, became a subcamp of Auschwitz.

Beginning in 1940, the German authorities rounded up Polish civilians, male and female, and deported them to the Reich for forced labor in German factories and on German farms. After deliberately permitting more than two million captured Soviet soldiers to die through neglect (insufficient food, clothing, shelter, or medical care) in prisoner-of-war camps in the autumn and winter of 1941-1942, the German authorities German authorities decided to deploy Soviet POWs as forced laborers in various war-related industries in Germany and occupied Poland, often housing them in special compounds of concentration camps. From 1942 to 1944, the Germans deported nearly three million Soviet civilians to Germany, Austria, and Bohemia-Moravia as forced laborers. Most of them were incarcerated in so-called residence camps and strictly segregated from the German population. The Germans also deported civilians from other occupied European countries for labor in the Reich. In August 1944, more than 7,500,000 non-German workers were registered as working in the Reich; the overwhelming majority were forced laborers.

Those forced laborers deployed in Germany who violated so-called labor discipline (such as sleeping on the job) could be sent to Labor Education Camps, run by the German Security Police, where living and working conditions as well as death rates were similar to those in concentration camps.

The SS and police authorities targeted certain categories of prisoners to be "annihilated through work." Such prisoners were literally worked to death; that is, put to work under conditions that would directly and deliberately lead to illness, injury, and death. For example, at the Mauthausen concentration camp, the SS forced prisoners to run up the 186 steps out of the stone quarry carrying heavy boulders until they dropped, and then denied them the food, rest, or medicine necessary to recover. German Ministry of Justice officials sent approximately 20,000 persons convicted of crimes and serving sentences in Justice Ministry prisons into the concentration camp system in the autumn and winter of 1942-1943 in an agreement with Himmler that these prisoners were to be "annihilated through work." Within four months, more than two thirds of these prisoners had been worked to death.

The arbitrary nature of life and death in the concentration camps and the refusal of the SS camp authorities to provide sufficient food, medicine, time for rest, and proper clothing and equipment for a life of hard manual labor made it appear to many concentration camp prisoners that "annihilation through work" was the goal for all prisoners.

As the tide of war turned against Germany in 1942-1943, the need for labor increased and the ability of the Germans to extract laborers from the occupied Soviet Union decreased due to military defeat. The concentration camp administration sought to induce camp commandants to take measures to prolong the lives of their forced laborers, who in 1944 were becoming a more precious commodity. Nevertheless, the camp commandants found it difficult to change ingrained and ideologically reinforced habits of treating prisoners in such a way as to increase the rate of death; for the SS, the prisoners remained "the enemy behind the wire."

Despite marginal decreases in the death rates in the camps in the summers of 1943 and 1944, prisoners continued to die in great numbers. In the killing centers in 1943-1944, where forced labor was never the primary purpose, the death rate, of course, did not decrease. After the colossal German defeats in the summer and autumn of 1944, the death rate of the laborers in the all camps climbed astronomically.

At the end of the war, millions of non-German displaced persons, including some tens of thousands of Jews who had survived the "Final Solution," remained in Germany, a legacy of Nazi efforts to exploit for forced labor those they perceived as racial inferiors.

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Before the Nazi seizure of powe r, many German law enforcement, social work, and welfare professionals as well as many ordinary German citizens believed that compulsory labor was a productive way to integrate social "outsiders" into the local labor force. They believed that labor would habituate these "outsiders" to proper social habits and personal discipline.

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The Nazis subjected millions of people (both Jews and other victim groups) to forced labor under brutal conditions. From the establishment of the first Nazi concentration camps and detention facilities in the winter of 1933, forced labor-often pointless and humiliating, and imposed without proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest-formed a core part of the concentration camp regimen.

Even before the war began, the Nazis imposed forced labor on Jewish civilians, both inside and outside concentration camps. As early as 1937, the Nazis increasingly exploited the forced labor of so-called "enemies of the state" for economic gain and to meet desperate labor shortages. By the end of that year, most Jewish males residing in Germany were required to perform forced labor for various government agencies.

When Germany conquered Poland in the autumn of 1939 and established the Generalgouvernement, the German occupation authorities required all Jewish and Polish males to perform unpaid forced labor. The German authorities required Polish Jews to live in ghettos and deployed them at forced labor, much of it manual. For example, in the Lodz ghetto, German state and private entrepreneurs established 96 plants and factories that produced goods for the German war effort. Forced-labor practices escalated in the spring of 1942, following changes in the administration of concentration camps.

For Jews, the ability to work often meant the potential to survive after the Nazis began to implement the "Final Solution," the plan to murder all of European Jewry. Jews deemed physically unable to work were often the first to be shot or deported.

The Nazis also pursued a conscious policy of "annihilation through work," under which certain categories of prisoners were literally worked to death; in this policy, camp prisoners were forced to work under conditions that would directly and deliberately lead to illness, injury, and death. For example, at the Mauthausen concentration camp, emaciated prisoners were forced to run up 186 steps out of a stone quarry while carrying heavy boulders.

Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Germans allowed millions of Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) to die through a deliberate policy of neglect (insufficient food, clothing, shelter, or medical care). However, in the spring of 1942, the German authorities also began to deploy Soviet POWs at forced labor in various war-related industries. From 1942-1944, the Germans deported nearly three million Soviet citizens to Germany, Austria, and Bohemia-Moravia as forced laborers.

At the end of the war, millions of non-German displaced persons were left in Germany, including some tens of thousands of Jews who had survived the "Final Solution," victims of Nazi policies of deportation for forced labor.

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The Nazis subjected millions of people (both Jews and other victim groups) to forced labor under brutal conditions. From the establishment of the first Nazi concentration camps and detention facilities in the winter of 1933, forced labor-often pointless and humiliating, and imposed without proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest-formed a core part of the concentration camp regimen.

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Contents

1. The Task of Winning the War

2. The Role of the American Worker

3. The Plight of Japanese Americans

4. Baseball and the Battlefield

5. The Movies Go to War

6. Patriotic Music and Radio Reports from the Frontline

After the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. was thrust into World War II (1939-45), and everyday life across the country was dramatically altered. Food, gas and clothing were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives. To help build the armaments necessary to win the war, women found employment as electricians, welders and riveters in defense plants. Japanese Americans had their rights as citizens stripped from them. People in the U.S. grew increasingly dependent on radio reports for news of the fighting overseas. And, while popular entertainment served to demonize the nation's enemies, it also was viewed as an escapist outlet that allowed Americans brief respites from war worries.

The Task of Winning the War

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. was thrust into World War II when Japan launched a surprise attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor. The following day, America and Great Britain declared war on Japan. On December 10, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

Did you know? During World War II, as an alternative to rationing, Americans planted "victory gardens," in which they grew their own food. By 1945, some 20 million such gardens were in use and accounted for about 40 percent of all vegetables consumed in the U.S.

In the earliest days of America's participation in the war, panic gripped the country. If the Japanese military could successfully attack Hawaii and inflict damage on the naval fleet and casualties among innocent civilians, many people wondered what was to prevent a similar assault on the U.S. mainland, particularly along the Pacific coast.

This fear of attack translated into a ready acceptance by a majority of Americans of the need to sacrifice in order to achieve victory. During the spring of 1942, a rationing program was established that set limits on the amount of gas, food and clothing consumers could purchase. Families were issued ration stamps that were used to buy their allotment of everything from meat, sugar, fat, butter, vegetables and fruit to gas, tires, clothing and fuel oil. The United States Office of War Information released posters in which Americans were urged to "Do with less-so they'll have enough" ("they" referred to U.S. troops). Meanwhile, individuals and communities conducted drives for the collection of scrap metal, aluminum cans and rubber, all of which were recycled and used to produce armaments. Individuals purchased U.S. war bonds to help pay for the high cost of armed conflict.
READ MORE: These World War II Propaganda Posters Rallied the Home Front
The Role of the American Worker

From the outset of the war, it was clear that enormous quantities of airplanes, tanks, warships, rifles and other armaments would be essential to beating America's aggressors. U.S. workers played a vital role in the production of such war-related materials. Many of these workers were women. Indeed, with tens of thousands of American men joining the armed forces and heading into training and into battle, women began securing jobs as welders, electricians and riveters in defense plants. Until that time, such positions had been strictly for men only.

A woman who toiled in the defense industry came to be known as a " Rosie the Riveter." The term was popularized in a song of the same name that in 1942 became a hit for bandleader Kay Kyser (1905-85). Soon afterward, Walter Pidgeon (1897-1984), a Hollywood leading man, traveled to the Willow Run aircraft plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to make a promotional film encouraging the sale of war bonds. One of the women employed at the factory, Rose Will Monroe (1920-97), was a riveter involved in the construction of B-24 and B-29 bombers. Monroe, a real-life Rosie the Riveter, was recruited to appear in Pidgeon's film.

During the war years, the decrease in the availability of men in the work force also led to an upsurge in the number of women holding non-war-related factory jobs. By the mid-1940s, the percentage of women in the American work force had expanded from 25 percent to 36 percent.

The Plight of Japanese Americans

Not all American citizens were allowed to retain their independence during World War II. Just over two months after Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945) signed into law Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the removal from their communities and the subsequent imprisonment of all Americans of Japanese descent who resided on the West Coast.

Executive Order 9066 was the offshoot of a combination of wartime panic and the belief on the part of some that anyone of Japanese ancestry, even those who were born in the U.S., was somehow capable of disloyalty and treachery. As a result of the order, nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were dispatched to makeshift "relocation" camps.Despite the internment of their family members, young Japanese-American men fought bravely in Italy, France and Germany between 1943 and 1945 as members of the U.S. Army's 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. By the end of the war, the 100th had become the most decorated combat unit of its size in Army history.

Baseball and the Battlefield

In January 1942, Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866-1944), the national commissioner of baseball, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in which he asked if professional baseball should shut down for the duration of the war. In what came to be known as the "green light" letter, Roosevelt responded that professional baseball should continue operations, as it was good for the country's collective morale and would serve as a needed diversion.

During the war, 95 percent of all professional baseball players who donned major league uniforms during the 1941 season were directly involved in the conflict. Future Hall of Famers Bob Feller (1918-), Hank Greenberg (1911-86), Joe DiMaggio (1914-99) and Ted Williams (1918-2002) exchanged their baseball jerseys for military fatigues. Feller, in fact, enlisted in the U.S. Navy one day after Pearl Harbor. Because baseball was depleted of so many able bodies, athletes who otherwise likely never would have made the big leagues won spots on rosters. One of the more notable was Pete Gray (1915-2002), a one-armed outfielder who appeared in 77 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945.
READ MORE: See Photos of WWII Naval Cadets Training Like Pro Athletes

Not all those who served in the military were superstars. Elmer Gedeon (1917-44), an outfielder who appeared in five games for the 1939 Washington Senators, and Harry O'Neill (1917-45), a catcher who played in one game for the 1939 Philadelphia Athletics, were the two big leaguers who died in combat. Over 120 minor leaguers also were killed. Other players overcame debilitating wartime injuries. One was Bert Shepard (1920-2008), a minor league pitcher turned air force fighter pilot. In 1944, Shepard's right leg was amputated after he was shot down over Germany. The following year, he pitched three innings for the Washington Senators in a major league game.

The Movies Go to War

Throughout World War II, American moviegoers were treated to a steady stream of war-related programming. The movie-going experience included a newsreel, which lasted approximately 10 minutes and was loaded with images and accounts of recent battles, followed by an animated cartoon. While many of these cartoons were entertainingly escapist, some comically caricatured the enemy. Among these titles were "Japoteurs" (1942) featuring Superman, "Der Fuehrer's Face" (1943) starring Donald Duck, "Confessions of a Nutsy Spy" (1943) with Bugs Bunny, "Daffy the Commando" (1943) with Daffy Duck and "Tokyo Jokie-o" (1943). Documentaries such as the seven-part "Why We Fight" series, released between 1943 and 1945 and produced and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Frank Capra (1897-1991), included Axis propaganda footage and emphasized the necessity of America's involvement in the war, as well as the importance of Allied victory.

As for the main program, movie theaters showed non-war-related dramas, comedies, mysteries and Westerns; however, a significant segment of feature films dealt directly with the war. Scores of features spotlighted the trials of men in combat while demonizing the Nazis and Japanese who perpetuated the conflict. "Wake Island" (1942), "Guadalcanal Diary" (1943), "Bataan" (1943) and "Back to Bataan" (1945) were a few of the titles that centered on specific battles. "Nazi Agent" (1942), "Saboteur" (1942) and "They Came to Blow Up America" (1943) portrayed America's enemies as spies and terrorists. "So Proudly We Hail!" (1943) and "Cry 'Havoc'" (1943) recorded the heroics of women nurses and volunteers at faraway battlefronts. "Tender Comrade" (1943), "The Human Comedy" (1943) and "Since You Went Away" (1944) focused, respectively, on the trials of average American women, communities and families while exploring the very real fear that a loved one who went off to war might never return. The struggles of citizens in occupied countries were portrayed in such films as "Hangmen Also Die!" (1943) and "The Seventh Cross" (1944).

Meanwhile, some of Hollywood's top stars joined the military. Many appeared in government-produced training films and morale-boosting short subjects. Others participated directly in the fighting. Clark Gable (1901-60), the beloved, Academy Award-winning actor, served as a tail-gunner with the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew combat missions over Germany. James Stewart (1908-97), another equally adored Oscar winner, had enlisted in the corps even before Pearl Harbor. He eventually became a B-24 combat pilot and commander and also flew missions over Germany.

Patriotic Music and Radio Reports from the Frontline

As the U.S. became immersed in the war, Americans listened to more patriotic or war-related music. Even before the country entered the war, such ditties as "The Last Time I Saw Paris," which evoked nostalgia for a peaceful pre-war Paris, and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," which charted a young soldier's military experiences, were extremely popular. Other songs with self-explanatory titles were "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," "Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer" and "You're a Sap, Mr. Jap."

Radio was the primary source of news and entertainment for most American households during the war, and as the conflict progressed, people grew increasingly dependent on radio for updates on the fighting overseas. They were riveted by the frontline reports from such legendary journalists as Edward R. Murrow (1908-65). Meanwhile, big bands, most famously the orchestra headed by Glenn Miller (1904-44), and entertainers such as Bob Hope (1903-2003) performed before thousands at military bases. These programs were aired directly on the radio to listeners from Maine to California.

Dramatic radio programming increasingly featured war-related storylines. One of the most jarring was "Untitled" (1944), a production penned by writer Norman Corwin (1910-) and broadcast on the CBS radio network. "Untitled" traced the story of Hank Peters, a fictional American soldier who was killed in combat.

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The Task of Winning the War The Role of the American Worker The Plight of Japanese Americans Baseball and the Battlefield The Movies Go to War Patriotic Music and Radio Reports from the Frontline After the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S.

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The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in early 1945. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, it's believed that all but 200 or so of the 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as were almost 7,000 Marines. But once the fighting was over, the strategic value of Iwo Jima was called into question.

Iwo Jima Before the Battle

According to postwar analyses, the Imperial Japanese Navy had been so crippled by earlier World War II clashes in the Pacific that it was already unable to defend the empire's island holdings, including the Marshall archipelago.

In addition, Japan's air force had lost many of its warplanes, and those it had were unable to protect an inner line of defenses set up by the empire's military leaders. This line of defenses included islands like Iwo Jima.

Given this information, American military leaders planned an attack on the island that they believed would last no more than a few days. However, the Japanese had secretly embarked on a new defensive tactic, taking advantage of Iwo Jima's mountainous landscape and jungles to set up camouflaged artillery positions.

Although Allied forces led by the Americans bombarded Iwo Jima with bombs dropped from the sky and heavy gunfire from ships positioned off the coast of the island, the strategy developed by Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi meant that the forces controlling it suffered little damage and were thus ready to repel the initial attack by the U.S. Marines, under the command of Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith.

Marines Invade Iwo Jima

On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima, and were met immediately with unforeseen challenges. First and foremost, the beaches of the island were made up steep dunes of soft, gray volcanic ash, which made getting sturdy footing and passage for vehicles difficult.

As the Marines struggled forward, the Japanese lied in wait. The Americans assumed the pre-attack bombardment had been effective, and had crippled the enemy's defenses on the island.

However, the lack of immediate response was simply part of Kuribayashi's plan.

With the Americans struggling to get a foothold on the beaches of Iwo Jima - literally and figuratively - Kuribayashi's artillery positions in the mountains above opened fire, stalling the advancing Marines and inflicting significant casualties.

Despite a banzai charge by dozens of Japanese soldiers as dusk fell, however, the Marines were eventually able to move in past the beach and seize part of one Iwo Jima's airfields - the stated mission of the invasion.

Battle of Iwo Jima Rages On

Within days, some 70,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima. Although they significantly outnumbered their Japanese enemies on the island (by a more than three-to-one margin), many Americans were wounded or killed over the five weeks of fighting, with some estimates suggesting more than 25,000 casualties, including nearly 7,000 deaths.

The Japanese, meanwhile, were also suffering major losses, and were running low on supplies - namely, weapons and food. Under Kuribayashi's leadership, they mounted most of their defenses via attacks under the cover of darkness.

While effective, the success of the Japanese forces seemed to merely forestall the inevitable.

Just four days into the fighting, U.S. Marines captured Mount Suribachi, on Iwo Jima's south side, famously raising an American flag at the summit. That image was captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the iconic photograph.

However, the fighting was far from over.

Iwo Jima Falls to American Forces

Battles raged on in the northern part of Iwo Jima for four weeks, with Kuribayashi essentially setting up a garrison in the mountains in that part of the island. On March 25, 1945, 300 of Kuribayashi's men mounted a final banzai attack.

The American forces sustained a number of casualties, but ultimately quelled the attack. Although the American military declared that Iwo Jima had been captured the next day, American forces spent weeks on end trudging through the island's jungles, finding and killing or capturing Japanese "holdouts" who refused to surrender and opted to continue fighting.

Dozens of Americans were killed during this process. Two Japanese holdouts continued to hide in the island's caves, scavenging food and supplies until they finally surrendered in 1949, almost four years after the end of World War II.

In the end, neither the U.S. Army nor the U.S. Navy was able to use Iwo Jima as a World War II staging area. Navy Seabees, or construction battalions, did rebuild the airfields for Air Force pilots to use in case of emergency landings.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Because of the brutality of the fighting, and the fact that the battle occurred fairly close to the end of World War II, Iwo Jima - and those who lost their lives trying to capture the island - retain a great deal of significance even today, decades after the fighting stopped.

In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps dedicated the Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor all Marines. The statue is based on Rosenthal's now-famous photograph.

More recently, actor/director Clint Eastwood in 2006 made two movies about the events on Iwo Jima called, respectively, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The first depicts the battle from the American perspective, while the latter shows it from the Japanese perspective.

Sources

Brimelow, B. (2018). "73 years ago a war photographer snapped the most iconic image of World War II - here's the story of the battle behind the photo." BusinessInsider.com.

Naval History and Heritage Command. "The Battle for Iwo Jima." History.Navy.mil.

National World War II Museum. "Fact Sheet: the Battle for Iwo Jima." NationalWW2Museum.org.

National World War II Museum. "Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan's Doorstep." NationalWW2Museum.org.

Gerow, A. (2006). "From Flags of Our Fathers to Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood's Balancing of Japanese and American Perspectives." The Asia-Pacific Journal.

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The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 - March 26, 1945) was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II. American forces succeeded in securing the island, which was considered to have great tactical importance for its airfields.

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http://www.galileo.usg.edu/kids/hcbe/

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Steps to Access GALILEO

GALILEO is free to all Georgians via schools, colleges and public libraries.

Step 1

Find your school, university, or local library in the dropdown list and click "Go".

Step 2

Log in. If you don't know your account/password, ask your librarian. (If you need a public library account, get one here.)

Step 3

Start searching! A universe of resources - including databases, journals, ebooks, videos, and more - is freely available in GALILEO Search.

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GALILEO is free to all Georgians via schools, colleges and public libraries. Find your school, university, or local library in the dropdown list and click "Go". Log in. If you don't know your account/password, ask your librarian. (If you need a public library account, get one here.) Start searching!

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A LIMITED PODCAST SERIES FROM THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM
Season 2: Episode 9 - 33 Months
Rising racial tensions on the west coast of the United States came to a head after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and a mandatory forced evacuation was carried out, sending Japanese Americans to incarceration camps. The event echoed for decades afterwards across multiple presidential administrations in the courts, politics, and minds of those wrongfully incarcerated.

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A LIMITED PODCAST SERIES FROM THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM Season 2: Episode 9 - 33 Months Rising racial tensions on the west coast of the United States came to a head after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and a mandatory forced evacuation was carried out, sending Japanese Americans to incarceration camps.

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The goal of The Classroom Victory Garden Project is to teach elementary students about the role of community in WWII through interdisciplinary curriculum designed to connect the past and the present. Millions of Americans grew Victory Gardens in their backyards - and on rooftops and in windowboxes - during WWII to supplement their wartime rations and help spur victory. That can-do spirit can offer your young students an age-appropriate entree into the lessons and history of WWII.

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The National WWII Museum's Classroom Victory Garden Project

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The goal of The Classroom Victory Garden Project is to teach elementary students about the role of community in WWII through interdisciplinary curriculum designed to connect the past and the present. Millions of Americans grew Victory Gardens in their backyards - and on rooftops and in windowboxes - during WWII to supplement their wartime rations and help spur victory.

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World War II, which began in 1939 and ended in 1945, was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. Before the war, Germany, America, and the rest of the world were going through the Great Depression. The economy was very bad, unemployment was at an all-time high, and massive inflation caused money to lose its value. More than fifty nations in the world were fighting, with more than 100 million soldiers deployed. Countries like America and Britain were part of the Allied powers. Japan and Germany were part of the Axis powers.

Explore this section to learn more about World War II.

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Explore WWII History | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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World War II, which began in 1939 and ended in 1945, was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. Before the war, Germany, America, and the rest of the world were going through the Great Depression. The economy was very bad, unemployment was at an all-time high, and massive inflation caused money to lose its value.

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This is a link from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that has information for students.

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Organized by theme, this learning site presents an overview of the Holocaust through historical photographs, maps, images of artifacts, and testimony clips. It is a resource for middle and secondary level students and teachers, with content that reflects the history as it is presented in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Permanent Exhibition.

Nazi Rule

Browse 9 articles about the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany. Learn about how the Nazis took control of the police and turned Germany into a dictatorship; used propaganda and censorship to implement a racist ideology; and implemented brutal policies as Germany annexed and occupied parts of Europe.

Jews in Prewar Germany

Browse a series of 9 articles about Jewish life in Germany and Europe before 1939. Learn about antisemitism and international attitudes toward Jews. Also, read about how the Nazis implemented antisemitic laws and organized state-sponsored violence and discrimination against the Jews of Germany. Each article includes three key dates related to its main topic.

The "Final Solution"

Browse a series of 8 articles on the Nazi plan to deliberately murder European Jews. These articles explain how the Nazis implemented the "Final Solution" by establishing ghettos and killing centers in occupied Poland; deploying Einsatzgruppen (special action squads) to commit mass shootings; and the organization of mass deportations of Jews to ghettos and killing centers.

Nazi Camp System

Browse a series of 8 articles on the history of the Nazi camp system. Learn about the different types of camps operated by the Nazi regime; who was incarcerated in these camps and why; what happened to the prisoners of the camps at the end of the war; and about the Nuremberg Trials established to bring Nazi perpetrators to justice.

Rescue and Resistance

Browse a series of 7 articles on rescue and resistance. Learn about how some Jews survived the Holocaust despite the inhumane conditions created by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Read about people who tried to rescue Jews; resistance groups who opposed the Nazi regime and occupations; and Jews who revolted against Nazi oppression in the Warsaw ghetto and in killing centers.

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The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students

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Learning about the Holocaust is one way to honor those lost. Browse our learning site for students as a resource for Holocaust-education projects.