1945: The World We Fought For

1945, the year in which the Second World War ended, was also the year in which our modern world began to take shape.

But as the year opened, nothing was clear except that men were still fighting, on both sides, for what they thought was worth fighting for. Informed opinion in Washington thought it might take two or three years to defeat Japan. Hundreds of civilians were still being killed by V-bombs every month in Britain.

By telling the story of the year as it unfolded, from contemporary new...