Wallingford Public Library is presenting a four-part lecture series commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War beginning Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. with the lecture “The Great Patriotic War:  The Titanic Clash Between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union” by Mark Albertson. This lecture focuses on June 22, 1941, when Adolf Hitler hurled 139 divisions, 3,300,000 German troops, three-quarters of the Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union in the greatest land war in history, ultimately deciding the land campaign for the entire war. Winston Churchill once observed, "That it was the Soviet Army that tore the guts out of the German Army." Twenty-five million Soviet lives were lost in the most brutal combat in the Second World War.

The lecture series continues according to the following schedule: Wednesday, September 23 “V-E Day, May 7, 1945,” Wednesday, October 21 “The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” and Wednesday, November 18 “V-J Day, September 2, 1945.”

Mark Albertson is an historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine and teacher of history at Norwalk Community College for the Extended Studies Program and the Lifetime Learners Institute. He has been a member of the United States Naval Institute for over 25 years.

All lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Advance registration is appreciated. For more information please contact the library at www.wallingfordlibrary.org or 203-265-6754.