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An American soldier inspects German loot, found at the Schlosskirche in the south German town Ellingen, 24 April 1945. Courtesy: The U.S National Archives and Records Administration, RG 111-SC-204899

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Second World War 1939 - 1945 X

HMAS Goorangai

The first ship of the Royal Australian Navy lost in the Second World War.

By Dr Thomas J. Rogers

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Soldiers of the 2/8th Battalion prepare to attack Japanese defences on Mount Shiburangu, near Wewak in June 1945

Last Words in a Long War

Australians in the Pacific in 1945.

By Dr Mark Johnston

Second World War 1939 - 1945

“There is no ‘off time’ on the Peninsula, and the firing goes on forever.” Soldiers of the Royal Irish Fusiliers man frontline positions at Cape Helles. Photographer: Ernest Brooks

The Dominion of Fear

Morale and combat motivation of Commonwealth soldiers in the two World Wars.

By Gary Sheffield

Second World War 1939 - 1945

The fight for Norway’s Skies

The dangerous conditions faced by the Australian and British crews of Coastal Command.

By Cait Tullis

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Australians standing by in a hot section of the front, 400 yards from the enemy, Tobruk

Behind the Cover: Siege of Tobruk

One of George Silk’s most striking photographs of Australian soldiers during the siege of Tobruk

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Japanese troop medical supplies. AWM P02443.004

Hospitals of death

The Japanese medical system in Papua created immense suffering for staff and soldiers.

By Dr Steven Bullard

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Matron Muriel Doherty, RAAFNS, Alfreda Markovitch, 1948, oil on canvas

Nurse at Bergen-Belsen

After the war, an Australian nurse served with the United Nations at the infamous camp.

Second World War 1939 - 1945

A letter after it was censored, AWM 139314

With a kiss for the censor

Censorship of servicemen’s mail during the Second World War put a gag on their relationships.

By Emma Carson

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Australian troops attack at dawn at Bardia on the morning of 3 January 1941. AWM 134446

'The kind eyelids of the night hid my tears'

A letter by Dr Tom Selby gives an insight into the human side of the Australian victory at Bardi

By Jennifer Selby

Second World War 1939 - 1945

A VIEW OF THE RAILWAY STATION AT TEL ELEISA, SCENE OF SOME OF THE MOST INTENSIVE FIGHTING EXPERIENCED BY OUR FORCES AT PRESENT ENGAGED IN THE WESTERN DESERT. TEL EL EISA IS THE ARABIC FOR "HILL OF JESUS". (NEGATIVE BY HURLEY).

First Alamein: Ruin Ridge

Unexpected losses and operational failures on the final line of defence in Egypt 1942.

By Nicole Townsend

Second World War 1939 - 1945

New Guinea Infantry Battalion troops on their way to attack the village of Gisananbu 1945

Fuzzy Wuzzies and Green Shadows

During the Second World War, Papua New Guineans played a crucial part in the fight against Japan

By Tristan Moss

Second World War 1939 - 1945

Some of the first 22 WRANS on parade at HMAS Harman, August 1941.

The First WRANS

Women trained as wireless telegraphists to free men for war, leading to the WRANS formation.

By Jennifer Selby

Second World War 1939 - 1945