Yahoo! Picks - bringing you the best of the Web since 1995

In 1944, a German SS officer named Karl Höcker was stationed at Auschwitz as an adjutant to the camp's commandant. During the time he was there, the Nazi official kept a scrapbook. But this isn't like any Auschwitz documentation you've seen before. In these images, Höcker and other camp leadership and staff relax at a wooded retreat, hold sing-alongs, and smoke cigars. Josef Mengele, the camp's monstrous doctor, smiles and socializes. SS auxiliary women lounge on deck chairs, snack on berries, and get caught in a rain storm. Höcker lights a Christmas tree.

In January of this year, these rare, unnerving photographs were donated to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Now, the museum has made them available online, along with background on Höcker and a moving comparison with the "Auschwitz album," the one other known photographic collection from the camp. The contrast between the two is terrifying, and unforgettable.

You may have known that the Red Cross served the troops during World War II by handing out donuts and coffee, setting up evacuation tents, and hosting dances. But did you think of their talented operatives as playing an accordion or manning a cinemobile? This touching exhibit commemorates the war experiences of the Red Cross' recreation staff through the memorabilia of several of its workers. With a format that literally asks you to turn each page (drag the corner), the scrapbook shares images of badges, maps, newspaper clippings, and personal snapshots -- including a sweet photograph of a young woman and two very pleased-looking men at a St. Patrick's Day dance. More than seven million Red Cross volunteers served in more than 50 countries. Take a nostalgic peek at what just a few accomplished.

When the entire world goes to war, the ramifications are felt for many generations. Sixty years after WWII impacted countless souls, its aftermath still colors the way we view other countries and cultures, their politics, the role of military, and the price we're willing to pay for democracy. On this site by the BBC, all are invited to share their memories of the war, whether it's a personal story or a family story. You can read stories posted by date, location, and key events. Most tales currently posted are from the British perspective, and include vivid and harrowing accounts of the Liverpool Blitz, the bombing of Wimbledon, school air raid shelters, and doodlebugs at playtime. In "The Day I Almost Bought It," Steve shares a close call as an eight-year-old in London. While some may think this is old news, the value of preserving first-hand WWII accounts for those who didn't live through it is worth any skepticism.