The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/world-war-ii/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Fri, 12 Jun 2026 01:48:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png World War II | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/world-war-ii/ 32 32 Art looted from Jewish collector hanging in home of Dutch SS leader’s family, sleuth says https://www.timesofisrael.com/art-looted-from-jewish-collector-hanging-in-home-of-dutch-ss-leaders-family-sleuth-says/ Mon, 11 May 2026 08:19:11 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3820794 Discovery made when descendant of Nazi collaborator revealed 'Portrait of a Young Girl' by Toon Kelder was displayed in relative's hallway; theft has passed statute of limitations

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]]> ‘You’re lucky you’re not soap bars’: Jews forced to leave rally marking WWII end in Italy https://www.timesofisrael.com/youre-lucky-youre-not-soap-bars-jews-forced-to-leave-rally-marking-wwii-end-in-italy/ Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:35:39 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3810478 Members joining march under banners of British Army's Nazi-fighting Jewish Brigade and other Jewish organizations are insulted and prevented from continuing

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]]> Was Henri Matisse’s sojourn in Vichy France de facto collaboration or quiet resistance? https://www.timesofisrael.com/was-henri-matisses-sojourn-in-vichy-france-de-facto-collaboration-or-quiet-resistance/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:52:32 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3729469 In his new book 'Matisse at War,' Christopher C. Gorham explores the renowned artist's troubled but prolific life under the Nazis during WWII, and his family's role in the French underground

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]]> Polish town’s new ‘information center’ denies murders of Jews by local Poles in 1941 https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-towns-new-information-center-denies-murders-of-jews-by-local-poles-in-1941/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:58:22 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3804641 Family of Jewish man who survived the Jedwabne massacre is trying to get the new installation removed: 'We call it a denial museum, because that’s what it is'

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]]> My grandfather, the Nazi: A German historian helps families unravel forebears’ crimes https://www.timesofisrael.com/my-grandfather-the-nazi-a-german-historian-helps-families-unravel-forebears-crimes/ Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:44:30 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3800907 After discovering his own patriarch's role in the Holocaust, scholar Johannes Spohr offers workshops that confront uncomfortably specific truths amid a wider culture of remembrance

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]]> Avenging angel risked her life to try to save Warsaw’s Jews — and lived to write about it https://www.timesofisrael.com/avenging-angel-risked-her-life-to-try-to-save-warsaws-jews-and-lived-to-write-about-it/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 05:48:06 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3797701 Updated English translation of Vladka Meed's 1948 Yiddish memoir, 'On Both Sides of the Wall,' breathes new life into her experiences with the Jewish resistance against the Nazis

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]]> Court orders Nazi-looted Modigliani painting be returned to Jewish art dealer’s estate https://www.timesofisrael.com/court-orders-nazi-looted-modigliani-painting-be-returned-to-jewish-art-dealers-estate/ Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:50:29 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3795133 After 11-year case, NY judge rules $25 million painting kept in storage in Switzerland is same one Germans seized from Oscar Stettiner's Paris shop in WWII

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]]> UBS asks US judge to shield it from further investigation into Nazi bank accounts https://www.timesofisrael.com/ubs-asks-us-judge-to-shield-it-from-further-investigation-into-nazi-bank-accounts/ Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:34:00 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3774711 Former Credit Suisse reached $1.25b settlement in 1999 over WWII-era crimes, is now resistant to handing over 150 documents it says are protected by attorney-client privilege

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]]> WWII vet who shielded Jews at Nazi POW camp at gunpoint gets medal of honor https://www.timesofisrael.com/wwii-vet-who-shielded-jews-at-nazi-pow-camp-at-gunpoint-gets-medal-of-honor/ Tue, 03 Mar 2026 04:26:23 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3767130 Highest US military distinction awarded posthumously to Roderick W. Edmonds, who refused to let Nazis separate Jewish prisoners of war in 1945

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]]> US soldier who saved Jews in POW camp during WWII to be awarded Medal of Honor https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-soldier-who-saved-jews-in-pow-camp-during-wwii-to-be-awarded-medal-of-honor/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 02:59:26 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3760048 Roddie Edmonds is one of only five Americans to be credited as Righteous Among the Nations, having been bestowed the honor for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge in 1945

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]]> IDF said to have damaged Gaza cemetery containing graves of Allied troops from world wars https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-said-to-damage-gaza-cemetery-containing-graves-of-allied-troops-from-world-wars/ Thu, 05 Feb 2026 09:59:04 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3748563 Guardian report shows destruction, earthworks at graveyard east of Gaza City; IDF says area was 'an active combat zone,' contained tunnels used by Hamas terrorists

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]]> In WWII, legendary Jewish partisan ‘Uncle Misha’ took out Nazis while carrying a tune https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-wwii-legendary-jewish-partisan-uncle-misha-took-out-nazis-while-carrying-a-tune/ Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:03:46 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3737261 New book 'Partisan Song' packs an action-filled punch as it tells the story of Moshe Gildenman, a nearly-forgotten Jewish guerrilla warfare leader against the Nazis in Ukraine

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]]> 82 years after his death in China, Jewish WWII pilot returned to US for burial https://www.timesofisrael.com/82-years-after-death-in-china-jewish-wwii-pilot-returned-to-us-for-burial/ Thu, 25 Dec 2025 19:34:01 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3719763 DNA testing helped identify the body of Lt. Morton Sher, a member of the Flying Tigers, killed in action in 1943 during a combat mission over China

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]]> Officials removed exhibit on Black soldiers in WWII over fear of Trump’s ‘ire,’ emails show https://www.timesofisrael.com/officials-removed-exhibit-on-black-soldiers-in-wwii-over-fear-of-trumps-ire-emails-show/ Sat, 13 Dec 2025 13:58:29 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3710351 Holocaust museums and Jewish veterans’ groups object to the move, which had not previously been explained, as distorting memory

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]]> Germany to return Nazi-looted artifacts to Poland at diplomatic confab https://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-to-return-nazi-looted-artifacts-to-poland-at-diplomatic-confab/ Sun, 30 Nov 2025 20:10:23 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3701560 Delegation led by Merz set to hand back saintly bust and crusader manuscripts, in move expected to smooth over long-held tensions with Poland over valuables looted during WWII

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