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A view of the main entrance and train track at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau site

How the world discovered the Nazi death camps

Images of what the Allies found when they liberated the Nazi death camps towards the end of World War II brought the horror of the Holocaust to global attention.

Europe • 26 Jan

Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers' Party in 1919 and transformed it into the Nazi Party

How the Nazis carried out their 'Final Solution'

The World War II extermination of Europe's Jews by Nazi Germany began after the invasion of Poland in 1939 and increased in scale with the creation of death camps.

Europe • 26 Jan

Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi extermination camps, where the most victims were killed

A history of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 80th anniversary

With the world marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet troops on 27 January here is its history, based on information from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.

Europe • 25 Jan

The archive was once housed at the Dutch Ministry of Justice (Image: War in Court project)

Dutch archive names 425,000 suspected Nazi collaborators

A Dutch project - called 'War in Court' - has digitally released a list of names of nearly half a million suspected wartime Nazi collaborators after the expiry of a law that had restricted public access to the archive.

Europe • 02 Jan

Poland's President Andrzej Duda lays a wreath at the monument of a former hospital in Wieluń, the first Polish town bombed by Nazi Germany in September 1939

Poland marks 85 years since Nazi Germany's invasion

Nazi Germany invaded Poland 85 years ago today on 1 September 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War II. Poland's President Andrzej Duda attended a commemorative ceremony this morning in Wieluń, the first Polish city to be bombed by the Luftwaffe that day.

Europe • 01 Sep 24

Irmgard Furchner pictured in court in December 2022

Former Nazi secretary loses appeal against conviction

A 99-year-old former Nazi camp secretary has lost her appeal against her conviction for complicity in the murder of more than 10,000 people, in what could be the last judgment of its kind in Germany.

World • 20 Aug 24

Archbishop Eamon Martin, left, and Archbishop John McDowell attended the D-Day prayer service in Normandy

Tributes paid to Irish chaplains at D-Day prayer service

The Catholic and Church of Ireland Archbishops have held a joint commemoration in Normandy, France, for two chaplains, one from Belfast, the other from Co Roscommon, who both served on the beaches during D-Day 80 years ago.

Ireland • 07 Jun 24

Edward 'Bud' Berthold, aged 104, is honoured by French President Emmanuel Macron

Veterans who 'saved the world' shine on D-Day anniversary

Around 180 veterans aged in their late 90s or over 100, were guests of honour at D-Day commemorations in France, many attending in wheelchairs for possibly the last time.

Europe • 06 Jun 24

Joe and Jill Biden walk among the graves at the Normandy American Cemetery

Biden calls for defence of democracy on D-Day anniversary

US President Joe Biden has made an impassioned call for the defence of freedom and democracy at a ceremony in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Europe • 06 Jun 24

Lou Conter looks on near the USS Arizona Remembrance Wall during a 2015 memorial service marking the attack

Last survivor of Pearl Harbor battleship sinking dies

The last survivor of the USS Arizona, the battleship that was sunk in the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died aged 102, the charity honouring victims of the attack has said.

World • 02 Apr 24

80 years on: Warsaw commemorates the Ghetto Uprising

Poland is today marking 80 years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, when hundreds of Jews launched a doomed attack against the Nazis

Poland • 19 Apr 23

Survivors at the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was liberated by the Red Army in January 1945

Almost a quarter of young Dutch deny Holocaust - survey

Nearly a quarter of Dutch people born after 1980 believe the Holocaust was a myth or that the number of its victims was greatly exaggerated, according to a survey.

World • 25 Jan 23

Josef Schuetz pictured during his trial in November 2021

Former Nazi camp guard, 101, gets five-year sentence

A German court has handed a five-year jail sentence to a 101-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard, the oldest person so far to go on trial for complicity in war crimes during the Holocaust.

World • 28 Jun 22

Pope Pius XII blesses a group of war correspondents in the Vatican, shortly after the liberation of Rome during World War II

Vatican to publish WWII letters to pope from Jews

The Vatican will publish thousands of letters to the pope in an online archive from Jews in Europe seeking help during World War II, including liberation from Nazi concentration camps.

World • 23 Jun 22

Anne Frank's diary about life in hiding has been translated into 60 languages

Dutch publisher recalls discredited book on Anne Frank

The Dutch publisher of a discredited cold case investigation into the betrayal of teenage Jewish diarist Anne Frank said it was recalling the book following a critical report on its findings.

World • 23 Mar 22

The vote authorises public museums holding the works to hand over the property to the heirs of the original owners

France approves return of artworks stolen from Jews

France's senate has approved returning 15 artworks stolen from Jews during World War II, as part of efforts by the government to accelerate restitutions.

World • 15 Feb 22

Evacuation after WW2 bomb discovered

An American air bomb from World War II has been discovered in the German town of Fürth, prompting evacuation orders for over 1,200.

News Lens • 04 Nov 21

The bomb was detonated in a controlled explosion

Buildings damaged after WWII bomb detonated in Exeter

Structural damage has been caused to a number of properties in Exeter following the detonation of a World War II-era bomb, police in England said.

UK • 28 Feb 21

The Nazi military used the machines to send and receive secret messages during the war (Pic courtesy of Christian Howe - Submaris)

Divers find WWII Enigma machine at bottom of Baltic Sea

German divers searching the Baltic Sea for discarded fishing nets have stumbled upon a rare Enigma cipher machine used by the Nazi military during World War II which they believe was thrown overboard from a scuttled submarine.

News Lens • 04 Dec 20

The number of participants in this year's ceremony was reduced due to coronavirus fears

Nagasaki commemorates 75 years since atomic bombing

The Japanese city of Nagasaki has commemorated the 75th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb, with its mayor and the head of the United Nations warning against a nuclear arms race.

World • 09 Aug 20

The plaintiffs were in areas showered in radioactive 'black rain' following the attack

Japanese court recognises more Hiroshima bomb survivors

A Hiroshima court issued a rare ruling expanding the designation of atomic bomb survivors to include more people hit by radioactive "black rain", 75 years after the US nuclear attack on Japan at the end of World War II.

World • 29 Jul 20

Bruno Day hides his face as he is brought into court in May

Ex-Nazi concentration camp guard on trial in Germany

The prosecution's closing arguments will be heard today in the trial of a 93-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard for complicity in the murder of more than 5,000 people during World War II.

World • 06 Jul 20

Russian military helicopters fly over Moscow's Red Square

Russia stages grand WWII parade ahead of reform vote

Columns of tanks and troops paraded through Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over grand World War II commemorations to stir up patriotic fervour ahead of a vote on extending his rule.

News Lens • 24 Jun 20

Croatian groups gather each year for the commemorations, co-organised by the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Croatia

Protests against mass remembering Nazi collaborators

Thousands of people have marched in Bosnia to protest against a Mass being held to honour Croatia's Nazi collaborators and civilians killed after World War II.

Europe • 16 May 20

Thousands of troops parade before crowds in Belarus

At a glance: Worldwide cases pass 4 million

There are now at least 4,001,437 cases of coronavirus worldwide, according to an AFP tally at 9:45pm Saturday, based on official sources.

Coronavirus • 09 May 20