The Second World War finally came to an end on all fronts in 1945. Explore the momentous events that led to the culmination of the most devastating conflict in modern global history.

 

VE DAY

  • People dance while a crowd watches on
    © IWM EA 65796

    Voices of War: VE Day

    Reflect on the 75th anniversary of VE Day with our Voices of War soundscape, featuring first-hand accounts of those who witnessed the events of 8 May 1945.

    Then explore contemporary responses to what victory means through six artistic commissions created to mark Victory 75.

  • HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret joined by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London on VE Day.
    © IWM MH 21835

    What you need to know about VE Day

    8 May 1945 – VE (Victory in Europe) Day – was one that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it. Find out what happened and what it meant to those whose lives had been changed by war.

  • Portrait of Edmund Blunden later in life. He is leaning on a desk, smiling and surrounded by bookshelves.
    © IWM Q 101782

    VE Day: 'We Have Come Through'

    What did Victory mean in 1945? Read a powerful unpublished poem written by Edmund Blunden, a First World War soldier poet who continued to write and reflect on the consequences of war. 

  • Adventures in History: VE Day: Parties in the Street graphic

    Adventures in History: VE Day - Parties in the Street

    Learn more about VE Day in our new fact-filled family film. 

    Discover lots of fascinating stories about how people celebrated this important day in 1945 - and take on a very special challenge set by IWM curator Vikki. 

  • Poster for IWM Family Mission: VE Day House Party featuring photographs of celebrations on VE Day

    Family Mission: VE Day House Party

    Join CBBC Presenter Ben Shires to find out more about how VE Day was marked by people celebrating the end of the war. 

  • Two British sailors and their girlfriends wading in the fountains in Trafalgar Square on VE Day.
    © IWM (EA 65799).

    Who were the women in the Trafalgar Square fountains on VE Day?

    It's an iconic photograph - one that has been used across the world to highlight the celebrations on VE Day, the end of the Second World War in Europe. But there's always been one big question surrounding this particular image: what was the story behind those two women smiling for the camera in the Trafalgar Square fountains on 8 May 1945.

Second World War, Churchill War Rooms, Winston Churchill, VE Day

Where does 'V for Victory' come from?

Winston Churchill making his signature V sign

Winston's Churchill's V for Victory sign is perhaps one the most iconic of the Second World War, but where does it come from?

Second World War

Beyond VE Day: The Events of Summer 1945

Victory parade in Berlin, July 1945. Mr Churchill about to set off in brake to inspect troops before Victory parade in Charlottenburgerchausee.
© IWM A 30121

The photographs of smiling faces on VE Day conceal the challenges and struggles that still lay ahead in 1945.

A world changed

King George VI standing with the Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee. Black and white photograph Imperial War Museums
Winston Churchill

How Winston Churchill And The Conservative Party Lost The 1945 Election

The 1945 election was the first general election to be held in Britain since November 1935. Churchill had proved himself to be a popular leader during the Second World War, so he was confident that the Conservatives would win this election based on his wartime success.

The Battle of Singapore, February 1942.
© IWM HU 2781
Second World War

Britain and Decolonisation in South East and South Asia, 1945-1948

Victory over Japan Day marked the end of the Second World War in August 1945. Yet the conflict did not end on this day, particularly in Asia. While decolonisation across South and South East Asia seemed inevitable, the territory of the British Empire was at its apogee in 1945 and the journey to independence for countries in this region was not simple.

On the right two benches of the accused leaders stretch away from the foreground to the centre of the painting. Behind the defendants stands a line of white-helmeted military police who guard the benches and separate them from the court beyond. On the left, in front of the defendants, sit two rows of lawyers, largely in black robes. The lawyers and the defendants study sheaves of paper.
© IWM Art.IWM ART (LD 5798)
Second World War

A Short History Of The War Crimes Trials After The Second World War

After the end of the Second World War, the Allies brought the leading civilian and military representatives of wartime Germany and Japan to trial on charges of war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. 

Voices of War: Nagasaki

On 9 August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. 

IWM has created a new soundscape to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Nagasaki. Hear the voices of some of the witnesses, including a Japanese schoolboy and British and Chinese prisoners of war.

Listen now >

I Saw The World End

A white graphic wave on a black background
Es Devlin & Machiko Weston, Still from I Saw the World End, 2020

A new digital artwork by Es Devlin and Machiko Weston.

75 years ago, two nuclear weapons were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945.  ‘I Saw the World End’ is a response to those precise moments of destruction from both a British and Japanese perspective.

Watch now >

The Atomic Bomb

Atomic bombs were used on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Thousands died and the world was changed forever. 

Okinawa Battle © IWM A 29192
© IWM NYF 70677
Second World War

The Proposed Invasion of Japan

On 8 May 1945, the Allies celebrated VE Day, marking the end of the war in Europe. But the war in the east still raged on and Japanese surrender seemed a long way off. What did the proposed invasion of Japan look like? 

A bomb thumbnail
Second World War

Why were Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 brought an end to the Second World War, but at a terrible cost to the Japanese civilian population, and signalling the dawn of the nuclear age. What had led to the fateful decision to deploy these new weapons of mass destruction?

Photograph depicting the aftermath of the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima.
© IWM MH 29447
Second World War

Voices of War: Hiroshima

Listen to our soundscape and reflect on what happened when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. 

Voices of War: VJ Day

Ground crews of No.356 Squadron RAF based at the Brown's West Island, Cocos Islands, celebrate in front of one of their Consolidated Liberator Mark B VIs on hearing the news of the surrender of Japan.
© IWM CI 1557

75 years ago, the Second World War came to an end and was marked by the Allied nations on VJ Day.

But for many, it was a day of mixed emotions after years of brutal war. Hear the voices of some of those who witnessed VJ Day and find out what it meant to them.

Listen now >

VJ DAY

  • Two women and two men in uniform stand smiling, looking at the camera, in a still from a colour film of VJ Day celebrations in London in 1945.

    Rare Colour Footage of London on VJ DAY

    Watch how people in London celebrated VJ Day in this rare footage from IWM's collections.

  • London VJ day

    11 Photos of VJ Day Celebrations

    See how people in Britain - and servicemen stationed abroad - marked the end of the Second World War.

  • VJ Day on Film

    IWM's film collection includes footage of how the end of the Second World War was marked in London, Hong Kong and Toronto. 

  • VJ Day and the End of the Second World War

    What did the end of the Second World War mean to people whose lives had been touched by the conflict? 

  • The proposed invasion of Japan

    On 8 May 1945, the Allies celebrated VE Day, marking the end of the war in Europe. But the war in the east still raged on and Japanese surrender seemed a long way off. 

  • HMS Belfast and VJ Day

    HMS Belfast was on her way to fight in the war in the Far East when VJ Day came. 

    Find out how the men on board reacted to the end of the Second World War - and the important role they played in the months that followed.

  • Decolonisation in South East and South Asia

    VJ Day marked the end of the Second World War in August 1945. Yet the conflict did not end on this day, particularly in Asia. While decolonisation across South & South East Asia seemed inevitable, the territory of the British Empire was at its apogee in 1945 and the journey to independence for countries in this region was not simple.

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A Balloon Site, Coventry
© IWM (ART LD 2750)

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An interwar Earl Haig Fund 'Remembrance Day' poppy
© IWM (EPH 2313)

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    Ground Crew On An RAF Bomber Command Station Print

    This striking image shows a ground crew on a RAF Bomber Command station in Britain celebrating VE day.

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    Victory In The Kitchen - Wartime Recipes

    With colour images of wartime posters throughout and an introduction by an IWM historian, it is a fascinating look into what people ate in wartime. 

Reimagining Victory

Text says Reimagining Victory  - photograph of a hand making the V sign

In 1945, the Allied nations marked the end of the Second World War on VE Day and VJ Day. 

But in today’s context, as conflicts descend into protracted crises, what does it really mean to ‘win’ a war and what challenges do we face when it comes to peacebuilding? Journalists, peacebuilders, artists and academics question the concept of victory through a series of debates, discussions and performances.

Explore further with the IWM Institute >