WWII Photo Archive
Rare and powerful images from World War II — photographs that tell stories words alone cannot.
Ruins of Lidice
Aerial photograph showing the completely destroyed village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, after the Nazi retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
Night Witches Polikarpov Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 biplane used by the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment (the 'Night Witches') of the Soviet Air Force. These wooden crop-duster planes were so quiet they could glide silently to their targets with engine cut
Bletchley Park Turing Bombe
The Bombe machine at Bletchley Park — based on Polish cryptologist Marian Rejewski's prototype design — used to decode German Enigma-encrypted messages
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Jewish resistance fighters during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, standing amid the ruins of the ghetto after weeks of fighting the Waffen-SS
Sobibor memorial
Memorial at the site of the former Sobibor extermination camp, showing the path prisoners took during the October 1943 escape
Ghost Army Inflatable Tank
A fully inflated Sherman tank dummy used by the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops to deceive German intelligence about Allied force strength
Les Diables Rouges de la Pointe du Hoc
The German observation bunker at Pointe du Hoc, showing the massive concrete structure built into the cliff face, with visible artillery craters from pre-invasion bombing
Landing craft approaching Normandy beaches
LCVP landing craft (Higgins boats) carrying U.S. troops toward the Normandy beaches on D-Day morning, 6 June 1944
Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches
The remnants of the artificial Mulberry harbor at Arromanches, showing massive concrete caisson structures in the water that formed the breakwater for the artificial port
Omaha Beach Landing
American troops wading through water carrying their heavy equipment during the Utah Beach landing, with obstacles and hedgehogs visible in the foreground
Wojtek the Bear carrying artillery shell
Wojtek the bear, formally enlisted as a private in the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps, carrying an artillery shell crate during the Battle of Monte Cassino
Pegasus Bridge Memorial
The original Pegasus Bridge preserved as a memorial in Benouville, Normandy, one of the first objectives captured on D-Day
Horsa glider
A Horsa glider, one of the six that landed with pinpoint precision near Pegasus Bridge on D-Day, carrying Major John Howard's 181 men
German Atlantic Wall bunker
A massive concrete German bunker from the Atlantic Wall, still standing on the Normandy coastline, with gun emplacements visible
Rhino tank modification
An M4 Sherman tank fitted with 'Rhino' hedgerow-cutting devices — steel teeth welded to the front plow through the ancient Normandy hedgerows
Truk Lagoon wreck diving site
One of the preserved Japanese shipwrecks in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia — the 'Japan's Pearl Harbor' — showing rusting military hardware on the ocean floor
Castle Itter Austria
Castle Itter in Austria where American soldiers and German Wehrmacht troops fought side by side against Waffen-SS forces to protect French prisoners
Liberation of concentration camp
U.S. soldiers and emaciated survivors at a liberated concentration camp — one of the most powerful images of WWII