Collection of interviews. World War II began on 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland without warning. By the evening of 3 September, Britain and France were at war with Germany, and within a week, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa had also joined the war. Every major world power at the time became involved, and by the end of the war in 1945 more than 60 million people had lost their lives. At the end of the war much of Europe and large parts of Asia lay in ruin.

Primary sources. Archive of digitised Australian newspapers.

Collection of resources relating to Australia and World War II.

The involvement of Australian women in each war is closely connected to their role in society at different times, and the nature of each war. Australia has been involved in a number of wars including The Boer War (1899-1902), World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1939-1945), The Korean War (1950-1953), The Vietnam War (1962-1972) and The Gulf War (1990-1991).

Unlike World War I, the Second World War was waged much closer to home. This time, they were facing an enemy in their own Pacific neighbourhood, aiming to invade the mainland. Civilians had to prepare for the invasion, and they faced years of hardships and shortages.

In the interests of national security the Australian Government interned thousands of men, women and children during World War I and World War II. Most of those interned were classed as 'enemy aliens', that is, nationals of countries at war with Australia. Internees were accommodated in camps around Australia, often in remote locations.

On February 19, 1942, shortly before 10:00am, Japanese forces launched air raids on Darwin, the first on Australian soil. More than 260 enemy planes, including land-based bombers and planes flying off aircraft carriers in the Timor Sea, attacked US and Australian shipping, the town's harbour, military and civil aerodromes and the local hospital.

Includes biographical accounts of WA Aboriginal servicemen James Dickerson, Lawrence Farmer, Lewis Farmer, Charles Hutchins, William John Jackson, Fred Lockyer, Randell Mason, William Mason, Arthur McCallum, James Melbourne, Gordon Charles Naley, Frederick Leslie Sayers, Claude Shaw.

The world’s passions and conflict of the early 20th century were to shape the new nation’s history, despite its physical distance from their epicentres. In some respects this was the least positive of the major periods of Australian history. Nationalism grew in strength, but it killed and sterilized as much as it inspired; egalitarianism tended to foster mediocrity; dependence on external power and models prevailed.

On 3 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Second World War on every national and commercial radio station in Australia. Almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War. They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against Japan in south-east Asia and other parts of the Pacific.

Japanese Midget Submarines 31 May – 1 June 1942. Presented by Dr Robert Nichols, the Memorial's Editor, on Friday, 31 May 2002, beside the Japanese midget submarine in Anzac Hall. Transcript and audio of speech.

During the Second World War, the Japanese flew 64 raids on Darwin and 33 raids on other targets in Northern Australia.

During World War 1, many Italians living in Australia served in the Italian or Australian armies, a number with distinction. Dr Tommaso Fiaschi, for example, earned official recognition for his service at the Australian field hospital during the Boer War and then went on to fight with both the Italian and Australian armies during World War I. These international conflicts did not impact on the status of Italians in Australia. The Second World War however, did this dramatically.

War conditions necessitated civilian rationing of clothing and certain foodstuffs in Australia. The main reasons for clothing rationing were the serious falling off in imports, increased Service demands, and reduced labour for local production of textiles and making up of garments. The supply to the United Kingdom and the Australian and Allied Services of maximum quantities of foodstuffs necessitated the rationing of sugar. butter and meat, while reduction in imports, consequent upon enemy occupation of Java, necessitated the rationing of tea. In addition to the controls exercised by the Rationing Commission, rationing of certain other commodities is directed by other departments, e.g., petrol, tobacco, liquor, etc.