Skip to main content

World War II: Why is it so important decades later?

11,318,185 Views

15,167 Questions Answered

Best of Web

Let’s Begin…

World War II was one of the definitive events of the 20th century, if not all of human history.  John Green takes a look at the causes of World War II, the key event, as well as, both the short and long term effects of the war. For those interested in looking at World War II from a world perspective, this video focuses on the war before United States involvement.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

World War II is a huge topic. There are many sources both online and in print form. 

Primary Source materials:

The Avalon Project at Yale University is a digital library relating to law, history and diplomacy. Its Word War II collection focuses on the diplomatic documents of the war.

The Truman Library has digitized a large portion of documents related to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The collection also includes scanned versions of the actual documents, photographs and transcripts of oral histories.

The Library of Congress also has a large collection of materials about World War II mainly focusing on United States involvement.

Secondary Source Materials

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has a site devoted to World War II. This is a good introductory resource.

The Second World War by John Keegan

The Second World War by Winston Churchill

The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific by Akira Iriye


Next Section »

About TED-Ed Best of Web

TED-Ed Best of Web are exceptional, user-created lessons that are carefully selected by volunteer teachers and TED-Ed staff.

Meet The Creators