Rare and interesting photographs from the fronts of World War II (21 photos)

I present to your attention a unique collection of historical colorized photographs. These photographs not only captured key moments of large-scale military operations, but also reflected the daily lives of people forced to adapt to the conditions of war.





A sad Japanese girl at the Los Angeles train station, 1942.

Two-year-old Yuki Okinaga Hayakawa, of a Japanese family, waits at the Los Angeles train station to be taken to a "displaced persons center" (actually a concentration camp) in Manzanar, California, in 1942. Yuki Llewellyn, a Manzanar child whose image touched America, dies at 80 (July 17, 2020)



The capsized and sinking U.S. Navy tanker USS Mississinewa, hit by a Kaiten torpedo. Ulithi Atoll, November 1944.

The tanker was found at a depth of 40 meters in Micronesia on April 6, 2001. Soon after, it began leaking oil, spilling up to 24,000 gallons, threatening the unique reef ecosystem and turtle beaches where sea turtles lay their eggs. In 2023, about 2 million gallons were pumped out of the tanker, but about 3 million gallons remained.





A US Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft flies over the Giza necropolis in Egypt, 1943.

The C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) was one of the most famous transport aircraft of World War II. This twin-engine cargo-passenger airliner played a key role in providing supplies to troops, airborne operations, and evacuating the wounded.



Italian dictator Benito Mussolini visits a wounded soldier during World War II, 1941.

In 1941, as World War II was in full swing, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini visited a hospital to meet with wounded soldiers. The episode was part of his policy of demonstrating his concern for his troops and maintaining the nation's morale, even though the reality of the war was already alarming.

Mussolini often used such public acts to bolster his image as a "caring leader." Meeting with wounded soldiers was intended to boost morale and publicity within the country.

Ultimately, the fall of Mussolini in 1943 showed that public gestures were no substitute for real achievements on the battlefield and in the economy.



The last moments before the sinking of the German submarine U-185 after being hit by depth charges from American aircraft. Atlantic, World War II, August 24, 1943.



British Spitfire fighters fly in formation through the sun above the clouds, 1939.



An elephant from the Amar brothers' circus ploughs in occupied France, 1941.

Powerful and intelligent circus elephants, whose strength is equivalent to the efforts of several work horses, were used to perform field work. These animals were used to plough the land, haul haystacks, and transport carts with ammunition and other supplies in suburban areas.



People cross the bridge over the Elbe River in Tangermünde, blown up by the Germans to escape the chaos behind German lines caused by the advancing Soviet troops, May 1, 1945.



Photographer: Fred Ramage

A burning M4A1(76)W Sherman tank of the 3rd US Armored Division, knocked out by German artillery at Bergerhausen, Germany, 1945.

American tanks burned on our fields, too, with our crews. The Sherman was not the best tank in WWII, but the Americans made them quickly and in large numbers. Both the British and the French fought in Shermans. About 2,000 Shermans were given to the Red Army under Lend-Lease.



A German sentry on the bell tower of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra against the backdrop of a burning bridge across the Dnieper. Kyiv, 1941.

The Battle of Kiev in August–September 1941 was one of the largest and most tragic operations on the Eastern Front. It is known as the Kiev Strategic Defensive Battle , and its result was the creation of the so-called Kyiv Cauldron , the largest encirclement of Soviet troops in the history of World War II.



A woman dying of hunger lies on the asphalt in the Warsaw Ghetto. The photo was taken by German soldier Heinz Hoest in Poland in 1941.

In November 1940, the German occupation authorities created the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe. It became home to over 400,000 people, most of whom lived in extreme poverty and hunger.

The ghetto was overcrowded, with limited food supplies. Jews were given only 184 calories a day (versus 2,400 for Germans). Diseases such as typhus and malnutrition were common.

In the first two years of the ghetto's existence alone, about 100,000 people died of hunger and disease.



Tiger tanks and a stuck truck of the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division near Vinnytsia, 1943.



Girls sitting at the entrance to an air raid shelter in London, 1941.

The picture shows women waiting at the entrance to an air raid shelter during the German air raids on London. They wear special protective masks issued to civilians to prevent facial burns from incendiary bombs. Each carries a whistle to signal rescuers if they are buried under rubble. These precautions reflect the everyday reality of Londoners during the Blitz.

The masks and whistles became symbols of wartime survival, demonstrating the civilian population's willingness to confront threats and keep their cool even in the most dangerous situations.



Photographer: Lee Miller

German women pull large carts loaded with bags and belongings through the ruined streets of Berlin, 1945.



B-24 Liberator bombers of the 15th Air Force of the United States during the bombing of the Concordia Vega oil refinery in Ploieşti, 1944.



Landing ships "Alligator" move towards land, September 15, 1944. The amphibians were launched after artillery barrages and air strikes. Army and Marine assault forces landed on Palau on September 15, and by September 27, they had broken the Japanese resistance.



Baby goats protected by sandbags at London Zoo during World War II. March 1941.



Anti-aircraft gun batteries lay down a curtain of fire (tracers) to protect the Allied base in Algiers from Axis aircraft during a surprise raid on March 2, 1943.

German and Italian aircraft. They were the ones our allies were fighting in North Africa at the time.



Two young German women sit on a bench outside a destroyed house in Cologne, March 1945.



Photographer: Lee Miller

An English prisoner shows a prison photographer how he tried to escape from the Colditz concentration camp in Leipzig, Germany, 1943.

Colditz was a castle in East Germany that the Nazis converted into a special camp for prisoners of war who had already tried to escape from other camps. The Germans considered Colditz invincible, but during the camp's existence, more than 30 successful escapes took place, despite the camp's heavy guards.