Independence Day 1951

ON JULY 4, 1951, Washington, D.C. held a grand celebration marking the 175th anniversary—the demisemiseptcentennial—of the Declaration of Independence.

At 9:30 p.m., President Truman delivered an address that still has the power to thrill, challenge and inspire. Amid rising global tensions, he spoke of American unity, the defense of freedom, and the improbable birth of a democratic republic at a time when monarchs ruled the world. Following his remarks, a fireworks display (billed as the nation’s largest) filled the night sky. Read More

WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

The United Nations
June 26, 1945

Popular depictions of World War II concentrate on paratroopers, goose-stepping Nazis, Holocaust victims, tanks, aircraft carriers, and other symbols of the world at arms and the deaths of millions of people. But violence was not the war’s only legacy.

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

Civil Rights
June 5, 1945

President Truman knew that victory in WWII depended on the full participation of “all available workers regardless of race, creed or color.” When Congress abruptly dropped appropriations for the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) – the agency in charge of protecting Americans from discrimination in defense industries or government – in the spring of 1945, Truman launched an impassioned defense of the FEPC and civil rights.

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

Victory Gardens
June 2, 1945

Although Nazi Germany had surrendered weeks earlier and the Japanese Empire was near collapse, President Truman sent a strong message to Americans on June 2, 1945 about winning the war…and winning the peace.

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

Germany Surrenders!
May 7, 1945

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany. 

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

The Death of Adolf Hitler
April 30, 1945

80 years ago today – with the Red Army only blocks away – Hitler killed himself in the Führerbunker beneath the city streets of Berlin.

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

The Liberation of Dachau
April 29, 1945

In April 1945, as the European war neared its end, one question loomed large: how would the Allies ensure that justice was served to the perpetrators of Dachau and other Nazi crimes against humanity?

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

“The President Is Dead”
April 12, 1945

On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman was just starting to relax after a day of presiding over the Senate when he was urgently summoned to the White House. There he received the unwelcome news that President Franklin Roosevelt had died and that he was now president.

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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.

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WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library

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.

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