Japan signs the formal instrument of surrender

A U.S. aircraft dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing tens of thousands immediately and many more through burns and radiation. Survivors, hibakusha, lived with long-term illness and stigma. The...

A second U.S. atomic bomb devastated Nagasaki. The attack killed civilians and added another population of hibakusha facing radiation illness, bereavement, and reconstruction. Japan’s surrender...

Japan announced its surrender, ending its formal colonial rule in Korea. Koreans organized committees and prepared for self-government, but U.S. and Soviet forces soon occupied separate zones and...

Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence after Japan’s surrender. Youth organizers had pressed for an immediate declaration, and Indonesians began building republican...

At a mass gathering in Hanoi, Hồ Chí Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam independent, invoking anticolonial struggle and universal rights. The declaration followed the August Revolution...

The UN Charter came into force, establishing an international body grounded in sovereign equality while hundreds of millions remained under colonial rule. The organization’s early structure gave major...

The International Military Tribunal began prosecuting leading Nazi officials for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The trials helped establish legal language for mass...

Ratings at HMIS Talwar in Bombay began a hunger strike over food, racist abuse, and service conditions; the action quickly spread through the Royal Indian Navy. Workers and students joined...

The United States formally recognized Philippine independence after decades of colonial rule and a devastating Japanese occupation. The Bell Trade Act and related arrangements tied reconstruction...

A customs dispute and armed clashes in Haiphong escalated into French naval bombardment and extensive destruction. Casualty estimates vary widely, and contemporaneous colonial reporting minimized...