World War II Retold: A New Perspective Through Rare Photographs
By Jack Ripley | March 19, 2024
Freezing Temperatures Couldn’t Hold Back Charging Soviet Soldiers
Every picture indeed tells a story, and none are more telling than those taken candidly. Some of the most memorable photos in history have been taken in times of a country's greatest tribulations. We've all seen the haunting picture of the California migrant mother snapped in 1936, the 1951 photo of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out to a goading photographer, and the 1954 photo of Marilyn Monroe in a little white dress standing atop a New York City street grate. While there are plenty of other iconic photos we can all call to memory, some of the most haunting are those shot during wartime.
What makes these photos memorable are the emotions they stir. Folks can step back into some of the world's most historic moments. As our forefathers, who experienced these events firsthand slowly pass on, all that remains are photos and written accounts. The photos herein give you a glimpse of some of the most historic moments in wartime history. Check out these haunting photos taken during World War II and the often untold stories they tell.
If it weren’t for the rifles pointing in the air, this photo might be mistaken for a group of chaps playing in the snow. Dressed in warm parkas and thick mittens against a snowy backdrop, these soldiers are far from a bunch of men engaged in a snowball fight. Instead, these Soviet soldiers were storming Nazi forces who had overtaken the city of Leningrad.
This photo depicts the Soviet forces’ attempt to break the blockade created before their city. Nazi-occupied Leningrad is considered an unmatched humanitarian tragedy. Nearly 1 million civilian lives were lost as a result of starvation, freezing temperatures, and enemy bombardments. In this picture, Soviet soldiers charge the Nazi blockade in hopes of reclaiming their city.
British Soldiers Shake Hands From Atop Their Tanks in Tobruk, Libya
Libya was an important Axis country that was used as a shipping base during World War II. In September, Allied nations launched an attack on Tobruk known as Operation Agreement. This attack was intended to thwart war supplies intended for Axis nations, though it failed to do so. That’s not to say that Allied troops did not experience some successes during the Siege of Tobruk.
In January 1941, British soldiers successfully held German and Italian troops for a time. However, the Axis powers renewed control, pushing the Allies back toward Egypt. Though the Siege of Tobruk didn’t end until December 1942, in this photo, British soldiers can be seen shaking hands from atop their tanks. After a nearly 8-month battle in Tobruk, victory fell to the Allied nations.
U.S. Soldiers Storm the Beaches of Normandy
This notorious image depicts a U.S. aircraft landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. This beach was the site of approximately 3,600 casualties, the majority of which were Americans. This bloody World War II battle ended with an Allied victory though it came with great losses.
Rough seas prevented many of the amphibious tanks from making it to shore, and, as a result, a considerable number of infantrymen were gunned down by German forces. Sadly, many other soldiers never made it to shore and drowned trying to do so.
Soldiers Raise the American Flag During the Battle of Iwo Jima
Similar to the Battle of Normandy, the Battle of Iwo Jima was an amphibious attack launched on Japan by the U.S. A major battle of World War II, the Battle of Iwo Jima saw the attack of nearly 18,000 Japanese soldiers by approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines. The 36 days of fighting that ensued during this battle came at the cost of approximately 7,000 American lives and all but 1,083 Japanese lives.
Situated on the southwest side of the island of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi, from which the Japanese unleashed rampant fire for a good part of this battle. In a show of victory, five American Marines and one Navy corpsman raised our nation’s flag atop the mountain as shown in the picture above. This photo, which was snapped by American photographer Joe Rosenthal, is one of the most recognizable photos of World War II; Rosenthal was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for this image in 1945.
Firefighters put out a blaze caused by a round of German bombings in London, 1941
A German bombing campaign in the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941 was the root of much loss of life and property. The name of this deadly campaign was The Blitz, short for Blitzkrieg, a term coined by British media. Mass air attacks by German bombers caused inordinate structural damage as depicted above. Aerial bombings during The Blitz were relentless, often occurring every day for months on end.
The role of firefighters during World War II can’t be overstated. The majority of bombardments took place at night, and firefighters often worked long dangerous shifts to contain the spread of resultant fires. Bombings were often perpetrated on factories containing flammables making the role of firefighters all the more dangerous. The lives of more than 1,000 firefighters were lost during The Blitz.
Soviet and American Soldiers Pose With Bombs Bearing Ominous Messages for Nazis
The overthrow of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany would not have been possible without the allied forces of the U.S., Soviet Union, and Great Britain. Here, Soviet and U.S. soldiers pose with missiles bearing messages for the enemy. One missile reads, “To the Axis from USSR and USA.”
While these fearsome global powerhouses worked side by side to defeat a common enemy, history has revealed that the alliance didn’t last for long. The Cold War, which began roughly two years after the end of World War II, brought about geopolitical tensions between these two countries that persist to this day. Though Russia (the former Soviet Union) and the U.S. share similar concerns about nuclear safety and counterterrorism, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine generated further tensions between the one-time allies.
Intent Paratroopers Take Orders From U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
This telling photo was taken somewhere in England just before U.S. troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. On this day, June 6, 1944, the joining of air, land, and sea forces of Allied nations came together in what was the biggest amphibious invasion in all history.
In this photo, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would later become the nation’s 34th president, orders paratroopers to prepare for battle. The men he’s speaking to were part of a parachute infantry regiment that would drop behind enemy lines to secure assault areas. Dangerous for obvious reasons, paratroopers knew that if the water attack failed, they’d be left unaided in enemy territory. So much went wrong with the Allied attack on D-Day, not the least of which was that paratroopers by and large missed their targets. Despite a combination of bad weather, including cloud cover as well as rough seas, and fierce enemy fire, Allied forces were victorious in defeating Nazi Germany.
Māori Soldiers Perform a War Cry as New Zealand Joins Allied Nations
During World War II, New Zealand served alongside the Allied nations. New Zealand dispensed approximately 100,000 men and women of its Expeditionary Force and approximately 40,000 in both British and New Zealand naval and air forces. New Zealand’s involvement in the Second World War began in 1939 with an Allied declaration of war against Germany and continued into the Pacific War following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
In this photo, Māori soldiers perform a traditional war cry that features dancing with weapons.
The haka, as the war cry is known, is a show of strength and unity among soldiers headed into battle. The haka is meant to incite, energize, and invigorate soldiers for the battle ahead. The unit pictured here had recently been evacuated from Greece because of an onslaught of encroaching Germans in Egypt. Although the Māori suffered heavy casualties throughout the war, they were regarded as fierce warriors.
A Dejected German Soldier Who’s Been Captured by Soviet Troops
This image depicts a forlorn Nazi soldier who’d been captured by Soviet forces during the Battle of Kursk. This battle went down in World War II history as the war’s largest tank encounter. In a hard-fought battle that took place in southwestern Russia, the Battle of Kursk pinned Soviet troops against German troops, which signaled the beginning of the end for Nazi forces. The battle involved thousands of tanks and aircraft as well as millions of troops with victory eventually befalling the Soviets.
The Soviet victory at the Battle of Kursk was significant in that it essentially decimated Germany's hope of conquering the Soviets. The vast amount of manpower and artillery that the Soviets threw at this battle can be credited for their victory at the Battle of Kursk. Just as the Nazis eventually did, it appears the dejected soldier in this picture recognized his defeat.
A U.S. Sailor Kisses a Stranger on the Streets of New York City Following News of Japan’s Surrender
This iconic World War II photo was first published in Life magazine shortly after Japan’s surrender to the U.S. Taken on August 14, 1945, this photo depicts sailor George Mendonsa smooching a swept-up nurse, Greta Zimmer Friedman, in New York City’s Times Square. This photo was snapped by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt moments after news hit that Japan had surrendered.
The story goes that Mendonsa, who went on to be regarded as the “kissing sailor,” had been celebrating his return from the Pacific in a bar with friends. Swept up in the excitement of the celebrations in the streets, Mendonsa grabbed Friedman, a perfect stranger, and planted one on her. Though in the years following this moment, others went on to claim they were the kissing couple, the two finally set the record straight 30 years later.
Two Women Look Upon All That Remains of Their Home After a German Air Raid
The destruction caused in England by German aerial bombs was unfathomable. Homes, hospitals, factories, businesses, churches, and beyond were decimated during World War II. Like so many, the two elderly women depicted in this picture, were left bewildered and horrified at the total disregard for civilian life during this savage war. The women are standing amid the rubble of what remains of the almshouse they called home. The photo was taken on February 11, 1943, just one day after the tragic bombing that razed their home in Newbury, England.
The Historic Atomic Bomb Dropped Over Nagasaki
Nagasaki was one of two atomic bomb targets intended to induce surrender from Japan; the second atomic bombing site was Hiroshima. The bombs, dropped by U.S. Army fighter pilots, were unleashed just three days apart in August of 1945, resulting in catastrophic Japanese casualties. Nearly 150,000 lives were lost in the Hiroshima bombing and approximately 75,000 in the Nagasaki bombing. This picture shows the atomic bomb’s moment of impact in Nagasaki.
The jet that dropped the Nagasaki bombing was a USAAF B-29 airplane piloted by U.S. Army pilot Charles Sweeney. The bomb, which was nicknamed “Fatman,” weighed 10,000 pounds, and released explosive energy, which, when detonated, created a catastrophic fireball that incinerated everything in its wake. In the case of “Fatman,” the explosion caused approximately 45 square miles of cataclysmic damage. Japan’s surrender was announced mere days after these bombings and made official in September 1945.
A Child Greets His Father Who’s Returned Home From War
The sacrifices soldiers make during wartime can’t be overstated. However, the families, parents, siblings, wives, and children of soldiers make an equally difficult sacrifice. Families of soldiers spend long unknowing months and years with constant fear and concern for the well-being of their enlisted loved one. In this picture, a soldier on leave for Christmas in 1944 is greeted by his wife and child. While the soldier embraces and sweeps his lady off her feet, the little tyke hangs onto his daddy’s leg.
A British Plane Prepares for Takeoff in Gibraltar
The British-owned Rock of Gibraltar was an important locale used by Allied forces during World War II. A perfect harbor for military vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, enemy vessels couldn’t get by without being sunk by Allied forces.
Gibraltar was also home to a strategic airfield where aircraft staging procedures could safely take place. In this photo, a British aircraft is preparing for takeoff to the United Kingdom. The searchlights eerily shining in the background were likely being used to spot and deter incoming enemy bombers. Today, the photo is displayed at Britain’s Imperial War Museum.
A French Girl Clings to Her Mother as the German Army Offensive Enters France
This evocative photo depicts a frightened child clinging to her equally frightened mother during Nazi occupation in France. In May of 1940, as the German army invaded from the North of France, nearly 10 million French civilians fled to southern parts of the country. What ensued was a pandemonium of refugees that became known as The Exodus.
In a surprise German attack, the population in the Northern parts of France diminished astronomically, while those in the southern parts grew in droves. The roads heading south were so clogged during The Exodus that many folks were forced to leave with just the clothes on their backs. One has to wonder if that was the same experience of the mother and child pictured here.
Adolf Hitler Declaring War on the United States
Just four days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, on December 11, 1941, Adolf Hitler addressed the Reichstag in Berlin to declare war on the U.S. In a sort of tit-for-tat, Hitler declared war on the U.S. because they declared war on Japan, a German ally.
One of the suggested reasons for Hitler’s rash decision to declare war so quickly was that Hitler was a fan of Japan’s surprise attack tactic at Pearl Harbor; this was a tactic Hitler himself used when he surprised the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa. In this photo, Hitler is pictured standing in the center addressing the Reichstag, Germany’s national legislature. You can also see the swastika, a symbol synonymous with Nazi Germany, prominently displayed in the background.
Some of What Remains After the Bombing of Nagasaki in 1945
Here, one can perceive the cataclysmic damage left in the wake of atomic warfare. The U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki just three days apart in August 1945. Between the two bombs, hundreds of thousands of Japanese people were mutilated and killed. Besides the human casualties, the bombs razed two entire cities, leaving catastrophic damage and rubble in their wake.
This photo depicts badly damaged religious relics in the wasteland that became Nagasaki. Though this photo was taken six weeks after the bombing, the detritus pictured here reveals just how bad the destruction was. What’s not pictured is just as stunning as what is; the background is completely void of the infrastructure that stood there six weeks earlier.
A French Man Weeps as German Soldiers Occupy Paris
The fear, desperation, and hopelessness that the French must’ve felt as German soldiers arrived in Paris is unfathomable. Between April and June 1940, German troops overtook much of Western Europe. France was one of the many countries in Germany’s wake.
On the morning this photo was snapped, French people woke up to loudspeaker announcements, in heavy German accents, that an 8 p.m. curve was being instated. What was feared by the French for so long was coming to fruition. As the announcements awakened the French, German soldiers could be witnessed marching into Paris by way of the Arc de Triomphe. One can only speculate that the weeping man pictured above was crying for his home, his country, and his life.
The Night Sky Lit Up From French Anti-Aircraft Fire During a Nazi Raid
Algiers, a French colony at the time, received heavy air fire from some of Germany’s many air raids. One of Germany’s most notorious war tactics was its Blitzkrieg tactics, which were designed to impart a quick and focused blow on enemies; Blitzkrieg translates to “lightning war.” Under this umbrella, Germany employed frequent and debilitating air raids.
As a countermeasure to Germany’s catastrophic air raids, countries on the defense could return anti-aircraft fire, which involved using radar to track the proximity of enemy targets and shooting surface-to-air missiles into the sky to disable enemy targets. In the photo above, France employs this method to fend off German warfare on Algiers. The picture eerily resembles a beautiful light show instead of what it actually is.
Paris Crowds Gather in Celebration of French Liberation in 1944
This celebratory photo marked French liberation by Allied nations from Nazi Germany. Here, crowds gather on the Champs Elysees to witness Allied tanks pass through the Arc de Triomphe. Though the liberation of Paris was not a priority to the Allies leading up to this event, a civilian uprising a few days before the eventual liberation turned Paris into an Ally priority.
This liberation march, led by General Charles de Gaulle, who marched despite the threat of German snipers, followed a hard-fought battle against the enemy. Just one day before this picture, the Germans surrendered Paris and retreated from the country’s capital. This photo depicts French tanks reclaiming their city to the ebullience of onlooking civilians.
U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur Wades Ashore to Announce His Return to the Philippines
Following more than three years of Japanese occupation and control, the Allied nations liberated the Philippines. In this photo, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur can be seen wading ashore at Leyte Island where he announced, “I have returned.” this statement was significant because, after three years of fighting and hundreds of thousands of casualties, MacArthur made good on a promise he made years earlier.
Months after MacArthur’s historic arrival, he delivered his most famous speech of the war: the July 1945 Communique. In this speech, MacArthur describes how Allied forces crippled the Japanese Navy and air efforts as well as the resultant liberation of the Philippines and its return to democracy. Shortly thereafter, in August 1945, Japan acknowledged defeat. The photo above reveals the image of a confident man who means business.
The People of Paris Gather to Celebrate Germany’s Surrender
A celebration unlike any other, the world breathed a sigh of relief when Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. Germany’s surrender was followed by Japan’s on September 2, 1945, signaling the end of the long and arduous Second World War. The end of this fearsome time in our world’s history was followed by unbridled public celebrations around the world. Throughout Europe, North America, and other parts of the world, people took to the streets in a public show of relief, joy, and hope.
This photo depicts a fraction of the emotion felt around the world on May 8, 1945. Here, the people of France gather on Paris’s Champs Elysees to observe the end of the Second World War. The photo is an aerial one taken from the famed Arc de Triomphe; this celebration site is apt as it’s the same route German soldiers marched as they invaded Paris in June 1940.
U.S. Air Force Bombers Retreat From Ploiești, Romania Following an Allied Raid
In 1940, Romania joined the Axis powers, providing resources to Nazi Germany to use in their invasion of the Soviet Union. Romania was instrumental in supporting Germany in Operation Barbarossa, the June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Besides this, Romania supplied more troops to Germany than any other country making it an important target for Allied nations.
In this photo, U.S. Air Force bombers can be seen flying over Romania following a particularly brutal air raid. Operation Tidal Wave was a U.S. air raid based out of Libya in August 1943. The attack aimed to take out nine oil refineries in Ploiesti, Romania in hopes of crippling oil supplies for the Axis powers; unfortunately, the attack was not successful in hindering the enemy.
The Imperial Japanese Navy Prepare for an Advance on Shanghai
Just two years before the official start of the Second World War, Japan, led by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), invaded Shanghai, China. After fierce fighting from both sides, Japan pushed China out of Shanghai, the country’s commercial epicenter. This picture was taken in August 1937, three months before Japan’s victory over Shanghai.
The major conflict that led to Japan’s attack on China was China’s refusal to surrender tracts of its territory to Japan. An explosion on a bridge in China that the IJN was crossing exploded and triggered the declaration of Japan’s war on China. It’s speculated that the Japanese used chemical warfare during the battle to win Shanghai, which may be the reason for the gas masks in this picture.
Allied Leaders Meet at the Historic Tehran Conference to Strategize Against Hitler
This photo was taken at the Tehran Conference in 1943. This meeting of Allied leaders was attended by U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The Tehran Conference was a strategy meeting wherein these Allied leaders met to discuss the future of the Second World War. The outcome of this conference was an agreement between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin to launch a second front against Nazi Germany.
The Tehran Conference laid the foundation for Operation Overlord, an Allied attack on Nazi-occupied France. Operation Overlord was the codename for what would become the 1944 Battle of Normandy. Though this battle came at the cost of thousands of Allied casualties, it’s considered the linchpin for the eventual fall of Hitler and his Nazi regime.
The USS Yorktown and a Fighter Plane in the Pacific
The USS Yorktown was a Navy aircraft carrier that was crucial to U.S. warfare during World War II. One of two dozen Essex-class aircraft carriers, she was originally slated to be named the Bonhomme Richard but was rechristened the Yorktown CV-10 in memory of the Yorktown CV-5 that sunk the previous year during the Battle of Midway. One of four Navy ships named Yorktown, the previous three were named for the Battle of Yorktown of Revolutionary War repute.
This particular ship was responsible for several airstrikes during World War II, some of which occurred in the Marshall Islands, Iwo Jima, and mainland Japan. This highly decorated ship earned 11 battle stars for its service during the Second World War. In this photo, taken in 1943, the propellers of a U.S. aircraft spin on deck. After service in World War II, she received repairs and upgrades before a stint in the Vietnam War where she earned five more battle stars. After Vietnam, the USS Yorktown CV-10 played an integral role in the recovery of the Apollo 8 Capsule in the Pacific Ocean. She was decommissioned in 1970 and now resides as an exhibit at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum.
An Internment Camp Where the U.S. Held More Than 100,000 Japanese-Americans During World War II
The 1942 bombing of Pearl Harbor is what ultimately led to the U.S. Japanese internment. A nationwide hysteria and distrust for people of Japanese descent led to the horrific internment of Japanese Americans. Essentially, Americans feared that Japanese Americans could be working as spies for the Japanese government.
Therefore, under an Executive Order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Japanese Americans were taken from their homes, interned in camps, and housed in cold, bleak barracks. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and secured by armed foot soldiers. An astonishing 127,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned from February 1942 until March 1946. Internment camps were located in desolate parts of the country. This picture depicts the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California; it was one of 10 internment camps.
Civilians Are Forced to Vacate their Homes During the Siege of Leningrad
In this photo, you can see victims of Nazi Germany’s Blitzkrieg, a bombing campaign that comprised surprise attacks that used overwhelming force. These attacks were coordinated by German forces to throw targets off balance. This was a successful tactic for German forces early in the Second World War. In eight months of Blitz attacks, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed and more than 1 million homes were lost or damaged.
Germany’s siege of Leningrad began on September 19, 1942, with a horrifically brutal air raid. Overtaking Leningrad was one of Germany’s three main goals in Operation Barbarossa; the overall purpose of this operation was to force the Soviet Union to surrender to Germany. The Siege of Leningrad lasted for nearly two years and claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 civilians; many of the deaths during this time were caused by hunger and cold. This picture depicts Soviet civilians forced to vacate their destroyed homes after a brutal German bombing on December 10, 1942. The fear and despair on the faces of the victims are palpable.
Japanese Foreign Minister Signs Japan’s Official Surrender Aboard the USS Missouri
The official end of the Second World War came four months after Germany’s surrender and mere days after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Though Japan vowed to never surrender, their hands were tied with the deployment of the new and awful technology of atomic warfare. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed the lives of a combined total of nearly 200,000 Japanese citizens.
Eight months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs. No country before or since has ever employed atomic warfare. Shortly after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu boarded the USS Missouri to sign Japan’s official surrender.