World War II in Photos - a retrospective in 20 parts

"World War II is the story of the 20th Century. The war officially lasted from 1939 until 1945, but the causes of the conflict and its horrible aftermath reverberated for decades in either direction. While feats of bravery and technological breakthroughs still inspire awe today, the majority of the war was dominated by unimaginable misery and destruction. In the late 1930s, the world's population was approximately 2 billion. In less than a decade, the war between the nations of the Axis Powers and the Allies resulted in some 80 million deaths - killing off about 4 percent of the whole world. This series of entries was originally posted weekly to TheAtlantic.com from June 19 through October 30, 2011, running every Sunday morning for 20 weeks. In this collection of 900 photos over 20 essays, I tried to explore the events of the war, the people involved at the front and back home, and the effects the war had on everyday lives. These images still give us glimpses into the real-life experiences of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, moments that shaped the world as it is today. There were thousands of events affecting millions of lives, and I hope that I was able to do justice to this important story in this large-photo narrative format and thank you for joining along the way." - Alan Taylor