German tanks rolled unimpeded across the Russian steppes at the start of Hitler's campaign against the Soviet Union. But in 1943, the so-called Slavic "untermensch" (subhumans) gain the initiative and...

Germany in the early 1930s is falling apart. The population is disillusioned, poverty is spreading, and unemployment is everywhere. Many Germans see Adolf Hitler as the only man who can pull the country...

Nazi propaganda presented Adolf Hitler as ascetic, solitary and a brilliant Führer. Only a few knew the real man behind World War II. His mystery has fuelled numerous conspiracy theories – like why Hitler's...

The Germans and their Japanese allies have gone from victory to victory since the start of the war, but in the autumn of 1942, that begins to change.On the small Pacific island of Guadalcanal, US forces...

Adolf Hitler ruled Germany for 12 years. As the Third Reich began to collapse in on itself in the spring of 1945, the Führer took up residence in Berlin. By the middle of April he'd entrenched himself...

In 1933 Adolf Hitler seizes power after seducing the German people with lavish promises of restoring order, prosperity and the Greater German Reich to its former glories. He then goes to on exploit other...

In August 1940, Berlin was hit by British bombers. Hitler immediately ordered a series of gigantic air defences be built – each one more expensive than the city's entire Olympic facilities – but they're...

Historians find the Middle Ages a period shrouded in mystery. On the one hand, sources speak of greedy kings and corrupt popes who flourished during a time of widespread hunger, disease and servitude....

The battle is won, the enemy driven out, and everyone can breathe again. Many field generals thought this – but generals often make mistakes. Throughout World War II, specially trained soldiers made sure...

With Europe overrun by Hitler's thundering war machine, Churchill is the only head of state with the courage to stand up to the Führer. The British Prime Minister's iron will makes him a role model in...

The name Adolf Hitler – even half a century after the fall of the Third Reich – continues to evoke disgust, contempt and astonishment. How was it possible for an amateur painter to seduce an entire people?...

The showdown should have been a brief affair, where the German Empire put its neighbours in their place. Encouraged by the spirit of adventure thousands of young men volunteered to defend the nation's...

On 9th August, 1945, American pilot Charles W Sweeney threw a nuclear bomb over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. 43 seconds later, his deadly cargo exploded in the air over the port city and turned the...

On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. The country needed to be subjugated quickly before Britain and France could intervene. Germany's Panzer divisions proved unstoppable. Backed by the Luftwaffe,...

It is 03:14 on 22nd June 1941. Along a 1,800-kilometre front line that stretches from the Baltic Sea in the north, to Romania in the South, German soldiers are ready for battle. A minute later, all hell...

On the morning of Sunday 7th December, 1941, 183 Japanese aircraft fly across the quiet American naval base of Pearl Harbor. After a few minutes, oil stocks and airfields are in flames, and several of...

World War II is the best described, most catalogued event in history. Thousands of books, hundreds of thousands of articles, and an abundance of documentaries and lectures describe the horrors of war,...

On 27th January 1944, Stalin declares that Leningrad has been liberated. After a siege lasting two and a half years, German forces retreat with the Red Army in hot pursuit. Encouraged by the victory,...

Luftwaffe pilots fear one weapon more than any other: British Spitfires. Powerful Rolls Royce engines and an ingenious design make the plane fast and manoeuvrable. In 1940, Spitfires and their fearless...

What makes a serial killer? There is a huge difference between killers who kill once in the heat of the moment, mass murderers who slaughter many people at once, and serial killers who follow a specific...

From singling out victims at bus stops, targeting women with long, blonde hair, saving trophies, or dismembering and even eating their victims, each serial killer set a unique ritual for their murder,...

The WHA is pleased to share our special issue of the World History Bulletin that addresses the challenges and opportunities of teaching through a global public health crisis. Subscription to the WHB is...