Quick Facts about World War II
Major Participating Countries
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
Allies: France, Great Britain, United States, Soviet Union, China
Abbreviated List of Important Dates
January 30, 1933: Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor in Germany.
September 1939: Germany invades Poland on September 1.
December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, leading to the United States entry into the war on December 8, 1941.
1943: Italy surrenders on September 3.
1945: Both Germany (May 7) and Japan (August 14) surrender.
Source for Quick Facts: "Timeline of WWII," World War II Foundation. -- The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, "World War II Summary." Britannica.
Image Source: Group portrait of Tuskegee Airmen squadron NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 1823641
Catalog Tips for Finding Maps at the Map Division
When searching the Online Research Catalog, in the Advanced Search, checkmark "Cartographic" under Format and type the following into the Keyword Field or Subject Field for relevant results:
- [country, town, associated continent] Maps
- World War, 1939-1945
- Please note that this search works extremely well as a Subject Field search
- Holocaust
As the United States Military was creating maps while fighting overseas, we highly recommend also filling the following into the Author Field (to learn more, please click our tab titled US Armed Forces Maps)
- Army Map Service
For more specific results, please feel free to combine the above search terms with any of the terms listed in the "Terms to Search in the Online Research Catalog" portion of this guide's Using Our Catalogs page.
For holdings of other items that are not in the Online Research Catalog, please search in the printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online via HathiTrust), by:
- [Town/Village/City Name] + associated year
- [Country Name] + associated year
- [Continent Name] + associated year
- World war, 1939 --
- United States. Armed Forces in the Far East.
- United States. Armed Forces in the Middle Pacific.
During WWII, many regiments created maps that detailed their routes and campaigns. In addition, these maps will sometimes include lists of members as well. To find many of these maps, you can either search through:
- Dictionary Catalog: Starting on Volume 9 page 797, search under the author name "U.S. Army Name of Unit"
- Examples:
- United States Army. 7th Corps.
- United States Army. 12 Corps.
- Examples:
- Advanced Search function of the Online Research Catalog: Do a Subject Search of World War, 1939-1945 Regimental histories United States Maps
NYPL's Division has an extensive collection of maps created by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) - the United States' intelligence agency during World War II. To learn more about this collection, please view this blog post: OSS Maps at the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
- To search for these materials in the Online Research Catalog, please checkmark “Cartographic” under Format and conduct the following searches:
- Keyword Search: C.O.I.
- Keyword Search: OSS
- Keyword Search: Reproduction Branch OSS
- Keyword Search: Research and Analysis OSS
- Author Search: United States. Office of Strategic Services
Maps and Atlases at the Map Division
- War map of the Russian-German front. [194-?]
- Map Div. 22-2152
- Shows the Russian-German partition (Sept. 1939) and the farthest German advance (Dec. 1940). Shows railways, roads, canals, scenes of battles, and steamer routes. Includes inset continuation of main map at reduced scale and ancillary map, "Russia to Iran, Afghanistan and India."Map of Europe showing areas occupied or dominated by Axis powers, 1914 map of Europe, and advertisement on verso.
- Daily Telegraph war map of the Mediterranean and northern Africa. [1940]
- Dictionary Catalog: Volume 1, page 61, Row 6, Column 1
- Map of the Chinese front, June 30, 1942.
- Dictionary Catalog: Page 566, Row 4, Column 3
- Created by the Chinese Ministry of Information
- African battlegrounds. Time Map by R.M. Chapin, Jr. Enlargement of original map drawn for Time...October 12, 1942 issue.
- Dictionary Catalog: Volume 1, page 61, Row 7, Column 2
- Digitized version available via Internet Archive
- China- battleground of the East. August 1, 1943
- Dictionary Catalog: Page 567, Row 7, Column 1
- From News Map.
- Batholomew map of the D-Day landings. 1944
- ReCAP 19-29680
- Shows southern coasts of England and Wales and north east coast of France with troop dispositions and invasion assembly area in English Channel. Includes timetable of the main events from Dunkirk to D-Day, inset maps showing the progress of the invasion, photographs and information on military leaders and the current location of cemeteries, monuments and museums in Normandy. Includes ancillary map of "Europe under the Axis."
- Stratospheric views of the seven strategic fronts of World War II. 1944
- Map Div.+++ (World) (Thompson, K. W. Stratospheric views of the seven major strategic fronts of World War II. 1944)
- The campaign of western Europe : "D"-Day through "V-E" Day, 6 June 1944-8 May 1945. [1945]
- Map Div. 22-2180
- Verso contains a list of all the soldiers that served in the 102nd Mechanized Cavalry Group, and its various units.
- The European Fronts: week ending... [1944-1945]
- In the Advanced Search function of the Online Research Catalog, if you do a title search of The European fronts: week ending with Cartographic checkmarked under Format, you will see a series created by the United States' Research and Analysis Branch OSS. These maps detail the weekly changes of the European fronts.
- Zbrodnie hitlerowskie na ziemiach polski w latach 1939-45. 1968
- JAX H-6601
- Alternative Title: Nazi crimes in Poland in the years 1939-1945
- Please note that this item belongs in the Dorot Jewish Division
- The Routledge Atlas of the Holocaust. 2009
- *R-Map Div. G1797.21.E29 G58 2009
- Atlas of the Eastern Front, 1941-45. 2016
- Map Div.+ 18-383
- Atlas of the European campaign, 1944-45. 2018
- Map Div.+ 19-2558
Image: Cartographic section of The campaign of western Europe : "D"-Day through "V-E" Day, 6 June 1944-8 May 1945. , Map Div. 22-2180
Digital Map Collections
Berkeley Library: University of California
- German World War II Captured Maps
- About the Maps: "During World War II and in its immediate aftermath the U.S. Army Map Service (AMS) acquired large quantities of captured German World War II maps which were important planning tools for the war of aggression waged by the Nazi regime and document the exploitation of resources in Nazi-occupied territories. These maps proved invaluable to U.S. military planners during the early Cold War years, particularly German military map series covering eastern and southeastern Europe. By the mid-1950s, however, the U.S. Army Map Service started to deposit these German maps in U.S. research libraries. Today the German World War II maps form important legacy collections in many American map libraries, including the UC Berkeley Library map collection."
- Has a large collection of maps in their institution that are available online, including those pertaining to World War II.
- When searching, make sure that the dropdown menu by the search bar says "Maps." In the results page, make sure to utilize the "Refine Your Search" section on the left, to get the best results.
- If you are searching "World War II," make sure you use the "Refine Your Search" function to click "Image" under Online Format, to find specifically the items that have digitized counterparts.
- You can also search by area, and utilize the date function to narrow down your search to years pertaining to World War II.
- Of note is the collection titled World War II Military Situation Maps, which "contains maps showing troop positions beginning on June 6, 1944 to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe, showing the progress of the Allied Forces as they push towards Germany. Some of the sheets are accompanied by a declassified "G-3 Report" giving detailed information on troop positions for the period 3 Mar. 1945-26 July 1945. These maps and reports were used by the commanders of the United States forces in their evaluation of the campaigns and for planning future strategies."
- Issues of the World War II Era "Newsmap" Publication, ca. 1942–ca. 1998: This series is fully digitized.
- Record Note: "This series consists of issues of "Newsmap" that were published from 1942 to 1946. "Newsmap", a weekly issuance of the U.S. Army, was distributed to members of the military and provided news about the progress of World War II. Each issue generally had information on obverse and reverse sides and featured texts, photographs, illustrations, and maps. The reverse is usually a poster. The publications were designed for posting on bulletin boards or other display areas. The obverse side would have been displayed during the week the publication was issued and on the following week the back was displayed."
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
- World War II Maps
- Contains digitized maps from both the Asia-Pacific and European Theater. The maps on this list "were produced by the U.S. Army Center of Military History, unless otherwise indicated."
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Holocaust Encyclopedia- World War II: Maps
- Includes a video and still maps that show the various invasions and military campaign routes during World War II.
- Search Our Collections
- Under Type of Materials, click "Maps" under Image. The results page will show over 300 items, with many having a digital counterpart that you can click on.
United States Military Academy West Point
- Includes many digitized maps that detail military campaigns, offensives, and invasions during World War II.
UNT (University of North Texas) Digital Library
- UNT's World War II Newsmaps: This digital collection includes a complete run of all five volumes of domestic Newsmaps.
- Record note: "During most of the war, Newsmaps typically featured maps of the world and of local areas seeing fighting, brief summaries of military action during the week, and photographs of troops and materiel. The earliest Newsmaps were printed on one side only. However, beginning with volume 1, no. 5, most Newsmaps had a second side which provided recognition cues for tanks, ships, and planes; information about enemy organization, equipment, and uniform insignia; strategies for defeating or evading enemy weapons; detailed maps; highlights of service achievement; or inspirational posters or photo montages. As hostilities came to a close, Newsmap content switched to revelations of enemy atrocities, and to information on the peace process and reconstruction efforts around the world. Side two content on these later Newsmaps often focused on preparation for the return to civilian life."
Additional Recommended Books and Documents at NYPL
- Eye on the Reich: German Propaganda Photographs, 1939-1942 in NYPL's Digital Collection
- Photograph collection from The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
- Collection Note: Attributed to the studio of Heinrich Hoffmann, Adolf Hitler's personal photographer, these photographs were originally published annually in volumes titled Grossdeutschland im Weltgeschehen, Tagesbildberichte and focus on events in German history from 1939-1942...Picture Collection staff had to match the texts to the items they described, transcribe the old style German "Fraktur" text and finally translate the German into English. The resulting collection shows Nazi Germany as it wanted the world (and its own people) to see it: victorious soldiers with mighty weapons, stoic civilians gladly helping the war cause, "atrocities" committed by the dastardly foe, the Fuhrer engaged in military, diplomatic and domestic affairs (aided by senior Nazi and Axis officials) and, most importantly, everyday life under the Third Reich. The photo captions are of equal value to the illustrations, as they give the official "party line" interpretation of the events depicted. In keeping with the purpose of commemorating victory, the collection does not include scenes of hardship on the home front, defeats on the battlefield, or the persecution and murder of Jews, Slavs and others. By the end of 1942, with more bad news than good coming from the fronts, the albums that comprise the collection ceased to be issued.
- Poland in Photographs, 1939-1944 in NYPL's Digital Collection
- Photograph collection from The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
- World War II international agreements and understandings entered into during secret conferences concerning other peoples. 1953
- E-10 2350 no. 1- 7
- Legal effect of World War II on treaties of the United States / Stuart Hull McIntyre. 1958
- ICD (McIntyre, S. Legal effect of World War II on the treaties of the United States.1958)
- The genesis of the Oder-Neisse line in the diplomatic negotiations during World War II: sources and documents. Compiled and edited by Gotthold Rhode and Wolfgang Wagner. 1959 [1957]
- E-10 8989
- The rape of Nanking : an undeniable history in photographs. 1997
- *OVO+ 00-9027
- Where once we walked : a guide to the Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust / by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack with Alexander Sharon. 2002
- *R-JWS DS135.E83 M65 2002
- The Pacific campaign in World War II : from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal. 2006
- JFE 06-1918
When searching your local neighborhood library for books that will provide more information about World War II, we recommend trying these keyword searches on the home page of NYPL.
- World War II
- Second World War
- World War, 1939-1945
Please see below for a list of recommended books about World War II that can be found at your local branch:
Persian Gulf Command by ISBN: 9780300221961Publication Date: 2018-06-26A new history of the long-overlooked WWII theater in Iran and Iraq, its unrecognized significance, and its impact on local society and politics This dynamic history is the first to construct a total picture of the experience and impact of World War II in Iran and Iraq. Contending that these two countries were more important to the Allied forces' war operations than has ever been acknowledged, historian Ashley Jackson investigates the grand strategy of the Allies and their operations in the region and the continuing legacy of Western intervention in the Middle East. Iran and Iraq served as the first WWII theater in which the U.S., the U.K., and the U.S.S.R. fought alongside each other. Jackson charts the intense Allied military activity in Iran and Iraq and reveals how deeply the war impacted common people's lives. He also provides revelations about the true nature of Anglo-American relations in the region, the beginnings of the Cold War, and the continuing corrosive legacy of Western influence in these lands.
World War II by ISBN: 9781780745107Publication Date: 2014-08-07With over sixty million casualties World War II was the bloodiest conflict in history. In this incisive introduction, Christopher Catherwood covers all the key battles, while giving the wider story behind them. He also brings a fresh angle to the conflict, emphasising the huge impact of the preceding Sino-Japanese War on World War II and the relative unimportance of the British campaign in Africa. From the impact of the Hiroshima bombing to the horrors wreaked by the Red Army and the Nazis, Catherwood makes clear the legacy of the war today. Full of text-boxes revealing key details about intelligence, weaponry, and the social milieu of the conflict, there is no better brief introduction.
Hitler's Winter by ISBN: 9781472847393Publication Date: 2022-06-09'What a brilliant book this is... a terrific narrative of Hitler's Ardennes offensive of December 1944 - superb storytelling that achieves a skilful balance between drama and detail.' - James Holland The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive in the West. Launched in the depths of winter to neutralize the overwhelming Allied air superiority, three German armies attacked through the Ardennes, the weakest part of the American lines, with the aim of splitting the Allied armies and seizing the vital port of Antwerp within a week. It was a tall order, as the Panzers had to get across the Our, Amblève, Ourthe and Meuse rivers, and the desperate battle became a race against time and the elements, which the Germans would eventually lose. But Hitler's dramatic counterattack did succeed in catching the Allies off guard in what became the largest and bloodiest battle fought by US forces during the war. In this book, Anthony Tucker-Jones tells the story of the battle from the German point of view, from the experiences of the infantrymen and panzer crewmen fighting on the ground in the Ardennes to the operational decisions of senior commanders such as SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich and General Hasso von Manteuffel that did so much to decide the fate of the offensive. Drawing on new research, Hitler's Winter provides a fresh perspective on one of the most famous battles of World War II.
The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by ISBN: 9781982163587Publication Date: 2022-11-29A thrilling, vivid, and highly detailed account of the epic siege during one of World War II's most important battles, told by the brilliant British editor-turned-historian and author of Checkpoint Charlie, Iain MacGregor. To the Soviet Union, the sacrifices that enabled the country to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II are sacrosanct. The foundation of the Soviets' hard-won victory was laid during the battle for the city of Stalingrad, resting on the banks of the river Volga. To Russians it was a pivotal landmark of their nation's losses, with more than two million civilians and combatants either killed, wounded, or captured during the bitter fighting from September 1942 to February 1943. Both sides endured terrible conditions in brutal, relentless house-to-house fighting. Within this life-and-death struggle, Soviet war correspondents lauded the fight for a key strategic building in the heart of the city, "Pavlov's House," which was situated on the frontline and codenamed "The Lighthouse." The legend grew of a small garrison of Russian soldiers from the 13th Guards Rifle Division holding out against the Germans of the Sixth Army, which had battled its way to the very center of Stalingrad. A report about the battle in a local Red Army newspaper would soon grow and be repeated on Moscow radio and in countless national newspapers. By the end of the war, the legend would gather further momentum and inspire Russians to rebuild their destroyed towns and cities. This story has become a pillar of the Stalingrad legend and one that can now be analyzed and told accurately. The Lighthouse of Stalingrad sheds new light on this iconic battle through the prism of the two units who fought for the very heart of the city itself. Iain MacGregor traveled to both German and Russian archives to unearth previously unpublished testimonies by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. His riveting narrative lays to rest the questions as to the identity of the real heroes of this epic battle for one of the city's most famous buildings and provides authoritative answers as to how the battle finally ended and influenced the conclusion of the siege of Stalingrad.
Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the battle of Manila by ISBN: 9780393246940Publication Date: 2018-10-30Before World War II, Manila was a slice of America in Asia, populated with elegant neoclassical buildings, spacious parks, and home to thousands of U.S. servicemen and business executives who enjoyed the relaxed pace of the tropics. The outbreak of the war, however, brought an end to the good life. General Douglas MacArthur, hoping to protect the Pearl of the Orient, declared the Philippine capital an open city and evacuated his forces. The Japanese seized Manila on January 2, 1942, rounding up and interning thousands of Americans. MacArthur, who escaped soon after to Australia, famously vowed to return. For nearly three years, he clawed his way north, obsessed with redeeming his promise and turning his earlier defeat into victory. By early 1945, he prepared to liberate Manila, a city whose residents by then faced widespread starvation. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city as he did, MacArthur planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard. But the enemy had other plans. Determined to fight to the death, Japanese marines barricaded intersections, converted buildings into fortresses, and booby-trapped stores, graveyards, and even dead bodies. The twenty-nine-day battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population. Landmarks were demolished, houses were torched, suspected resistance fighters were tortured and killed, countless women were raped, and their husbands and children were murdered. American troops had no choice but to battle the enemy, floor by floor and even room by room, through schools, hospitals, and even sports stadiums. In the end, an estimated 100,000 civilians lost their lives in a massacre as heinous as the Rape of Nanking. Based on extensive research in the United States and the Philippines, including war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.
The Nanking Atrocity, 1937-1938 by ISBN: 9781785336744Publication Date: 2017-08-01First published in 2007, The Nanking Atrocity remains an essential resource for understanding the massacre committed by Japanese soldiers in Nanking, China during the winter of 1937-38. Through a series of deeply considered and empirically rigorous essays, it provides a far more complex and nuanced perspective than that found in works like Iris Chang's bestselling The Rape of Nanking. It systematically reveals the flaws and exaggerations in Chang's book while deflating the self-exculpatory narratives that persist in Japan even today. This second edition includes an extensive new introduction by the editor reflecting on the historiographical developments of the last decade, in advance of the 80th anniversary of the massacre.
The Holocaust: history and memory by ISBN: 9780253022042Publication Date: 2016-08-14Brilliant and wrenching, The Holocaust: History and Memorytells the story of the brutal mass slaughter of Jews during World War II and how that genocide has been remembered and misremembered ever since. Taking issue with generations of scholars who separate the Holocaust from Germany's military ambitions, historian Jeremy M. Black demonstrates persuasively that Germany's war on the Allies was entwined with Hitler's war on Jews. As more and more territory came under Hitler's control, the extermination of Jews became a major war aim, particularly in the east, where many died and whole Jewish communities were exterminated in mass shootings carried out by the German army and collaborators long before the extermination camps were built. Rommel's attack on Egypt was a stepping stone to a larger goal--the annihilation of 400,000 Jews living in Palestine. After Pearl Harbor, Hitler saw America's initial focus on war with Germany rather than Japan as evidence of influential Jewish interests in American policy, thus justifying and escalating his war with Jewry through the Final Solution. And the German public knew. In chilling detail, Black unveils compelling evidence that many everyday Germans must have been aware of the genocide around them. In the final chapter, he incisively explains the various ways that the Holocaust has been remembered, downplayed, and even dismissed as it slips from horrific experience into collective consciousness and memory. Essential, concise, and highly readable, The Holocaust: History and Memorybears witness to those forever silenced and ensures that we will never forget their horrifying fate.
America and the Holocaust : a documentary history by ISBN: 9780827615182Publication Date: 2022-05-01The first comprehensive volume to teach about America's response to the Holocaust through visual media, America and the Holocaust: A Documentary History explores the complex subject through the lens of one hundred important documents that help illuminate and amplify key episodes and issues. Each chapter pivots on five key documents: two in image form and three in text form. Individual introductions that contextualize the documents are followed by explanatory text, analysis of historical implications, and suggestions for further reading. A concluding state-of-the-field essay documents how scholars have arrived at the presented information. A complementary teacher's guide with questions for discussion is available online. The twenty chapters address a broad range of subjects and events, among them America's response to Hitler's rise, U.S. public opinion about Jews, immigration policy, the Wagner-Rogers bill to save children, American rescuers, news coverage of atrocities, American Jewish and Christian responses to the Holocaust, the campaign for U.S. rescue action, the question of bombing Auschwitz, and liberation. Viewing real documents as a means to understanding core issues will deepen reader involvement with this material. High school and college students as well as general readers of all levels of knowledge will be engaged in understanding this crucial chapter in American history and weighing questions regarding mass atrocities in our own era.
Americans and the Holocaust: a reader by ISBN: 9781978821682Publication Date: 2021-11-30What did the American people and the US government know about the threats posed by Nazi Germany? What could have been done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe's Jews? Americans and the Holocaust explores these enduring questions by gathering together more than one hundred primary sources that reveal how Americans debated their responsibility to respond to Nazism. Drawing on groundbreaking research conducted for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Americans and the Holocaust exhibition, these carefully chosen sources help readers understand how Americans' responses to Nazism were shaped by the challenging circumstances in the United States during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, including profound economic crisis, fear of communism, pervasive antisemitism and racism, and widespread isolationism. Collecting newspaper and magazine articles, popular culture materials, and government records, Americans and the Holocaust is a valuable resource for students and historians seeking to shed light on this dark era in world history. To explore further, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's digital exhibit, available here: https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/americans-and-the-holocaust Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
