World War II has an extensive and complicated history that many historians and scholars still debate today. It is widely believed that the war began on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, though some historians argue that it actually started two years earlier when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The conflict only heightened from then on as approximately 70 countries– primarily the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allied powers (France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China)– participated in the war.

During this time, many notable figures rose to power, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States), Prime Minister Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), Premier Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union), Dictator Adolf Hitler (Germany), Dictator Benito Mussolini (Italy), and many more. These world leaders held significant influence over the events and impacts of World War II in their countries. While some made efforts to end the war peacefully, others were responsible for the deaths of millions more as the horrors of genocide ran concurrently with the war.

After approximately five years of devastating battle, World War II officially ended on September 2, 1945, when Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japanese Emperor Hirohito had previously announced the country's surrender on August 15, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. American President Harry S. Truman declared it "Victory over Japan Day," and a global celebration for the war's end emerged. However, the catastrophic consequences of the war would not soon be forgotten.

Casualties of World War II are inexact, but many historians attribute at least 35 million deaths to the tragedy, making it the deadliest military conflict in history. Millions more are estimated to have been wounded or permanently disabled by their military service, leading to lifelong suffering. Through the work of filmmakers and documentarians today, we can memorialize and honor the brave contributions of fallen soldiers and surviving veterans alike. 

Thunder Under The Big Sky

Presented by Montana PBS, Thunder Under The Big Sky, gives a look at the history of Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. Fifteen-thousand military planes roared into Great Falls during World War II. Three years later, courageous Air Force pilots and crews trained 24-hours a day in Great Falls preparing for the Berlin Airlift. They stopped the Cold War blockade, and probably prevented World War III.

Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)

"Yearning to Breathe Free" is an episode in The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film created by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein. As World War II begins, Americans are united in their disapproval of Nazi brutality but divided on whether to act. Some individuals and organizations work tirelessly to help refugees escape. Meanwhile, Charles Lindbergh and isolationists battle with Roosevelt to try to keep America out of the war. Germany invades the Soviet Union and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.

Stream the full documentary on PBS Passport.

A Grave Injustice

"A Grave Justice," an episode in VPM's The Future of America's Past, analyzes the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. military and the FBI arrested more than 110,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry. Taken to desert camps and confined for months or years, many of these Americans lost their homes and businesses. We visit the largest of these camps, now a National Park Service site — and meet those keeping memory alive.

A Tribute to One-Puka-Puka

A Tribute to One-Puka-Puka is a doucmentary presented by PBS Hawai'i. The battalion, formed during World War II, was initially made up largely of Nisei (second-generation) Japanese Americans from Hawai‘i. The battalion, formed during World War II, was initially made up largely of Nisei (second-generation) Japanese Americans from Hawai‘i. After WWII, the battalion was mobilized during the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars. Today, the Hawai‘i-based battalion is the only infantry unit in the U.S. Army Reserve, with additional units on American Samoa, Guam and Saipan. 

Great Escape at Dunkirk

This NOVA episode, Great Escape at Dunkirk, analyzes a critical turning point in World War II. As France fell to the German armies in May 1940, 400,000 Allied troops were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. Their annihilation seemed certain—a disaster that could have led to Britain’s surrender. But then, in a last-minute rescue, Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of tiny civilian boats evacuated hundreds of thousands of soldiers to safety across the Channel—the legendary “miracle of Dunkirk.”