Photographs

Jan Baalsrud was a commando in the Norwegian resistance trained by the British in World War Two. In 1941 Baalsrud participated in Operation Martin, which was a clandestine action aiming to organize secret resistance groups in Tromso, in German occupied Norway, and to destroy a German airfield control tower. When …

British propaganda image during the Battle of Britain, 1940, showing children and an older girl (maybe their teacher) protecting themselves from German air raids in a dug out trench, acting as an improvised bomb shelter. Book suggestion ⤵️ 📖 The Blitz: The British Under Attack (Juliet Gardiner, 2010)

A Japanese Kawanishi H8K2 “Emily” Flying Boat shot down by a PB4Y-1 heavy bomber (consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft used by the US Navy) on July 2nd, 1944, in the Central Pacific. The Japanese Kawanishi H8K (and the improved H8K2) was a large four engined aircraft designed to land and operate …

The bombing of Dresden (13-15 February 1945) has been a highly controversial topic of debate over the years. Trying to force Germany into submission, the British and the Americans bombed a civilian city with little strategic importance, killing around 25.000 civilians in the process. During and after the war propaganda …

Swedish boy runs ahead of his mother towards the parade in which his father is marching. June 19th, 1941, Stockholm. Sweden maintained neutrality throughout World War II, although it did make a few concessions, initially to Germany, and then to the Western Allies. Sweden sold large quantities of iron ore …

Actresses Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth serving food to soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen in Hollywood, California. November 17th, 1942. The Hollywood Canteen was open between October 3rd 1942 and November 22nd 1945. It provided food, dancing and entertainment for soldiers and servicemen, who were usually on their way overseas. …

On August 23rd 1944, King Michael I of Romania (pictured here with Adolf Hitler at the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, 1940) staged a coup to overthrow Romania’s head of state and Hitler supporter, Marshal Ion Antonescu. With the tides of the war turning and with the Soviets already inside …

Italian submarine Cobalto before sinking, showing massive gun-fire damage to its conning tower inflicted by the British destroyer HMS Ithuriel. August 12th, 1942. Operation Pedestal was an attempt by the British Royal Navy to carry supplies, particularly fuel, to Malta. It took place between 3-15 August 1942. The convoys were …

Hermann Goering, Reichsmarschall and Supreme Luftwaffe Commander, with flying ace Adolf Galland, Lieutenant General of the Luftwaffe, reviewing documents. Date and location of the picture are unclear, although the photo was likely taken in 1941. Galland was one of the legendary pilots of WW2. He survived being shot down four …

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (the “Desert Fox”) with British POW’s at the French port of St Valery-en-Caux during the Dunkirk evacuation (1940). Erwin Rommel was a distinguished officer in World War One and one of the central figures of World War Two. In WW2, Rommel earned a reputation as one …