New Zealand and the Second World War

New Zealand independently declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. This topic covers the battles fought, our defence forces, the Māori Battalion, heroes, nurses, the war effort at home ,and effects of the WW2 on New Zealand. SCIS no: 1892562

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Images
Māori Haka
Māori Battalion perform the haka
Every country has a small number of identifiable ‘iconic’ WW2 photographs and this is one of New Zealand's. Here members of the Māori Battalion perform the haka for George II, King of Greece, who ...
Articles
Achievements - Māori and the Second World War
The 28th (Maori) Battalion established a formidable reputation as one of New Zealand's finest fighting forces.
Images
Maori Battalion soldier Ref: DA-01069B-F
Maori Battalion soldier Ref: DA-01069B-F
Maori Battalion tommy gun training at Maadi, Egypt.
Articles
Second World War timeline - Second World War - overview
A brief outline of the key events of the Second World War, particularly those involving New Zealand.
Images
Crowd in Wellington on VJ Day
Crowd in Wellington on VJ Day
Crowd on a Wellington street on VJ Day, 15 August 1945. Photograph taken by an unidentified staff photographer for the Evening Post. Publication note - Possibly published in the Evening Post, 23...
Articles
28th Māori Battalion roll
28th Māori Battalion roll of those who fought in the Second World War.
Audio
Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage addresses New Zealand.
A radio address by the Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage at the outbreak of World War II.
Images
Devonport school pupils entering air raid shelters
Devonport school pupils entering air raid shelters
Devonport school pupils and teachers entering air raid shelters during World War II. Taken by an unidentified photographer for The Weekly News. Quantity: 1 b&w original photographic print(s).
Images
Recruitment poster, 1940
Recruitment poster, 1940
Second World War recruitment poster
Audio
Veterans mark 68th anniversary of Battle of Crete
Veterans mark 68th anniversary of Battle of Crete
The 68th anniversary of the Battle of Crete was marked in Wellington today, by veterans who were injured and captured.
Images
New Zealand infantry waiting for moment of advance across Senio river
New Zealand infantry waiting for moment of advance across Senio river
Shows New Zealand infantry in the town of Cotignola, Italy, waiting for moment of advance across the Senio river on 9 April 1945. In foreground, is Les Jesson and right rear, second from right is C...
Stories
New Zealand Art and World War 2
New Zealand Art and World War 2
Works of art related to New Zealand and World War Two.
Stories
VE Day in New Zealand - 9 May 1945
VE Day in New Zealand - 9 May 1945
"After the suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30th April, the Germans surrendered on 7th May 1945, bringing an end to the Second World War in Europe. The following day was designated Victory in Europe Day ...
Images
VJ Day in Wellington was a very special occasion to the young people of the city, and they took full advantage of their opportunities. Top left and bottom right show a traffic officer as the central attraction of the popular game of ring-a-rosie. The Army and Navy combined in patriotic songs, and young men of the pakeha variety found a vent for their enthusiasm in Maori hakas. (Evening Post, 18 August 1945)
VJ Day in Wellington was a very special occasion to the young people of the city, and they took full advantage of their opportunities. Top left and bottom right show a traffic officer as the central attraction of the popular game of ring-a-rosie. The Army and Navy combined in patriotic songs, and young men of the pakeha variety found a vent for their enthusiasm in Maori hakas. (Evening Post, 18 August 1945)
Articles
VE and VJ days - VE and VJ days
After over five years of rationing and anxiety about loved ones overseas, New Zealanders greeted the coming of peace in Europe in May 1945, and then victory over Japan in August, with understandabl...
Images
VE Day crowds at Parliament
VE Day crowds at Parliament
Crowds at the official VE Day celebrations, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, 1945
Videos
NZEF in Italy, 1944
Weekly Review film showing the activities of New Zealand soldiers in Italy during the winter of 1943/44
Articles
The North African Campaign - The North African Campaign
The second battle of El Alamein, which began 70 years ago this month, was the turning point of the war in North Africa. For New Zealand forces, this was longest and most important land campaign of ...
Images
Helmet, 'E.P.S. Information'
Helmet, 'E.P.S. Information'
This helmet was worn by a member of the Emergency Precautions Scheme (EPS) in New Zealand during World War II. Emergency Precautions Scheme The EPS was set up by the New Zealand government in 1935...
Images
United States Marine drinking milk, New Zealand
United States Marine drinking milk, New Zealand
A soldier of the United States Marine Corps drinking milk from a bottle, New Zealand. Photographed by an Evening Post staff photographer in December 1942. Caption - Some of the US Marines now vis...
Videos
Featherston's camp - Roadside Stories
Featherston's camp - Roadside Stories
The army camp established outside Featherston for training First World War recruits took on a very different nature in the Second World War. Over 800 Japanese prisoners of war were held in the camp...
Other
Godwin speaking about being a prisoner of war
Books
CHAPTER 4 — Response from the Home Front - The Home Front Volume I
AS the ‘phoney war’ in Europe was swept away by the blitzkrieg, and the Battle of Britain followed, there was in New Zealand an upsurge of wanting to contribute to the struggle, to pull one’s we...
Videos
Amberley hero - Charles Upham
A statue in Amberley honours military hero and local farmer Charles Upham, the only man to receive the Victoria Cross twice for courage under fire in the Second World War.
Images
Jayforce soldiers with Japanese children, Mishima Island, Japan
Jayforce soldiers with Japanese children, Mishima Island, Japan
Around 12,000 New Zealanders served in Jayforce, the New Zealand section of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Jayforce was stationed in Japan from 1946 to 1949, in the Yamaguchi and Shiman...
Images
Thompson sub-machine gun
Thompson sub-machine gun
Sub-machine gun known as the Thompson Model 1928 A1 or 'Tommy Gun'.
Audio
David Grant - Conscientious Objectors
David Grant - Conscientious Objectors
Historian David Grant on New Zealand conscientious objectors in both World Wars.
Images
Munitions factory workers, Second World War
Munitions factory workers, Second World War
Mrs Duncan, in the foreground, is shown here with other workers at a New Zealand munitions factory during the Second World War. The Industrial Psychology Division (IPD) of the Department of Scienti...
Images
Land girl
Land girl
A land girl poses for photographer John Pascoe on a dairy farm near Rotorua in 1943. During the Second World War many women worked on farms, as men were away fighting.
Articles
New Zealand and the Second World War - Second World War - overview
The Second World War was the greatest conflict ever to engulf the world. It took the lives of 50 million people, including one in every 150 New Zealanders, and shaped the world that we have lived i...
Videos
Weekly Review No. 249 - New Zealand and World War II
Weekly Review No. 249 - New Zealand and World War II
On the occasion of London's Victory Parade on 8 June 1946, the National Film Unit issued a special edition of Weekly Review. Cutting together material from earlier Weekly Reviews, it presents a pat...
Videos
Our People Our Century - Families at War
Our People Our Century - Families at War
New Zealand is a nation that has been scarred by war: from the horrendous loss of lives at Gallipoli to the decimation of the 28th Māori Battalion, Kiwis have gone to war in their 1000s, and many h...
Audio
Resistance fighter remembered as fearless heroine
Resistance fighter remembered as fearless heroine
One of the most celebrated resistance fighters of the Second World War, the New Zealand-born Nancy Wake, has been remembered as a fearless heroine.
Images
Tank designed by Robert Semple
Tank designed by Robert Semple
Tank designed by Robert Semple during World War 2. Photographer unidentified. Note on back of item reads "Bob's tank. Unofficial history page. "NZ RSA Review" July 1960" Quantity: 1 b&w original ...
Videos
Weekly Review No. 232 (1946)
Weekly Review No. 232 (1946)
On 23 January 1946 the 28th (Maori) Battalion arrived in Wellington, after returning from service during World War Two. 780 troops were welcomed home with powhiri and waiata as they disembarked at ...
Videos
Tama Tu
Tama Tu
Six Māori Battalion soldiers camped in Italian ruins wait for night to fall.
Videos
Over Here
Over Here
At any one time between mid 1942 and mid 1944, between 15,000 and 45,000 US servicemen were camped in NZ preparing for, and recovering from, war in the Pacific. The marines brought colour and drama...
Audio
New release of Blue Smoke
New release of Blue Smoke
Neil Finn has revived a song which has its origins in World War II and is seen as a starting point in the country's recorded music history.
Images
New Zealanders around a captured German motorcycle, World War II
New Zealanders around a captured German motorcycle, World War II
New Zealand soldiers around a captured German motorcycle in the Western Desert during the second Libyan Campaign, World War II. Taken 3 December 1941 by an official photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w o...
Images
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves south of Florence, Italy - Photograph taken by K G Killoh
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves south of Florence, Italy - Photograph taken by K G Killoh
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves a a casualty clearing station near Greve, south of Florence, Italy, 2 August, 1944. Corporal Alfred James (Jim) Gower drills in the foreground. Phot...
Articles
Battle of the River Plate - Battle of the River Plate
When HMS Achilles opened fire on the German 'pocket battleship' Admiral Graf Spee on 13 December 1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to engage the enemy in the Second World War. More than 80...
Images
Poster, 'Taringa Whakarongo!'
Poster, 'Taringa Whakarongo!'
This World War II fund-raising poster shows how Māori were appealed to in their own language. The National Savings Committee published many posters during the war to encourage saving and fund-raisi...
Articles
Operation Mercury
New Zealand soldiers in the battle for Crete.
Articles
Dig for victory: New Zealand's Second World War gardens
The outbreak of war in September 1939 saw a large number of New Zealand's younger gardeners rush to join the armed forces while older ones signed up for the Home Guard.
Articles
Jewish refugees in 1930-1940s New Zealand
The response of the New Zealand government to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the years before and after the Second World War.
Images
The Second World War
Records and images relating to New Zealand’s participation in the Second World War (1939-1945).
Images
War cemetery
The Bourail New Zealand war cemetery
Websites
WWW
New Zealand in the Second World War
Maps, diagrams and accounts of New Zealand in the Second World War.
Articles
The Kiwi Concert Party in the Second World War
The Kiwi Concert Party served an important role in entertaining the Allied troops during the Second World War.
Videos
New Zealand prepares for Japan
New Zealand prepares for a potential Japanese invasion in 1941.
Articles
The battle of El Alamein
New Zealand played a pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany in a land battle for the first time, changing the outcome of the Second World War.
Articles
A P.O.W's Train Journey
Hamish Neale recounts his experience as a prisoner of war.
Websites
WWW
Ormond Burton, peacemaker
Profile of the peacemaker Ormond Burton and why he stood against war.
Articles
New Zealand Women’s Land Service
History of the formation of New Zealand Women’s Land Service.
Articles
New Zealand human rights in the Second World War
Text of the Beaglehole Memorial Lecture delivered in New Zealand on human rights during the Second World War.
Articles
He served in WW1 and WW2
Record of New Zealander Edward Leslie Adams who fought in both World Wars.
Articles
The Phoney War
The Phoney War refers to what happened in Western Europe between September 1939 and the spring of 1940.
Videos
Three great British wartime deceptions
Three great British wartime deceptions, including 2 from the Second World War.
Articles
Featherston’s peace garden
The “Featherston Incident” broke out at the Prisoner of War (POW) camp on 25 February 1943, during the Second World War.
Articles
A story of the Second World War
An incredible New Zealand story of the 1939-45 global conflict.
Articles
El Alamein veteran brings history to life
94-year old veteran Maurice Abrahams recently visited Tapawera Area School to speak to students about his involvement in the Second World War battle of El Alamein, Egypt.
Websites
WWW
Veteran Portrait Project
NZIPP Second World War Veteran Portrait Project.
Articles
Second World War diaries
Rewai Street : Second World War diaries – 1945
Websites
WWW
Wrights Hill Fortress
The Wrights Hill Fortress, built during the Second World War is located in Karori, Wellington.
Articles
Defending New Zealand
Explore coast defence installations built to defend New Zealand from naval attack in the period 1880 to 1945.
Videos
War Stories
In Gaylene Preston's documentary, seven elderly women recall their personal experiences of the Second World War.
Videos
The ANZACs
Gladiators of the Second World War – The ANZACs.
Articles
Uncovering the story of Fortress Northland
The Bay of Islands was considered a likely place for the Japanese to land a main attack force.
Articles
Massacre at Featherston
Tragic Second World War event on New Zealand soil.
Images
Home Guards
Members of the Home Guard in Waikato.
Videos
Second World War hero Haane Manahi
Royal recognition given to Second World War hero Haane Manahi of 28th Māori Battalion.
Images
Wood carving created by a Japanese prisoner of war
Japanese wood carving
This wood carving was created by a Japanese prisoner at a camp near Featherston during WW2. At the request of the US military, New Zealand accepted Japanese prisoners of war from Guadalcanal. Whil...
Images
Charles Hazlitt Upham
Charles Upham
This is a portrait photograph of Charles Upham, one on New Zealand’s greatest Second World War heroes. Upham is the only New Zealand soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice for his bravery ...
Images
Poster, 'Volunteer For National Service'
Volunteer for national service
This poster appeals to New Zealanders to join the war effort by taking up auxiliary roles. For example, men could join the New Zealand Home Guard and women could become nurses. The Home Guard was ...
Images
HMS Leander lying at anchor in a Middle East port, World War II
HMNZS Leander
HMNZS Leander anchors in a Middle Eastern port during World War II. The light cruiser served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. In 1840 it sank the Italian commerce raider Ramb I ...
Images
On VJ day, Customhouse Quay, Wellington
VJ day
Canadian soldiers celebrate VJ Day or Victory Over Japan at Customhouse Quay in Wellington. America dropped atomic bombs over cities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing Japan to surrender and this br...
Images
[Germany. Heer. Panzergrenadier-Division Grossdeutschland, 90th] :New Zealand boys! Thanks for your message shot into our line a few days ago ... German soldiers do not murder their prisoners. The Men of the 90th Panzer-Grenadier-Division [1944]
Flyer to New Zealand boys
This flyer is an example of German propaganda distributed to Allied forces in Italy during WW2. It congratulates the New Zealand Army for their capture of Faenza in December 1944 but complains abo...
Images
Members of the Tonga Defence Force of 2nd NZEF Ref: PA1-f-107-07-2
Tonga Defence Force of 2nd NZEF
Two rows of men face each other in a bayonet drill in Tonga. They are members of the Tonga Defence Force. Great Britain along with allies and United States declared war on Japan after it attacked ...
Articles
The secret history of the Second World War in New Zealand
New Zealand had a whole secret history during the Second World War.
Images
News- There's a search off Lyttelton Harbour for WWII mines that could be activated by magnetic or acoustic activity. "Looks like 'Acoustic Activity' takes the day!" 11 August 2010
News- There's a search off Lyttelton Harbour for WWII mines that could be activated by magnetic or acoustic activity. "Looks like 'Acoustic Activity' takes the day!" 11 August 2010
The man leaning over the boat with a mine detector is trying to locate WW2 mines laid in Lyttelton Harbour by the German minelayer Adjutant. The navy’s Mine Counter Measures (MCMT) Team was asked t...
Articles
US forces in New Zealand - US Forces in New Zealand
The first American soldiers landed on New Zealand soil in June 1942, beginning an 'invasion' which would have a profound impact on both visitors and hosts over the next 18 months.
Articles
World War Two (New Zealand involvement)
World War Two (New Zealand involvement)
On 5 September 1941, Prime Minister Joseph Savage announced that New Zealand would be joining World War Two. Even thought New Zealand was in the war to support Britain and the Commonwealth, it made...
Articles
World War Two (causes and impacts)
World War Two (causes and impacts)
World War II started in 1939 when many countries, including New Zealand, declared war on Germany when it attacked Poland. The rise of Fascism and Hitler's need for expansion were two of the many fa...
Images
VJ Day street celebrations in Wellington
VJ Day street celebrations in Wellington
Young people singing in the streets of Wellington, VJ Day, 1945
Articles
Māori Battalion
Māori Battalion
Even though there was a Māori contingent in the First World War, the 28th Māori Battalion was only established in October 1939. Part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the battalion fought...
Images
Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour
Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour
Hunua Hall hosts the Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour which lists 67 men from the Hunua and Paparimu districts who saw active service during the Second World War.
Images
Germany. Propaganda Abschnitts Offizer Italien: Death. Doomsday 1944.
Germany. Propaganda Abschnitts Offizer Italien: Death. Doomsday 1944.
Mock-up of a cover of a magazine called "Death", featuring a skull wearing a helmet. This is the shock verso of a flyer whose front shows an image resembling a "Life" magazine cover, featuring a h...
Articles
Reflecting on wartime rationing
During World War Two it became increasingly difficult for New Zealand to import material.
Articles
War
How to search for war archives, including, First and Second World War unit diaries, Defence Department archives, and maps and plans.
Websites
WWW
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Collection of soldier cemeteries and memorials around the world.
Websites
WWW
Online cenotaph
Records of servicemen from WW2 and more.
Videos
The World War II Collection
More than 140,000 New Zealanders served in World War ll; over 11,000 of them lost their lives. This World War ll film collection serves as an on-screen remembrance.
Websites
WWW
Te Hau Kāinga – The Māori Home Front
This project explores the impacts of World War Two on the Māori Home Front during and after this conflict.
Articles
World War Two (daily life)
World War Two (daily life)
World War Two (1939-1945) is also known as WW2, WWII, or the Second World War. This entry will show you how to find information about what daily life was like and how it changed for those who staye...
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information about New Zealand and the Second World War on EPIC. Databases recommended: Australia New Zealand Reference Centre, Biography and World History (Gale In Context) and Britannica...
Images
The Second World War
A selection of records and images relating to the Second World War (1939 - 1945) from Archives New Zealand.
Stories
Conscientious objectors
Conscientious objectors
Audio
11: The Second World War
A second world war swept the globe, dragging New Zealand once more onto the battlefield, this time in the Pacific as well as Europe. In the likes of Crete, Greece and North Africa and on Pacific is...
Audio
12: Post-War New Zealand
12: Post-War New Zealand
After the war came a new quest for security and identity. With it came new political debates and alliances. Maori and Pasifika moved to the cities. The way we viewed ourselves as a nation was chang...
Images
Māori Haka
Māori Battalion perform the haka
Every country has a small number of identifiable ‘iconic’ WW2 photographs and this is one of New Zealand's. Here members of the Māori Battalion perform the haka for George II, King of Greece, who ...
Articles
Achievements - Māori and the Second World War
The 28th (Maori) Battalion established a formidable reputation as one of New Zealand's finest fighting forces.
Images
Maori Battalion soldier Ref: DA-01069B-F
Maori Battalion soldier Ref: DA-01069B-F
Maori Battalion tommy gun training at Maadi, Egypt.
Articles
Second World War timeline - Second World War - overview
A brief outline of the key events of the Second World War, particularly those involving New Zealand.
Images
Crowd in Wellington on VJ Day
Crowd in Wellington on VJ Day
Crowd on a Wellington street on VJ Day, 15 August 1945. Photograph taken by an unidentified staff photographer for the Evening Post. Publication note - Possibly published in the Evening Post, 23...
Articles
28th Māori Battalion roll
28th Māori Battalion roll of those who fought in the Second World War.
Audio
Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage addresses New Zealand.
A radio address by the Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage at the outbreak of World War II.
Images
Devonport school pupils entering air raid shelters
Devonport school pupils entering air raid shelters
Devonport school pupils and teachers entering air raid shelters during World War II. Taken by an unidentified photographer for The Weekly News. Quantity: 1 b&w original photographic print(s).
Images
Recruitment poster, 1940
Recruitment poster, 1940
Second World War recruitment poster
Audio
Veterans mark 68th anniversary of Battle of Crete
Veterans mark 68th anniversary of Battle of Crete
The 68th anniversary of the Battle of Crete was marked in Wellington today, by veterans who were injured and captured.
Images
New Zealand infantry waiting for moment of advance across Senio river
New Zealand infantry waiting for moment of advance across Senio river
Shows New Zealand infantry in the town of Cotignola, Italy, waiting for moment of advance across the Senio river on 9 April 1945. In foreground, is Les Jesson and right rear, second from right is C...
Stories
New Zealand Art and World War 2
New Zealand Art and World War 2
Works of art related to New Zealand and World War Two.
Stories
VE Day in New Zealand - 9 May 1945
VE Day in New Zealand - 9 May 1945
"After the suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30th April, the Germans surrendered on 7th May 1945, bringing an end to the Second World War in Europe. The following day was designated Victory in Europe Day ...
Images
VJ Day in Wellington was a very special occasion to the young people of the city, and they took full advantage of their opportunities. Top left and bottom right show a traffic officer as the central attraction of the popular game of ring-a-rosie. The Army and Navy combined in patriotic songs, and young men of the pakeha variety found a vent for their enthusiasm in Maori hakas. (Evening Post, 18 August 1945)
VJ Day in Wellington was a very special occasion to the young people of the city, and they took full advantage of their opportunities. Top left and bottom right show a traffic officer as the central attraction of the popular game of ring-a-rosie. The Army and Navy combined in patriotic songs, and young men of the pakeha variety found a vent for their enthusiasm in Maori hakas. (Evening Post, 18 August 1945)
Articles
VE and VJ days - VE and VJ days
After over five years of rationing and anxiety about loved ones overseas, New Zealanders greeted the coming of peace in Europe in May 1945, and then victory over Japan in August, with understandabl...
Images
VE Day crowds at Parliament
VE Day crowds at Parliament
Crowds at the official VE Day celebrations, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, 1945
Videos
NZEF in Italy, 1944
Weekly Review film showing the activities of New Zealand soldiers in Italy during the winter of 1943/44
Articles
The North African Campaign - The North African Campaign
The second battle of El Alamein, which began 70 years ago this month, was the turning point of the war in North Africa. For New Zealand forces, this was longest and most important land campaign of ...
Images
Helmet, 'E.P.S. Information'
Helmet, 'E.P.S. Information'
This helmet was worn by a member of the Emergency Precautions Scheme (EPS) in New Zealand during World War II. Emergency Precautions Scheme The EPS was set up by the New Zealand government in 1935...
Images
United States Marine drinking milk, New Zealand
United States Marine drinking milk, New Zealand
A soldier of the United States Marine Corps drinking milk from a bottle, New Zealand. Photographed by an Evening Post staff photographer in December 1942. Caption - Some of the US Marines now vis...
Videos
Featherston's camp - Roadside Stories
Featherston's camp - Roadside Stories
The army camp established outside Featherston for training First World War recruits took on a very different nature in the Second World War. Over 800 Japanese prisoners of war were held in the camp...
Other
Godwin speaking about being a prisoner of war
Books
CHAPTER 4 — Response from the Home Front - The Home Front Volume I
AS the ‘phoney war’ in Europe was swept away by the blitzkrieg, and the Battle of Britain followed, there was in New Zealand an upsurge of wanting to contribute to the struggle, to pull one’s we...
Videos
Amberley hero - Charles Upham
A statue in Amberley honours military hero and local farmer Charles Upham, the only man to receive the Victoria Cross twice for courage under fire in the Second World War.
Images
Jayforce soldiers with Japanese children, Mishima Island, Japan
Jayforce soldiers with Japanese children, Mishima Island, Japan
Around 12,000 New Zealanders served in Jayforce, the New Zealand section of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Jayforce was stationed in Japan from 1946 to 1949, in the Yamaguchi and Shiman...
Images
Thompson sub-machine gun
Thompson sub-machine gun
Sub-machine gun known as the Thompson Model 1928 A1 or 'Tommy Gun'.
Audio
David Grant - Conscientious Objectors
David Grant - Conscientious Objectors
Historian David Grant on New Zealand conscientious objectors in both World Wars.
Images
Munitions factory workers, Second World War
Munitions factory workers, Second World War
Mrs Duncan, in the foreground, is shown here with other workers at a New Zealand munitions factory during the Second World War. The Industrial Psychology Division (IPD) of the Department of Scienti...
Images
Land girl
Land girl
A land girl poses for photographer John Pascoe on a dairy farm near Rotorua in 1943. During the Second World War many women worked on farms, as men were away fighting.
Articles
New Zealand and the Second World War - Second World War - overview
The Second World War was the greatest conflict ever to engulf the world. It took the lives of 50 million people, including one in every 150 New Zealanders, and shaped the world that we have lived i...
Videos
Weekly Review No. 249 - New Zealand and World War II
Weekly Review No. 249 - New Zealand and World War II
On the occasion of London's Victory Parade on 8 June 1946, the National Film Unit issued a special edition of Weekly Review. Cutting together material from earlier Weekly Reviews, it presents a pat...
Videos
Our People Our Century - Families at War
Our People Our Century - Families at War
New Zealand is a nation that has been scarred by war: from the horrendous loss of lives at Gallipoli to the decimation of the 28th Māori Battalion, Kiwis have gone to war in their 1000s, and many h...
Audio
Resistance fighter remembered as fearless heroine
Resistance fighter remembered as fearless heroine
One of the most celebrated resistance fighters of the Second World War, the New Zealand-born Nancy Wake, has been remembered as a fearless heroine.
Images
Tank designed by Robert Semple
Tank designed by Robert Semple
Tank designed by Robert Semple during World War 2. Photographer unidentified. Note on back of item reads "Bob's tank. Unofficial history page. "NZ RSA Review" July 1960" Quantity: 1 b&w original ...
Videos
Weekly Review No. 232 (1946)
Weekly Review No. 232 (1946)
On 23 January 1946 the 28th (Maori) Battalion arrived in Wellington, after returning from service during World War Two. 780 troops were welcomed home with powhiri and waiata as they disembarked at ...
Videos
Tama Tu
Tama Tu
Six Māori Battalion soldiers camped in Italian ruins wait for night to fall.
Videos
Over Here
Over Here
At any one time between mid 1942 and mid 1944, between 15,000 and 45,000 US servicemen were camped in NZ preparing for, and recovering from, war in the Pacific. The marines brought colour and drama...
Audio
New release of Blue Smoke
New release of Blue Smoke
Neil Finn has revived a song which has its origins in World War II and is seen as a starting point in the country's recorded music history.
Images
New Zealanders around a captured German motorcycle, World War II
New Zealanders around a captured German motorcycle, World War II
New Zealand soldiers around a captured German motorcycle in the Western Desert during the second Libyan Campaign, World War II. Taken 3 December 1941 by an official photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w o...
Images
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves south of Florence, Italy - Photograph taken by K G Killoh
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves south of Florence, Italy - Photograph taken by K G Killoh
World War 2 New Zealand Engineers digging graves a a casualty clearing station near Greve, south of Florence, Italy, 2 August, 1944. Corporal Alfred James (Jim) Gower drills in the foreground. Phot...
Articles
Battle of the River Plate - Battle of the River Plate
When HMS Achilles opened fire on the German 'pocket battleship' Admiral Graf Spee on 13 December 1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to engage the enemy in the Second World War. More than 80...
Images
Poster, 'Taringa Whakarongo!'
Poster, 'Taringa Whakarongo!'
This World War II fund-raising poster shows how Māori were appealed to in their own language. The National Savings Committee published many posters during the war to encourage saving and fund-raisi...
Articles
Operation Mercury
New Zealand soldiers in the battle for Crete.
Articles
Dig for victory: New Zealand's Second World War gardens
The outbreak of war in September 1939 saw a large number of New Zealand's younger gardeners rush to join the armed forces while older ones signed up for the Home Guard.
Articles
Jewish refugees in 1930-1940s New Zealand
The response of the New Zealand government to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the years before and after the Second World War.
Images
The Second World War
Records and images relating to New Zealand’s participation in the Second World War (1939-1945).
Images
War cemetery
The Bourail New Zealand war cemetery
Websites
WWW
New Zealand in the Second World War
Maps, diagrams and accounts of New Zealand in the Second World War.
Articles
The Kiwi Concert Party in the Second World War
The Kiwi Concert Party served an important role in entertaining the Allied troops during the Second World War.
Videos
New Zealand prepares for Japan
New Zealand prepares for a potential Japanese invasion in 1941.
Articles
The battle of El Alamein
New Zealand played a pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany in a land battle for the first time, changing the outcome of the Second World War.
Articles
A P.O.W's Train Journey
Hamish Neale recounts his experience as a prisoner of war.
Websites
WWW
Ormond Burton, peacemaker
Profile of the peacemaker Ormond Burton and why he stood against war.
Articles
New Zealand Women’s Land Service
History of the formation of New Zealand Women’s Land Service.
Articles
New Zealand human rights in the Second World War
Text of the Beaglehole Memorial Lecture delivered in New Zealand on human rights during the Second World War.
Articles
He served in WW1 and WW2
Record of New Zealander Edward Leslie Adams who fought in both World Wars.
Articles
The Phoney War
The Phoney War refers to what happened in Western Europe between September 1939 and the spring of 1940.
Videos
Three great British wartime deceptions
Three great British wartime deceptions, including 2 from the Second World War.
Articles
Featherston’s peace garden
The “Featherston Incident” broke out at the Prisoner of War (POW) camp on 25 February 1943, during the Second World War.
Articles
A story of the Second World War
An incredible New Zealand story of the 1939-45 global conflict.
Articles
El Alamein veteran brings history to life
94-year old veteran Maurice Abrahams recently visited Tapawera Area School to speak to students about his involvement in the Second World War battle of El Alamein, Egypt.
Websites
WWW
Veteran Portrait Project
NZIPP Second World War Veteran Portrait Project.
Articles
Second World War diaries
Rewai Street : Second World War diaries – 1945
Websites
WWW
Wrights Hill Fortress
The Wrights Hill Fortress, built during the Second World War is located in Karori, Wellington.
Articles
Defending New Zealand
Explore coast defence installations built to defend New Zealand from naval attack in the period 1880 to 1945.
Videos
War Stories
In Gaylene Preston's documentary, seven elderly women recall their personal experiences of the Second World War.
Videos
The ANZACs
Gladiators of the Second World War – The ANZACs.
Articles
Uncovering the story of Fortress Northland
The Bay of Islands was considered a likely place for the Japanese to land a main attack force.
Articles
Massacre at Featherston
Tragic Second World War event on New Zealand soil.
Images
Home Guards
Members of the Home Guard in Waikato.
Videos
Second World War hero Haane Manahi
Royal recognition given to Second World War hero Haane Manahi of 28th Māori Battalion.
Images
Wood carving created by a Japanese prisoner of war
Japanese wood carving
This wood carving was created by a Japanese prisoner at a camp near Featherston during WW2. At the request of the US military, New Zealand accepted Japanese prisoners of war from Guadalcanal. Whil...
Images
Charles Hazlitt Upham
Charles Upham
This is a portrait photograph of Charles Upham, one on New Zealand’s greatest Second World War heroes. Upham is the only New Zealand soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice for his bravery ...
Images
Poster, 'Volunteer For National Service'
Volunteer for national service
This poster appeals to New Zealanders to join the war effort by taking up auxiliary roles. For example, men could join the New Zealand Home Guard and women could become nurses. The Home Guard was ...
Images
HMS Leander lying at anchor in a Middle East port, World War II
HMNZS Leander
HMNZS Leander anchors in a Middle Eastern port during World War II. The light cruiser served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. In 1840 it sank the Italian commerce raider Ramb I ...
Images
On VJ day, Customhouse Quay, Wellington
VJ day
Canadian soldiers celebrate VJ Day or Victory Over Japan at Customhouse Quay in Wellington. America dropped atomic bombs over cities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing Japan to surrender and this br...
Images
[Germany. Heer. Panzergrenadier-Division Grossdeutschland, 90th] :New Zealand boys! Thanks for your message shot into our line a few days ago ... German soldiers do not murder their prisoners. The Men of the 90th Panzer-Grenadier-Division [1944]
Flyer to New Zealand boys
This flyer is an example of German propaganda distributed to Allied forces in Italy during WW2. It congratulates the New Zealand Army for their capture of Faenza in December 1944 but complains abo...
Images
Members of the Tonga Defence Force of 2nd NZEF Ref: PA1-f-107-07-2
Tonga Defence Force of 2nd NZEF
Two rows of men face each other in a bayonet drill in Tonga. They are members of the Tonga Defence Force. Great Britain along with allies and United States declared war on Japan after it attacked ...
Articles
The secret history of the Second World War in New Zealand
New Zealand had a whole secret history during the Second World War.
Images
News- There's a search off Lyttelton Harbour for WWII mines that could be activated by magnetic or acoustic activity. "Looks like 'Acoustic Activity' takes the day!" 11 August 2010
News- There's a search off Lyttelton Harbour for WWII mines that could be activated by magnetic or acoustic activity. "Looks like 'Acoustic Activity' takes the day!" 11 August 2010
The man leaning over the boat with a mine detector is trying to locate WW2 mines laid in Lyttelton Harbour by the German minelayer Adjutant. The navy’s Mine Counter Measures (MCMT) Team was asked t...
Articles
US forces in New Zealand - US Forces in New Zealand
The first American soldiers landed on New Zealand soil in June 1942, beginning an 'invasion' which would have a profound impact on both visitors and hosts over the next 18 months.
Articles
World War Two (New Zealand involvement)
World War Two (New Zealand involvement)
On 5 September 1941, Prime Minister Joseph Savage announced that New Zealand would be joining World War Two. Even thought New Zealand was in the war to support Britain and the Commonwealth, it made...
Articles
World War Two (causes and impacts)
World War Two (causes and impacts)
World War II started in 1939 when many countries, including New Zealand, declared war on Germany when it attacked Poland. The rise of Fascism and Hitler's need for expansion were two of the many fa...
Images
VJ Day street celebrations in Wellington
VJ Day street celebrations in Wellington
Young people singing in the streets of Wellington, VJ Day, 1945
Articles
Māori Battalion
Māori Battalion
Even though there was a Māori contingent in the First World War, the 28th Māori Battalion was only established in October 1939. Part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the battalion fought...
Images
Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour
Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour
Hunua Hall hosts the Hunua and Paparimu Roll of Honour which lists 67 men from the Hunua and Paparimu districts who saw active service during the Second World War.
Images
Germany. Propaganda Abschnitts Offizer Italien: Death. Doomsday 1944.
Germany. Propaganda Abschnitts Offizer Italien: Death. Doomsday 1944.
Mock-up of a cover of a magazine called "Death", featuring a skull wearing a helmet. This is the shock verso of a flyer whose front shows an image resembling a "Life" magazine cover, featuring a h...
Articles
Reflecting on wartime rationing
During World War Two it became increasingly difficult for New Zealand to import material.
Articles
War
How to search for war archives, including, First and Second World War unit diaries, Defence Department archives, and maps and plans.
Websites
WWW
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Collection of soldier cemeteries and memorials around the world.
Websites
WWW
Online cenotaph
Records of servicemen from WW2 and more.
Videos
The World War II Collection
More than 140,000 New Zealanders served in World War ll; over 11,000 of them lost their lives. This World War ll film collection serves as an on-screen remembrance.
Websites
WWW
Te Hau Kāinga – The Māori Home Front
This project explores the impacts of World War Two on the Māori Home Front during and after this conflict.
Articles
World War Two (daily life)
World War Two (daily life)
World War Two (1939-1945) is also known as WW2, WWII, or the Second World War. This entry will show you how to find information about what daily life was like and how it changed for those who staye...
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information about New Zealand and the Second World War on EPIC. Databases recommended: Australia New Zealand Reference Centre, Biography and World History (Gale In Context) and Britannica...
Images
The Second World War
A selection of records and images relating to the Second World War (1939 - 1945) from Archives New Zealand.
Stories
Conscientious objectors
Conscientious objectors
Audio
11: The Second World War
A second world war swept the globe, dragging New Zealand once more onto the battlefield, this time in the Pacific as well as Europe. In the likes of Crete, Greece and North Africa and on Pacific is...
Audio
12: Post-War New Zealand
12: Post-War New Zealand
After the war came a new quest for security and identity. With it came new political debates and alliances. Maori and Pasifika moved to the cities. The way we viewed ourselves as a nation was chang...

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World War Two (junior)
World War Two (junior)

World War Two (WWII or WW2), also called the Second World War, took place between 1939 and 1945. It is called a world...

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World War Two
World War Two

World War II ( WWII or WW2) was a global war which resulted in the death of 50 to 85 million people. It became the...

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World War Two (New Zealand involvement)
World War Two (New Zealand involvement)

On 5 September 1941, Prime Minister Joseph Savage announced that New Zealand would be joining World War Two. Even...

Junior Secondary

World War Two (daily life)
World War Two (daily life)

World War Two (1939-1945) is also known as WW2, WWII, or the Second World War. This entry will show you how to find...

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Second World War
Second World War

The Second World War of 1939–45 demanded of New Zealand its greatest national effort. The least controversial of New...

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: Second World War

In 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand...

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: Second World War

In 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand...

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In 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand...

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