World War II

A Servicemember in My Family was Never the Same after WWII—My Mother

As part of the Clubmobile service of the Red Cross, Phyllis McLaughlin was an indirect witness to the traumas of the soldiers she served with hospitality, even before the jeep accident that ended her own service after nearly killing her. 

Writing a Classic: Richard Tregaskis and "Guadalcanal Diary"

by Ray E. Boomhower

Combat reporter Richard Tregaskis's account of the August 1942 Marine invasion of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands passed military censors and became a popular sensation while offering the public an account of the difficulty and brutality of the Pacific war.

Review: Does "The Princess Spy" Pierce the Veil of its Subject's Fictions?

by Robert Huddleston

A new biography of Aline Griffiths, Countess of Romanones, takes on the self-fashioned myths of the American-born woman who married a Spanish aristocrat after serving the OSS in Madrid during World War II. Does it succeed in finding the facts of her career as a spy?

My Grandfather was a Nazi. Our Family's Story of Complicity Shows Where the Road to Extremism Leads

by Mary Louise Wells

Republicans who continued to contest the legitimacy of the election after the Capitol riots should consider the German example, which shows the potential for disaster if people accept authoritarianism out of expediency.

The "Triple Nickles": Jim Crow Was an Elite Black Airborne Battalion's Toughest Foe

by Robert F. Williams

The lesson of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion for African Americans is a sadly familiar one: proving oneself is not enough; becoming members of a select fraternity was not enough to earn the respect and equality that comes with full citizenship.

For Japanese Americans, Housing Injustices Outlived Internment

After enduring internment, Japanese Americans were forced to resettle in a changed society with a dire housing shortage. The government's response was grossly inadequate. 

Wearing A Face Mask Is Not New - But The Backlash Against Them Is, Say Historians

"The striking thing about 1941 is that there was no debate or controversy between the scientists and the government, there was just rapid agreement that this made sense and it wasn't costly," said Dr Jesse Olszynko-Gryn.

How Past Crises Changed America’s Public Schools — ‘And so too Will COVID-19’

by Ann Marie Ryan and Charles Tocci

While this certainly feels unprecedented, the history of American public schooling shows us it's not.

He Found One of Stalin’s Mass Graves. Now He’s in Jail.

Yuri Dmitriev's family believes he has been jailed on false pedophelia charges because his findings challenge a sanitized version of history favored by Russian nationalists.

The Holocaust Was an Attempt to Erase Millions of People. Today, the World Must Honor the Evidence That They Existed

"Naming the great European void, recognizing its existence by remembering, is thus not only a moral duty but also the only way for us, as survivors, to maintain our own humanity," writes author Elisabeth Åsbrink.

Americans Must Embrace Hope, Not Fear

by Kevin M. Schultz

Amid covid-19, it’s time to come together and recognize that diversity is an asset.

What Were the Origins of the Holocaust?

A review of German historian Gotz Aly's new book "Europe Against the Jews: 1880-1945."

When Asian-Americans Have to Prove We Belong

by Jia Lynn Yang

"This isn’t the first time we’ve been treated as a threat," writes Jia Lynn Yang.

Princeton Historian: America Can Beat Coronavirus if We Don't 'Defeat Ourselves'

Stephen Kotkin, renowned for his work studying authoritarian regimes, said history teaches that the United States can triumph over the coronavirus pandemic if America doesn't "defeat ourselves."

America Has a History of Pandemic Denial

by Joseph Loconte

Donald Trump wasn't the first president to misunderestimate a national threat. Franklin Roosevelt played his part in the collective denial and dishonesty of the age—until the "ideology of fascism" contagion came knocking.

In Fighting Covid-19, Remember That America’s WWII Mobilization Was Hardly Flawless

by Richard B. Frank

Mobilizing all Americans is a lofty challenge. Some will resist, just as they did 80 years ago.

Coronavirus Comparisons to World War II Are Rampant. Are We Ready to Be the Greatest Generation?

How similar is coronavirus mobilization to World War II mobilization?

How to Survive the Blitz

Five lessons from 1940s Britain about national resilience and social solidarity during a crisis.

Democrats Have the Right Idea of what COVID-19 Relief Should Look Like

by Elizabeth Tandy Shermer

The failure to create a better social safety net has left us unprepared to deal with covid-19.

It Doesn’t Have to Be a War

by Tim Barker

The Trump administration appears ready to invoke the Defense Production Act to speed manufacture of essential goods like face masks. What if we didn’t have to resort to the analog of war?