New World War II Exhibition Explores NY’s Role

A new exhibition at the New York Historical Society illuminates how the New York metropolitan region and its citizens contributed to the Allied victory in World War II.

After the passage of the Lend-Lease bill, enabling the U.S. to supply the Allies, New York was a major war material port. Pictured are some of the nearly 100 British, Dutch, and Norwegian merchant ships passing through New York harbor on Sept. 9, 1941. Courtesy of the New York Historical Society

NEW YORK—A new exhibition at the New York Historical Society illuminates how the New York metropolitan region and its citizens contributed to the Allied victory in World War II.

The war, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, profoundly impacted New York.

Beginning in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, New York became a hub of war activities. Workers in the city did everything from shipbuilding at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to uniform manufacturing at Brooks Brothers.