We’re used to seeing World War II in grainy black-and-white newsreels and textbook photos, but colorized images pull the past into the present. Suddenly you notice the scuffed leather boots, the chipped paint on a landing craft, the billowing black clouds. Faces come into focus — soldiers smiling with their dogs, nurses working in field hospitals, a letter peeking out of a pocket. Whether you’re a history buff or know someone who lived through it, here are 21 colorized images from WWII that feel closer than ever.
1. A Finnish Soldier Fires a Shot From a Liekinheitin M40 Flamethrower
2. A US Artilleryman Winces at the Sound of His M3 105mm Howitzer During an Assault on German Troops in Normandy, 1944
3. Tank Rolls through a Burning Street as Soldiers Run for Cover
4. Children Watch Soldiers Standing by a Matilda MK II Tank in West Sussex, England, March 1941
5. Soldiers Man a Heavy Machine Gun in a Forest Position
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6. ‘Soviet Soldiers Help a Wounded German Soldier, September 8, 1941’
7. Soldiers From South Australia’s 2/27th Infantry Battalion Taking a Break After the Fall of Gona, December 1942
8. A Soldier Loads a Mortar Round in a Rocky Firing Position
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9. Three US Infantrymen From the 30th Infantry Division Pause To Rest While En Route to the Front Lines in Belgium, December 1944
10. A Soldier From the 535th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion Shakes Fido’s Paw During the Battle of the Bulge, January 1945
11. 25th Infantry Division Troops Burn a Japanese Pillbox at Baguio in the Philippines, March 1945
12. Pilot Józef Stasik of the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron Gives Misia, the Squadron’s Mascot, a Snuggle on His Aircraft, April 1942
13. Private Charles Preston Brushes Snow From a 30-Caliber Machine Gun Mounted on His Jeep, December 1944
14. Finnish Soldier Jouni Klemet-Halonen Enjoys a Bit of Vitamin D With His Pet Reindeer in Lapland, May 1944
15. Soviet Soldiers Surrendering to the SS
16. Desolate German POWs Pull a Wounded Comrade in a Cart Near Korrenzig, Germany, February 1945
17. Two Boys Pictured With a Soldier Next to a RAF Spitfire Squadron at Kai Tak Airfield, Kowloon, Hong Kong
18. Soviet and American Soldiers Study Weapons on the Banks of the Elbe River in Torgau, 1945
19. Sherman Troops of the 771st Tank Battalion Division Roll Through the Ruins of Linnich, Germany, February 1945
20. US Troops on a Landing Craft Heading for the Beaches of Algeria During Operation Torch, November 1942
21. Army Nurses Take a Break To Eat Lunch By Field Hospital Tents in Omaha Beach, 1944
More war stories:
- 17 Colorized Images of the Civil War — These images strip away the distance of time by offering a visceral glimpse into the hardship and resilience of one of America’s most defining periods yet.
- From Berlin to Cuba: 24 Incredible Photos That Capture the Tension of the Cold War — From the launch of Sputnik to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the era was remembered by who would gain the upper hand in technology and military might.
- These 21 Powerful Photos Capture the Reality of World War I — WWI was a violent, chaotic unraveling of the old world order. These powerful photos depict its magnitude.
