360The Second World War
The Second World War began when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 and ended with Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945. Fought across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, it was the deadliest conflict in history, with an estimated 70 to 85 million deaths. Afterwards, nations founded the United Nations.
On 1 September 1939, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. By 1941, Germany had occupied much of Europe, and the war spread when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June and Japan attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor in December.
The Allies, including Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, China and many others, fought the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. The war involved huge battles on land, at sea and in the air, and the bombing of cities.
Civilians suffered terribly. Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust.
Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945. In August, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan formally surrendered on 2 September.
To prevent another such war, 50 countries signed the United Nations Charter in June 1945.
- 1 September 1939
- Germany invades Poland
- June 1941
- Germany invades the Soviet Union
- December 1941
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
- 8 May 1945
- War in Europe ends
- 2 September 1945
- Japan surrenders
Sources: Imperial War Museums · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Britannica.