We do not usually give so much space to the work of men we admire so little. So began a remarkable editor’s note to LIFE’s readers in an April 1970 issue of the magazine, introducing a photographer ...

On Sept. 1, 1939, one week after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, more than a million German troops—along with 50,000 Slovakian soldiers—invaded Poland. Two weeks later, ...

Born from the defeat of World War One, the new German government, the Weimar Republic, faced a series of challenges economically, politically, socially and internationally. What challenges were faced ...

I went on holiday to Germany, in July 1939. Staying at Berchtesgarden. My bedroom window in the hotel overlooked Hitler's house, the Berghof. One day at breakfast, I was approached by three SS ...

On 1 September 1939, the British ambassador in Berlin issued an ultimatum to the German government urging it to cease all aggressive activities in Poland and withdraw. Two days later, at 10.00am, this ...

Hitler pursued these aims ruthlessly, and in doing so helped to bring about World War Two, as the following table shows: Year Events Reaction of other European powers Aims addressed 1935 In March, ...

German-American Bund leader Fritz Kuhn promises to make Germany and America great once more at a rally at Irving Park and Narragansett on June 18, 1939. Credit: Chicago Daily Times It might seem ...

Two historic telegrams to the British Home Fleet alerting it that war had been declared on Germany in 1939 are set to go up for auction on Friday. Two coded messages from the start of the Second World ...