Atomic Heritage Foundation

In partnership with the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

World War II History

World War II History

Unit 731

Date: 
Friday, May 4, 2018
Unit 731, located in Harbin, China, was a secret Japanese project that carried out human medical experiments during the 1930s and 1940s.

Bataan Death March

Date: 
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
On April 9, 1942, the American troops on the Bataan Peninsula of the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese. The captured men were then subjected to the torturous Bataan Death March.

Gallery

  • Photo courtesy of the National Archives

    Bodies on the Death March

  • Photo courtesy of the National Archives

    WWII Poster referencing Bataan as a motivator for war efforts.

  • Photo courtesy of the National Archives

    Surrender flyer from the Japanese

     

The Incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II

Date: 
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered the "evacuation" of Japanese Americans to relocation and internment camps under Executive Order 9066.

Gallery

  • Francis Stewart WRA collection

    Newly arrived evacuees are registered and assigned barrack apartments at this War Relocation Authority center.

  • Impromptu baseball game at Santa Anita Assembly Center

    Impromptu baseball game at Santa Anita Assembly Center

  • President Gerald R. Ford Signing a Proclamation Confirming the Termination of Executive Order 9066 in the Cabinet Room

    President Gerald R. Ford Signing a Proclamation Confirming the Termination of Executive Order 9066 in the Cabinet Room

  • Apology Letter from President Bush, 1990

    Apology Letter from President Bush, 1990

Attack on Pearl Harbor - 1941

Date: 
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the US into World War II.

Gallery

  • A photograph of Pearl Harbor and Battleship Row, taken on October 30, 1941

    A photograph of Pearl Harbor and Battleship Row, taken on October 30, 1941

  • A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" fighter airplane of the second wave takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi on the morning of December 7, 1941

    A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" fighter airplane of the second wave takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi on the morning of December 7, 1941

  • Battleship USS West Virginia under attack

    Battleship USS West Virginia under attack

  • Destroyer USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated

    Destroyer USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated

  • The USS Arizona under attack

    The USS Arizona under attack

  • Sailors stand amid wrecked planes at the Ford Island seaplane base, watching as USS Shaw explodes in the center background

    Sailors stand amid wrecked planes at the Ford Island seaplane base, watching as USS Shaw explodes in the center background

  • Battleship USS Nevada attempting to escape from the harbor

    Battleship USS Nevada attempting to escape from the harbor

  • Battleship Row during the attack

    Battleship Row during the attack

  • View from Pier 1010 with USS Shaw and USS Nevada burning

    View from Pier 1010 with USS Shaw and USS Nevada burning

  • USS Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of the USS Downes and USS Cassin

    USS Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of the USS Downes and USS Cassin

  • A ship burning during the attack

    A ship burning during the attack

  • Pearl Harbor destruction

    Pearl Harbor destruction