Explore History
Learn More about World War II
PBS
Hibakusha: Stories of Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the moments when those bombs changed millions of lives across multiple generations — and survivors still feel the impacts.
Ken Burns | The US & The Holocaust
How Can We Learn from History?
The facts of what actually happened cannot be changed. But the lessons from events, individuals, and actions of the past can help identify choices we might make to shape our individual and collective futures.
PBS
Documentaries About World War 2 and the Making of the Atom Bomb
From the the Manhattan project to the Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Cold War, explore dozens of shows on WWII and its aftermath.
PBS News Hour
As Hiroshima's 80th anniversary nears, Japan's royal couple honor A-bomb victims
Emperor Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance to remember and keep telling the tragedy of the war to younger generations.
American Experience
The Propaganda and Warning Leaflet the US Dropped on Japan
B-29's also carried a non-lethal payload over Japan: leaflets urging the Japanese people to surrender.
PBS
Best World War 2 Documentaries on PBS
Learn more about the world's greatest war by those who lived through it.
American Experience
When President Truman Announced the Bombing of Hiroshima
The press statement issued when Truman informed the nation that an atomic weapon was detonated in Japan.
Ken Burns | The War
The War: A Timeline
A multimedia timeline of the key events during and that lead up to US involvement in World War II.
American Experience
Major Pacific Battles in World War II
A written timeline covering the June 1944 to the war's final weeks.
Ken Burns | The US & The HOLOcaust
Interactive: Voyage of the MS St. Louis
For 35 uncertain days in 1939, the MS St. Louis traversed the Atlantic – from Europe to North America and back – carrying more than 900 passengers, most of them Jewish refugees seeking a haven from Nazi persecution.
American Experience
Accounts of the Horrors of War in the Pacific
Civilians and combatants share their memories of the conflict, including a B-29 co-pilot, tank battalion officer and 18-year-old student nurse.
Ken Burns | Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War
Interactive | The Sharps' Journey
In 1936, Waitstill and Martha Sharp left their children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed to a life-threatening mission in Europe.
American Experience
Truman's Diary: Invade or Bomb?
Read excerpt of President Truman's diary as he considered how to end the war.
PBS News Hour
The intrepid journalist who exposed Hiroshima's horror
After the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, it was another year before first-hand accounts emerged. Journalist John Hersey helped expose the bomb’s lasting damage.
American Experience
The Costs of War
As American forces won territory ever nearer to Japan, military planners on both sides used casualty figures to construct their strategies.
Rogue History
The Colonial Mean Girl Who Almost Ended America
Peggy Shippen came closer to ending the American Revolution than any general ever did.
In the Margins
The Forgotten Courtroom Dramas That Put Freedom On Trial
In The Margins is a series that covers the history they didn’t teach in school.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipSupport for PBS provided by:
The best of PBS, straight to your inbox.
Be the first to know about what to watch, exclusive previews, and updates from PBS.