Rare Photos From World War II
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An Abandoned Boy Sitting Amid The Ruins Of His London Home
Photo: Toni Frissell / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainAn abandoned boy sits clutching a stuffed animal amid the ruins that used to be his London home. This image was captured by Toni Frissell after a German air raid in 1945.
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A POW Stares Defiantly At Hitler's Right-Hand Man
Photo: National Archives at College Park / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainThis photo was taken in August 1941 when Hitler's right-hand man, Heinrich Himmler, visited a Shirokaya Street POW camp in Minsk, USSR.
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The Architect Of Auschwitz Right Before He Met His End
Photo: Stanisław Dąbrowiecki, a press photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainRudolf Hoess was the architect and commander of Auschwitz concentration camp, where thousands lost their lives.
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Two Soldiers With 'Easter Eggs'
Photo: US Army photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainTechnical Sergeant William E. Thomas and Private First Class Joseph Jackson had an extra special Easter egg for Hitler in 1945.
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German Soldiers Looting Fallen American GIs
Photo: Frank/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration / Wikipedia / Public DomainThis photo was taken during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, and depicts German soldiers stripping boots and other supplies off of fallen US soldiers.
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The Sky Over The United Kingdom After A 1940 Battle
Photo: Puttnam (Mr), War Office official photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainThis photo was taken in the United Kingdom in 1940 and shows the city skies after an air fight between British and German pilots.
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The Soviet Flag Being Raised Over Berlin
Photo: Yevgeny Khaldei/Mil.ru / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 4.0On May 2, 1945, Soviet soldiers raised their flag over the Reichstag in Berlin. The victory was an important one for many Soviet soldiers, who considered the building a symbol of their enemy.
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Aleksandra Samusenko, A Female Tank Commander
Aleksandra Samusenko was one of the only female tank officers of the Soviet Armed Forces and served as a tank commander from 1943-1944.
Samusenko rose to fame both for her heroic performance during the Battle of Kursk and for leading her forces out of an ambush when her commander fell during a later battle.
- 92,710 VOTES
Athens Captured By The Germans
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-164-0389-23A/Theodor Scheerer / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEWhen the Germans captured Athens in the early 1940s, they decided to celebrate by flying their flag above the Acropolis. The banner didn't last long, however. It was torn down by two 19-year-old students a month later.
This was one of the first acts of what would become known as the Greek Resistance.
- 102,700 VOTES
The Eiffel Tower During German Occupation, 1940
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H28708 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEDuring the German occupation of France in 1940, Hitler originally called for the removal of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily, his orders were never carried out.
Later, French resistance fighters cut the cables to the tower's elevators so that any Germans who wished to see the view from the top would be forced to climb the stairs.