WWII 75: Marching to Victory | April 11, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Liberation of Buchenwald
April 11, 1945
On April 11, GIs of the 6th Armored Division entered Buchenwald, the main camp in a large complex of concentration camps near Weimar that had recently been abandoned by German troops. American soldiers who liberated the camp were met by thousands of emaciated camp survivors. Shortly after the camp’s liberation, Bernard Bernstein reached Buchenwald and came face-to-face with the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. His story is part of the Truman Library’s archives, and it begins here…
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | April 1, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Battle of Okinawa
April 1, 1945 – Easter Sunday, April Fools’ Day, and codenamed “Love Day” by U.S. forces – must have seemed an unwarlike day for starting a major military operation. Yet it was on that date that American troops landed on the Pacific island of Okinawa, initiating one of the bloodiest and most important battles of World War II.
An Update on the Truman Library’s Transformation | March 27, 2020
The Truman Library’s transformative renovation project has made excellent progress through the winter. Below are updated photos taken on March 18. Read More
New at The Truman Library | March 18, 2020
Ernestine “Ernie” Wagner and Women’s Military Service
On June 12, 1948, Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act (WASIA) which allowed women to serve in official capacities in all four branches of the military. Most importantly, the act permitted women’s military service during peace time.
The WASIA paved the way for thousands of women’s military careers, including a Korean War veteran named Ernestine “Ernie” Wagner. Read More
TRU History | March 16, 2020
Harry Truman and the 1918 Pandemic
In 1918, the most severe pandemic in recent history spread through the world at alarming rates. Nearly one-third of the world’s population became infected and approximately 50 million people succumbed world wide — over half a million in the United States.
The H1N1 virus, popularly referred to as the Spanish flu, began wreaking havoc around the globe just as World War I was coming to an end.
Thousands of American soldiers remained in Europe after the war’s conclusion due to logistical transportation issues. One soldier awaiting transport was Captain Harry S. Truman who led Battery D of the 35th Division. Read More
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | March 9, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Tokyo Fire Raids
March 9, 1945
On the night of March 9-10, 1945, American B-29 bombers barraged Tokyo with napalm in the most devastating aerial bombardment in history.
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | February 23, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: Iwo Jima
February 23, 1945
The Iwo Jima Memorial in miniature is a small testament to tremendous courage.
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | February 13, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Bombing of Dresden
February 13-15, 1945
Seventy-five years ago, the Allied nations joined forces to defeat fascist brutality in Germany and Japan. That march to victory, however, was not without its own horror. Then as now, the bombing of Dresden exemplifies the cruelty of that cruelest of wars.
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | February 1, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Yalta Conference
February 1945
75 years ago, three men mapped the end of World War II. Did they also pave the way for a Cold War?
From February 4-11, 1945, the Crimean resort town of Yalta hosted some of the most powerful men in the world. These officials did not come to Yalta for relaxation, however. In what was only their second (and last) meeting together, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (along with other military and political figures of the “Big Three” nations) planned their final victory over the Axis powers and reached an agreement for governing Europe.
WWII 75: Marching to Victory | January 25, 2020
WWII highlights from the Truman Library’s archives and collections
Marching to Victory: The Battle of the Bulge
Thursday, January 25, 1945
How did the Allied forces win the bloodiest American battle of the deadliest war in human history?
On December 16, 1944, at the beginning of a historically frigid winter, the Germans launched what would be their final major offensive of World War II. Over the course of six weeks, Allied forces thwarted the German armies’ attempts to split them. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for American forces on the Western Front during WWII – 20,000 Americans were killed in this battle; tens of thousands more were wounded, missing, or captured. Despite these great losses, the Battle of the Bulge ended with an Allied victory 75 years ago today.