U.S., World War II United News Newsreels, 1942-1946

The U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) was created during World War II (WWII). Part of its role was to oversee U.S. propaganda and promote patriotism. As part of this role, the OWI produced 267 newsreels called the 'United News.’ These newsreels were shown throughout the U.S., but were targeted to overseas viewers. The reels were released in several languages, including German. However, they were primarily distributed to allied and neutral countries.

Newsreels averaged 10 minutes in length and consisted of U.S. military footage depicting allied military operations and other events from the home front. Much of the footage was taken by military combat photographers and is in excellent condition.

This database contains all 267 issues of the 'United News' newsreels. Some of the more well known WWII events depicted in these newsreels includes:

• Marines Raise Flag Over Iwo Jima


• D-Day


• Japanese Sign Final Surrender


• Invasion of Sicily


• MacArthur Returns to the Philippines

Warning: Due to the nature of war, some of the newsreels contain graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.