WWII - Eighty Years

2025-04-18 - 2025-06-22

Listen: "Celebrating over two decades in Santa Fe, The Monroes share their insights into the significance of photojournalism"

Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to present a special exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the largest and most violent military conflict in human history. “WWII – Eighty Years” opens on Friday, April 18, with a special free screening of the HBO Documentary Film “Underfire: The Untold Story of PFC Tony Vaccaro” on Saturday, April 19 at 5 pm.  The exhibition continues through June 22, 2025.

This anniversary reminds us of war’s cost and the courage to believe in humanity, even in the darkest times.

World War II, which began in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. The war ended on September 2, 1945, when, having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrendered. The surrender followed the United States releasing atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945). By then, an estimated 60 to 80 million people had died, including up to 55 million civilians, and numerous cities in Europe and Asia were reduced to rubble. Among the people killed were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust.

The War was documented on a huge scale by thousands of photographers who created millions of pictures. American military photographers representing all of the armed services covered the battlefronts around the world. Additionally, each week Life Magazine brought the war home to Americans; it had correspondents and photographers in all theaters of the war, from the Pacific to Europe. Every activity of the war was depicted--training, combat, support services, and more. Photographers were there every step of the way to capture the heroic triumphs and devastating losses.

In 2025, the 80th anniversary of “the war that changed the world” a crucial lesson from WWII is the imperative of international cooperation, diplomacy, and the dangers of extremism to maintain peace and address global challenges. The devastating consequences of the war and the importance of learning from history must be remembered.