Coming May 26th: World War II with Tom Hanks reexamines history’s most devastating conflict for a new century. Across twenty hours, the series traces the war’s full arc–from the rise of fascism to Hiroshima–uncovering the decisions, hidden networks, and lasting consequences that continue to shape our world.

Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union, launches on June 22, 1941. In what is the largest military operation in history, Hitler aims to capture the Soviet Union’s vast economic resources, enslave its populations, and expand Germany east. It is the beginning of a brutal campaign that will ultimately help decide the war in Europe.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Sean McMeekin, professor, Bard College
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Jadwiga Biskupska, associate professor, Sam Houston State University
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• General Wesley Clark, US Army, Ret.
• Sir Antony Beevor, military historian

After defeating Poland, Hitler looks west, planning an attack into France that will take advantage of a weak point in their defences. France is overrun and new British Prime Minister Churchill scrambles to evacuate Allied troops from the coast. Shocked by the defeat of France, Roosevelt calls to mobilize the US while German planes bombard Britain from the sky. The Germans are pushed back as Roosevelt establishes the US as the “arsenal of democracy” in the war against tyranny.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Ludivine Broch, historian, University of Westminster
• Cameron Zinsou, associate professor, Command and General Staff College
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Saul David, military historian and author
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University

In September 1939, enabled by a secret pact between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, Germany invades Poland with its lightning style of tank warfare, plunging Europe back into war. Adolf Hitler can now pursue his longed-for racial war, as the world watches in horror, and the stage is set for global conflict.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Cameron Zinsou, associate professor, Command and General Staff College
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Jadwiga Biskupska, associate professor, Sam Houston State University
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Roger Moorhouse, historian and author
• Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University
• James Bulgin, Imperial War Museum
• General Wesley Clark, US Army, Ret.
• Sean McMeekin, professor, Bard College

Driven by their desire for resources and an Asian empire, Japan invades China. The US joins the global outcry as Japanese troops brutally destroy the Chinese capital of Nanking. FDR responds with a crippling oil embargo, but Japan refuses to back down, propelling them towards an attack on Pearl Harbor that will change the trajectory of WWII and the world.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University
• Takima Melber, the University of Heidelberg
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Max Brooks, fellow, Modern War Institute, West Point

In 1940, German U-boats are sinking British hopes of victory. From the sidelines, FDR loans Britain much needed aid and maneuvers US patrols to the edge of an “undeclared war” with Germany. Meeting at a game-changing summit, Churchill and FDR align their goals. But as America and Britain get closer, so do the German U-boats. Once at war, the US will face not only German ships but the might of the Japanese empire. At Midway, America’s young and inexperienced forces will fight for control of the sea.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Phillips O'Brien, professor, University of St. Andrews
• Max Brooks, fellow, Modern War Institute, West Point
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History

Under Adolf Hitler's leadership, anti-Semitic policies escalate from discrimination to widespread genocide. The state-sponsored persecution features mobile killing squads conducting mass shootings, and then purpose-built death camps, where millions of men, women and children are murdered by poison gas.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Waitman Wade Beorn, assistant professor, Northumbria University
• Jadwiga Biskupska, associate professor, Sam Houston State University
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Daniel Greene, adjunct professor, Northwestern University
• James Bulgin, Imperial War Museum
• Rebecca Erbelding, historian and author
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum

America’s “day of infamy” at Pearl Harbor is the birth of a new Japanese empire. Japan launches unprecedented attacks across Asia, proclaiming “Asia for the Asians” and pushing out Western colonial powers. Fueled by ideology, Japan’s armies are seemingly unstoppable – until a confrontation with the 1st Marine Division of the United States at Guadalcanal becomes a testing ground in a war without mercy.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• General Wesley Clark, US Army, Ret.
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Saul David, military historian and author
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Takima Melber, the University of Heidelberg
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas

In 1942, Eisenhower leads the first joint U.S.-British operation of the war – Operation Torch – successfully landing thousands of untested U.S. troops on the Vichy-controlled shores of North Africa. The Allies race to trap the German forces in Tunisia, resulting in fearsome tank battles against the famed “Desert Fox,” German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel and his battle-tested Afrika Korps.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• General Wesley Clark, US Army, Ret.
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Saul David, military historian and author
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Cameron Zinsou, associate professor, Command and General Staff College
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian

Amid World War II’s chaos, a hidden battle rages — a war of espionage, deception, and codebreaking. At Bletchley Park, Alan Turing and his team race to crack Germany's "unbreakable" Enigma Code in a bid to thwart Nazi plans and save Britain from invasion. But as the codes evolve, daring missions and deadly risks intensify…

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• David O’Keefe, professor, Marianopolis College
• Nicholas Reynolds, historian and former CIA officer
• David Abrutat, Official Historian, GCHQ
• Sir Dermot Turing, writer and speaker
• Matthew Hefler, intelligence historian, King’s College London
• Tessa Dunlop, historian and author
• Guy Walters, historian and author
• Katrin Paehler, professor, Illinois State University
• Robert Hutchinson, intelligence historian

In 1942, Hitlers launches his second offensive in the Soviet Union: Operation Blue. Quickly becoming impatient, Hitler splits his force in an attempt to capture both the Caucasus oil fields and Stalingrad.

Initially successful, the German Sixth Army captures up to 90% of the city until they are trapped by General Zhukov’s men. The Soviet attacks and the unforgiving Russian winter steadily wipe out the German troops until their leader, General Paulus, surrenders. Furious, Hitler launches his final attack, ending all hopes for a German victory on the Eastern Front.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Sir Antony Beevor, military historian
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Sean McMeekin, professor, Bard College
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Jadwiga Biskupska, associate professor, Sam Houston State University

In 1942, the Allies are eager to challenge the Luftwaffe’s superiority in the air. The RAF and U.S. Army Air Forces combine operations to bomb the industrial heart of Germany and destroy German air power ahead of the upcoming Allied invasion of France. Airmen on both sides will suffer grievous losses – and so will civilians below.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• John Curatola, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Anand Toprani, military historian, U.S. Naval War College

In the summer of 1943, after a successful campaign in North Africa, Churchill convinces

Roosevelt that the best way forward is an invasion of the island of Sicily. But what is thought to be a quick and decisive attack instead becomes a months-long slog up the Italian peninsula, as Hitler has no intention of giving up this key part of his empire without a fight.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Saul David, military historian and author
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Marco Aterrano, associate professor, University of Naples Federico II
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas

The B-29 bomber is the Allies’ best chance to strike Japan, and they turn to China as a potential air base. But Japan launches its largest land offensive of the war to gain control of Asia, leading to brutal fighting in the jungles and plains of South Asia. All the while, the U.S. Navy is speeding through the Pacific towards the Mariana Islands, another potential future B-29 base.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• James Holland, military historian and author
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University

After years of discussion over how to take the fight directly to Germany, the Allies set a target for a cross-channel invasion: Normandy, spring of 1944. But the road to Operation Overlord is no easy journey, with Hitler lying in wait. For the Allies, it’s a race to pull off one of the most complicated operations in military history.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Craig L. Symonds, military historian and author
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Michel Paradis, professor, Columbia University
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Dr. Peter Lieb, military historian and author
• James Holland, military historian and author
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Paul Woodadge, author and Normandy battlefield guide

For more stories just like these, check out HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts.

June 6, 1944. As thousands of Allied soldiers prepare to storm the beaches of Normandy, they climb down rope nets into small wooden landing craft bobbing in the dark waters of the English Channel. Within hours, these boats will carry them into the largest amphibious invasion in history.

The craft are known as Higgins boats, named for their inventor, Andrew Higgins: a hard-driving New Orleans boatbuilder who built his reputation designing vessels that could speed through swamps, crash through obstacles, and go places other boats couldn't. Higgins was stubborn, abrasive, and relentless. The Navy repeatedly dismissed his ideas. He refused to go away.

How does a small-time New Orleans boatbuilder force his way into the military industrial complex? And what exactly is so special about these boxy little Higgins boats?

Special thanks to Dr. John Curatola, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. His book is Armies Afloat: How the Development of Amphibious Operations in Europe Helped Win World War II.

You can find the rest of the books we used to research this episode at historythisweekpodcast.com.

As the tide begins to turn against the Axis powers, the leaders of Germany and Japan deploy opposite strategies on their home fronts. Hitler and his propaganda minister do everything in their power to shield the German people from the war, while Hideki Tojo asks the Japanese to sacrifice more and more to support the war effort. But both governments’ demands of their people will grow more intense – and deadly.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Nicholas Stargardt, historian and author
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Sheldon Garon, professor, Princeton University
• Yuki Tatsumi, senior director, Institute for Indo-Pacific Security
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Jeremy Yellen, historian and author
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University
• Bradley Hart, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Louise Young, professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Resistance to Nazi occupation and oppression has been a constant throughout the war. In the summer of 1944, two cities revolt against the Nazis but meet very different outcomes. And some, living and dying through the Holocaust, take their fate into their own hands and mount organized resistance in the direst of circumstances.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Marco Aterrano, associate professor, University of Naples Federico II
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Anand Toprani, military historian, U.S. Naval War College
• James Bulgin, historian, Imperial War Museum
• Rebecca Erbelding, historian, United States Holocaust Museum