So many things could have gone wrong with the invasion of Normandy, but D-Day (June 6, 1944) proved to be the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, as Germany faced a full-scale assault on two fronts by the American, British, and Canadian military.
To commemorate this pivotal moment in history, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to offer the following resources for further exploration:
Spotlight on a Primary Source
Videos
- Inside the Vault: D-Day in Maps and Letters from Soldiers and Families
- Book Breaks:
- Matthew F. Delmont: "Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad"
- Chloe Melas: "The Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe"
- Donald L. Miller and Kirk Saduski: "Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War against Nazi Germany"
- Michael Neiberg on the causes of World War II
- This video clip is a sample from World War II, a Gilder Lehrman Self-Paced Course. Sign up here to watch/listen to this course at your own time and pace.
Essays
- D-Day or Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944
- Glory on D-Day: African American Heroism on the Beaches of Normandy
- Race and the Good War: An Oral History Interview with Calvin D. Cosby, World War II Veteran
History Now issues
- World War II (Issue 14, Winter 2007)
- World War II: Portraits of Service (Issue 70, Spring 2024)
Veterans Legacy Program
Since 2021, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has partnered with the Veterans Legacy Program (VLP) to provide free resources that commemorate our nation’s veterans by examining their stories—both on site at America’s national cemeteries and via free professional development and online resources. This includes the following:
- Lesson Plans: These units focusing on the service and sacrifice of military personnel help students learn and practice the skills to analyze visual and textual source materials.
- World War II Veteran Research Guide: World War II Veteran Research Guide. This free, two-part guide walks shows how to find a Veteran interred in a cemetery and how to find a Veteran in the federal census, before and after the war.
- Professional Development: A mix of online and in-person PD sessions exploring American Veterans' and Service Members' lives on and off the battlefield.
- Student Contest: The World War II: Portraits of Service Awards allowed students to submit an original essay, report, eulogy, poem, song, mini-podcast, or mini-documentary profiling the sacrifices, strengths, and legacies of a World War II veteran who was honorably laid to rest in an NCA national, state, territorial, or tribal veterans cemetery.