World War II

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Court Orders Japan to Compensate WW2 Sex Slaves

Tokyo refuses to accept 'comfort women' ruling

(Newser) - A South Korean court has ordered Japan to pay compensation to a dozen women who were forced into sexual slavery by its military during World War II—but seven of them have died since the lawsuit was filed in 2013, and the survivors may not live to see the money....

Pastor Finds 500-Year-Old Church Bell Taken by Nazis

BBC reports it will be returned to its former home in Poland

(Newser) - A 500-year-old church bell will be returned to its former home in Poland some 77 years after it was stolen by the Nazis. Nazis made off with an estimated 80,000 bells, most of which were melted down for their metal and used to make weapons and ammunition during World...

He Was Taking Off on Suicide Mission When the War Ended

Kamikaze pilot Kazuo Odachi is telling his story

(Newser) - He's a 93-year-old former fighter pilot for Japan, but Kazuo Odachi has one more highly unusual entry on his military resume. He was a kamikaze pilot and thus not supposed to survive World War II. But as the New York Times explains, Odachi did indeed survive and has begun...

In 4 Museum Heists, Thieves Went After the Same Thing

A fortune's worth of Nazi uniforms stolen in Europe since March

(Newser) - Thieves set up a roadblock of tires, parked a fake police car beside it, then smashed down the door of the Eyewitness War Museum in the Netherlands, from which they took $1.5 million in World War II memorabilia in just five minutes, per the New York Times . "It...

Giant WWII Bomb Explodes During Defusing

It was under water, and no injuries were reported near Swinoujscie, Poland

(Newser) - A plan to safely defuse an enormous World War II bomb found in Poland didn't go according to plan on Tuesday. The six-ton British "Tallboy," found under water last year in a canal in the city of Swinoujscie, instead detonated, reports the BBC . Luckily, nobody was hurt,...

Nazi Symbols Help Identify Ship That Sank 80 Years Ago

Torpedoed warship sits upright 1,600 feet below the surface

(Newser) - The swastikas gave it away. Eighty years after a British submarine sank the German warship Karlsruhe during World War II, images from a remotely operated vehicle have helped identify the wreckage. The cruiser is sitting upright 1,607 feet below the surface off the southern coast of Norway, Live Science...

He Described a &#39;Satanic World&#39; in 1.8K Pages. It Wasn&#39;t Fiction
He Described a 'Satanic World'
in 1.8K Pages. It Wasn't Fiction
in case you missed it

He Described a 'Satanic World' in 1.8K Pages. It Wasn't Fiction

'NYT Magazine' revisits Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz's Holocaust diary

(Newser) - That Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz's Holocaust diary exists at all is staggering; that it numbers more than 1,800 pages even more so. He wrote it over the course of nearly two years spent at Dachau, a feat managed in part because of the job he was assigned as an office...

Memo 'Steeped in Anti-Semitic Language' Found in Pius' Archives

But church experts say careful study and context is needed before jumping to conclusions

(Newser) - For decades, historians, academics, and Jewish advocacy groups have longed to catch a glimpse of Pope Pius XII's wartime records, kept under lock and key in the Vatican's archives. Earlier this year, the Vatican finally unsealed those records , though the archives were open for less than a week...

A Legendary Voice From WWII Is Dead
A Legendary
Voice From
WWII Is Dead
OBITUARY

A Legendary Voice From WWII Is Dead

British singer Vera Lynn, known for such wartime hits as 'We'll Meet Again,' dies at age 103

(Newser) - A legendary voice from World War II has been silenced. A statement from the family of Dame Vera Lynn says they are "deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain's best-loved entertainers" on Thursday morning in Ditchling, East Sussex, "surrounded by her close family."...

SS Officer's Diary Points to Billions in Looted Gold

Owners of Polish palace plan to search for buried well

(Newser) - Rumors of a Nazi gold train in Poland resulted in nothing . But a new gold rush could be coming with the airing of a 75-year-old diary written by an SS officer in charge of transport, who describes 11 locations where Nazis hid gold, jewels, priceless paintings, and religious artifacts. The...

In Berlin, New May Holiday Sends 'Unmistakable Message'

City makes May 8 a public holiday to commemorate end of WWII, Nazi rule

(Newser) - The US and Britain recognize May 8 as a special date—and now Berlin is joining them, even going so far as to make it a public holiday. Victory in Europe Day commemorates May 8, 1945, the day when German troops surrendered to the Soviets, effectively ending World War II....

After 78 Years, Calif. Will Apologize to Japanese Americans

State will apologize for its role in internment

(Newser) - Les Ouchida was born an American just outside California's capital city but his citizenship mattered little after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the US declared war. Based solely on their Japanese ancestry, the 5-year-old and his family were taken from their home in 1942 and imprisoned far away in...

Unexploded WWII Bomb Prompts Evacuation

Construction workers find a leftover from the war

(Newser) - Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate an area of central London after construction workers found an unexploded bomb left from World War II. The discovery was made Monday afternoon in the Soho district, which includes offices as well as restaurants, bars and other businesses. Streets in the area...

Navy to Name Aircraft Carrier for Black Pearl Harbor Hero

Doris Miller was 1st African American to be awarded Navy Cross

(Newser) - When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Doris "Dorie" Miller was a mess hall attendant who had been busy collecting laundry aboard the USS West Virginia. In the 90 minutes that followed, he later said, he "forgot all about" the fact that...

Hikers Find Skeleton That Goes Way, Way Back

Giichi Matsumura had left the Manzanar internment camp to paint

(Newser) - A skeleton found by hikers this fall near California's second-highest peak was identified Friday as a Japanese American artist who had left the Manzanar internment camp to paint in the mountains in the waning days of World War II, the AP reports. The Inyo County sheriff used DNA to...

Sub That 80 Americans Died On Found After 75 Years
Sub That 80 Americans 
Died on Found After 75 Years
in case you missed it

Sub That 80 Americans Died on Found After 75 Years

The USS Grayback was lost in 1944

(Newser) - A determined American explorer has discovered a submarine lost for 75 years—and the final resting place of 80 American servicemen. Tim Taylor, who runs a project dedicated to finding the 52 US submarines lost in action during World War II, says his team has found the USS Grayback off...

WWII Wreck of US Fighter Plane Now Protected

Lockheed P-38 Lightning surfaces occasionally off Welsh coast

(Newser) - The wreck of a US fighter plane that crashed off the coast of Wales in World War II should be around for years to come thanks to new protections. The site of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning has been given protected status by the Welsh historic environment service, Cadw. It's...

This Is the Deepest Shipwreck Ever Found
More Than 20K Feet
Deep, a Major Find
in case you missed it

More Than 20K Feet Deep, a Major Find

WWII destroyer believed to be USS Johnston found in Philippine Sea, the deepest shipwreck ever

(Newser) - It's the deepest shipwreck ever found—one caked in US history. Experts aboard the Research Vessel Petrel believe they've found the wreck of the USS Johnston some 20,400 feet, or nearly 4 miles, below the waves of the Philippine Sea, where it came to rest in the...

Team Finds 2 Warships Sunk During Battle of Midway

Japanese aircraft carriers went down in decisive WWII battle

(Newser) - Two warships that went down in one of history's most pivotal naval battles have been found in American waters. Vulcan Inc. confirmed Sunday that a team searching for sunken warships from the Battle of Midway had found the wreck of the Akagi, one of four aircraft carriers that Japan...

Mayor Seeks US Apology for 1944 Deaths of 184 Children

Newly found American bomb is defused in another Italian city

(Newser) - Milan's mayor is asking the US to apologize for a World War II bombing raid that killed 184 elementary school children. The news agency ANSA said Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala made the request following a Mass marking the 75th anniversary of the Gorla massacre, named for the quarter in...

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