'The Final Costly Year of World War II' with Robert M. Citino

Video Description

"The Agony of Victory: The Final Costly Year of World War II" explores the intense and destructive nature of the war's concluding months in 1945. Delivered by Robert M. Citino, PhD the presentation analyzes the interplay of Allied strategies of unconditional surrender and the Axis' fanatical Total War, shedding light on the human and strategic complexities that made 1945 one of the bloodiest chapters of WWII history. This session is part of The General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World War II at The National WWII Museum's 2024 International Conference on World War II presented by the Pritzker Military Foundation, on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. For more information: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/about-us/notes-museum/2024-international-conference-world-war-ii The International Conference on World War II is the premier adult educational event bringing together the best and brightest scholars, authors, historians, and witnesses to history from around the globe to discuss key battles, personalities, strategies, issues, and controversies of the war that changed the world. Joining the featured speakers are hundreds of attendees who travel from all over the world to learn and connect with each other through engaging discussions, question-and-answer periods, book signings, and receptions throughout the weekend. Rob Citino is a Distinguished Fellow at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, as well as one of America’s most distinguished military historians. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he attended St. Ignatius Loyola High School on the city’s west side and received his BA in history from The Ohio State University. He earned his MA and PhD from Indiana University. He joined the Museum in August 2016. An award-winning military historian and scholar, Citino has published 10 books including The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943; Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942; and The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years’ War to the Third Reich. He has also written numerous articles covering World War II and 20th-century military history. He speaks widely and contributes regularly to general readership magazines, including World War II. Citino enjoys close ties with the US military establishment and taught one year at the US Military Academy at West Point and two years at the US Army War College.