This is D-Day, as told through the real voices of those who were in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The National WWII Museum’s archival collection features over 12,000 personal narratives, including voices of those who fought on D-Day.

In this special episode of World War II On Topic, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy Senior Historian Mark Calhoun, PhD, and Distinguished Fellow Rob Citino, PhD, discuss the legacy of D-Day, 80 years after the consequential invasion of Normandy began. Catch up on all episodes of World War II On Topic and be sure to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Click HERE to follow the new podcast by The National WWII Museum: Making Masters of the Air. Masters of the Air is an Apple Original series from executive producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific, streaming January 26 on Apple TV+. The series follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. ...

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb.  In this episode, Jason Dawsey, PhD, and John Curatola, PhD, historians with the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, discuss the legacy of the Manhattan Project. To read more visit our Manhattan Project topics page: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/manhattan-project

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb.  The anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima was August 6. In this episode, we hear from two extraordinary people who experienced the bombing, albeit from vastly different perspectives. While much has been written and said on the subject, these are firsthand recollections, excerpted from the oral histories...

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb.  In this episode, Jason Dawsey, PhD & John Curatola, PhD, historians with the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, discuss the film Oppenheimer, released July 21, 2023. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer was adapted from the biography American Prometheus: The...

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb.  In this episode, we take a closer look at Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project. While a lot of interest is rightfully set on Oppenheimer, Groves proves to be an interesting character and pivotal player in the development of the bomb. During the Museum’s 2015 International...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. At the 2012 International Conference on World War II, we were privileged to listen to a conversation between renowned author, Rick Atkinson and World War II Veterans Walt Ehlers & Gerhard Hennes. Walt served in the 3rd Infantry Division of the US Army in North Africa. He then served with the 1st Infantry Division in Normandy where he performed actions that were later awarded the...

This is World War II on Topic: Veteran Voices. This episode is a collaboration between the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy and the Curatorial Services Department. Back in May 2021, when Senior Curator, Kim Guise, had a conversation with WWII Veteran and Concentration Camp Liberator Alan Moskin. Moskin was a member of the 66th Regiment of the 71st Infantry Division and participated in the Liberation of the Gunskirchen concentration camp in May 1945. He...

This is World War II On Topic: Veteran Voices. This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Media Center and  Education Department. Back in 2020, Seth Paridon had a special conversation with Medal of Honor Recipient and Museum champion, Hershel “Woody” Williams to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. Woody shares his experiences and memories of the brutal 36-day fight, as well as his postwar efforts to establish a Memorial to Gold Star Families in all 50 states. If...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. At our 15th International Conference in 2022, we had the privilege to hear from Nicole Spangenberg in conversation with the Institute’s Senior Historian, Dr. Steph Hinnershitz.  Nicole, as a teenager working with the French Resistance, assisted with daring missions to aid her country in the struggle against Nazi occupation. From delivering supplies and messages for her local resistance...

This is World War II on Topic: Veteran Voices. This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Education Department and The Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War & Democracy. In April 2020, Dr. Tyler Bamford, who was serving as the Institute’s Leventhal Research Fellow, had a conversation with Museum Volunteer and World War II Veteran, Steve Ellis. Steve served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946 aboard LST-751. He took part in the campaigns to liberate the Philippines and survived...

Welcome to a special season of World War II on Topic: Veteran Voices. Where we listen to firsthand accounts from those who lived through the war. This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War & Democracy. At our 2022 International Conference, we were “lucky” to hear from Veteran John “Lucky” Luckadoo, who was interviewed by Dr. Donald Miller, the author of  “Master’s of the Air.” Lucky served as a pilot and copilot with the 100th Bomb Group...

In April of 2021, Research Historian, Kali Martin, discussed the three services, that were all under the Department of the Navy, with each branch incorporating women reservists in a unique way.   In 1942, the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard opened their ranks to most women. Despite more stringent enlistment requirements put on women, compared to their male counterparts, by the end of the war, more than one hundred 15 thousand women had joined the WAVES, SPARS, and Women Reservists. ...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.   Today we are traveling back to August 20th, 2021, to a conversation with Dr. Jeffrey H. Jackson, Professor of History at Rhodes College, about his book, “Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis.”   The book and the program focused on the story of an audacious anti-Nazi resistance campaign conducted by a pair of unlikely women—Lucy Schwob and Suzanne...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Education Department.   Back on November 3rd, 2021, Dr. Zachary Isenhower gave a lecture entitled: “Defining Patriotism: Native Military Figures & the Long Fight for Equality.”   Dr. Isenhower is an Instructor at Louisiana State University teaching Native American History.   The lecture explored how the history of Native military service illustrated Native struggles for equality, as well as the contradictions and ironies of how white...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War & Democracy. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, join us for a conversation from July 2020 with Dave Gutierrez, author of Patriots From The Barrio. Patriots From The Barrio is a true World War II story of the men that served in the US Army's all Mexican American Combat unit, Company E, 141st Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division. The 141st Regiment is the oldest fighting unit in the...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War & Democracy and The Media & Education Center.   Today we are taking a listen to a discussion we hosted during our Memory Wars: World War II at 75 and Beyond virtual conference, held in March of 2022.    It was chaired by our own Research Historian, Dr. Jason Dawsey and featured guests Dr. Omer Bartov, the John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History at Brown University, and...

Today’s episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.   In February 2022, Dr. Jason Dawsey, Research Historian for the museum, talked with Dr. Yoshikuni Igarashi, one of the country's leading authorities on postwar Japan.   On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had agreed to the Allies’ terms laid out in the Potsdam Declaration,   This left many questions about the future...

Today’s episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy and The Media & Education Center.   We are going back to 2020, when Dr. Ed Lengel, then the Museum’s Senior Director of Programs, hosted a webinar with President Harry Truman’s grandson - Clifton Truman Daniel -  and Paul Sparrow, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Director.   They presented Roosevelt’s and Truman’s roles in the Manhattan Project  and the...

Today’s episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.   Richard B. Frank, renowned Military historian, author, and Presidential Counselor at the Museum delivered the keynote address at the Museum's 2011 International Conference on World War II.   Richard’s first book, Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, won the US Marine Corps’ General Wallace M. Greene Award, and his most recent book, Tower of Skulls, is the...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.   Today we are traveling back to a 2020 Meet-the-Author webinar between our own Research Historian, Dr. Jason Dawsey, and Dr. Victoria de Grazia, the Moore Collegiate Professor of History at Columbia University and author of The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s Italy.   Dr. de Grazia discussed her book, which tells the story of fascist, Attilio...

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. We are taking a trip back to 2020 where our own Research Historian, Dr. Jason Dawsey had a discussion with Dr. Michael Neiberg, the inaugural Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College. This conversation commemorated the anniversary of The Potsdam conference, which started on July 17, 1945. Doctors Dawsey and Neiberg...

On June 2, 2020, we had a roundtable discussion on the significance of D-Day and its legacy. Led by Dawn Hammatt, Director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, the roundtable features historians Dr. Allyson Stanton instructor at Gogebic community college, Dr. Benjamin Schneider instructor at George Mason University and Dr. Tyler Bamford, the National WWII Museum’s inaugural Sherry and Alan Leventhal Research Fellow.