Learn about WWII History

Explore the critical events related to the war and the personal stories of those who lived through that challenging time.

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George John Lionel Maduro

George John Lionel Maduro moved to The Hague from Willemstad (Curaçao) at the age of 10. When the war broke out, he was ...

#Biography

Joachim Peiper

The 18-year-old Berliner Joachim Peiper enlisted the SS in October 1933 and was soon assigned to the elite of this force...

#Biography

Helene Palm

Helene Palm’s family was unwilling to evacuate their ancestral village of Vossenack, but the fighting made it impossible...

#Biography

Stanisław Maczek

A philosopher by education, a tankman by calling. Soldiers adored him, for he cared about their lives. Dutchmen and Belg...

#Biography

Josef Brettschneider

Josef Brettschneider took part in the Battle of Berlin as a young lieutenant. In a hopeless situation, he had to fight w...

#Biography

George Erskine

It was on 10 September 1944 that British Major-General George Erskine (1899-1965) arrived in Brussels. He stayed there u...

#Biography

Joseph Van de Meulebroeck, Mayor of Brussels

Joseph Van de Meulebroeck (1876-1958), who was dismissed from his position by the occupier in the summer of 1941, reache...

#Biography

Josef Grohé

On 13 July 1944, the military administration which had been in place since 28 May 1940 and headed by General von Falkenh...

#Biography

René Noël

"The" resistance fighter from Mons-Borinage, and much more Obviously, one individual cannot by him- or herself sum up th...

#Biography

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny commanded the French ‘Army B’, later the 1st Army, which took part in the liberation of Franc...

#Biography

Alexander M. Patch

After driving the Japanese out of Guadalcanal in 1943, General Patch commanded US Seventh Army from the landings of Oper...

#Biography

Sjalwa Loladze

Lieutenant Shalwa Loladze was a Georgian soldier fighting for the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Second World War....

#Biography

Ruben Rivers

During the Second World War the U.S. Armed Forces were segregated based on race. The 761st Tank Battalion, known as the ...

#Biography

George Dukson

After the Allied outbreak from Normandy in August 1944 the population of Paris decided that it was time to try to libera...

#Biography

Noor Inayat Khan

As an Indian secret agent Noor Inayat Khan was active for the British secret service Special Operations Executive (SOE) ...

#Biography

Edgard Tupët-Thomé

As part of not only the French Armed Forces but also the Free French Forces under command by Charles de Gaulle, Edgard T...

#Biography

Sophie Scholl

As part of the White Rose (Weiße Rose) resistance group Sophie Scholl was one of the Germans who stood up against the Na...

#Biography

Claude Mademba-Sy

The Allied forces insisted only white soldiers would be present for the liberation of Paris. Claude Mademba-Sy was an ex...

#Biography

Asem Ibrahim

During Operation Amherst, French parachutists were dropped in Drenthe. The goal of this operation was to support the Can...

#Biography

Roscoe Brown

For a long time the prevailing view among the U.S. Air Force was that African Americans could not fly airplanes. However...

#Biography

Joseph “Joe” Polowsky

Joe Polowsky was one of the U.S. soldiers who met the Soviet troops on the Elbe near Torgau in April 1945. After the war...

#Biography

Daphne Mary Banks

The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was established to avoid a food shortage in the United Kingdom in 1939. Daphne Mary Banks (n...

#Biography

Lee Miller

During the Second World War, American Lee Miller was one of the few female photographers accredited as war correspondent...

#Biography

Marcel Pinte

Marcel Pinte probably was the youngest French resistance fighter during the Second World War. As a six year old he helpe...

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