1939–1945
The conflict began in Europe in September 1939 and ended in 1945 after the defeat of the Axis powers.
The largest and most geographically extensive war in modern history, transforming international politics and reshaping the world after 1945.
ENTER THE ARCHIVE ↓A global conflict involving dozens of countries and multiple major theaters of war.
The conflict began in Europe in September 1939 and ended in 1945 after the defeat of the Axis powers.
Major campaigns occurred across Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Pacific, with effects felt around the world.
The principal opposing coalitions were the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers.
The war contributed to the creation of the United Nations and the emergence of a new international balance of power.
The origins of World War II were connected to political, economic and territorial tensions that developed after World War I.
The Treaty of Versailles, economic instability, the rise of authoritarian governments and aggressive expansion by Germany, Italy and Japan contributed to increasing international tensions.
During the 1930s, Germany expanded its territory while Italy pursued imperial ambitions and Japan expanded across East Asia. Attempts by other powers to prevent escalation ultimately failed.
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain and France subsequently declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of the European phase of World War II.
The war involved shifting alliances and dozens of nations, but two principal coalitions dominated the conflict.
The coalition included major powers such as Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, China and France, alongside many other nations.
Germany, Italy and Japan formed the principal Axis powers, supported at different stages by other states.
Major turning points from the outbreak of war to the final surrender of the Axis powers.
Germany invaded Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war. The conflict spread across Europe.
German forces rapidly defeated France and occupied large parts of Western Europe. Britain continued the war.
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December, bringing the United States directly into the war.
Allied victories at Midway and El Alamein, alongside the Battle of Stalingrad, marked major shifts in the direction of the war.
Allied forces landed in Normandy on 6 June and began the liberation of Western Europe.
Germany surrendered in May. Japan surrendered in September after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet entry into the war against Japan.
Fighting across Western and Eastern Europe formed one of the central theaters of the war.
The conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union became one of the largest military theaters in history.
Allied and Axis forces fought across North Africa as control of the Mediterranean and access routes became strategically important.
Japan and the Allied powers fought across vast oceanic distances in campaigns involving islands, naval forces and air power.
A series of major Allied victories began to shift the strategic balance. Stalingrad became a major turning point on the Eastern Front, while Midway significantly weakened Japan's offensive momentum in the Pacific.
In North Africa, the defeat of Axis forces at El Alamein helped open the way for the Allied advance across the Mediterranean region.
World War II accelerated the development and use of technologies that would influence the post-war world.
Radar became an important tool for detecting aircraft and ships and played a major role in air and naval operations.
Long-range bombers, fighters and carrier aircraft transformed strategic and tactical warfare.
Cryptanalysis and signals intelligence provided important information to Allied commanders.
The Manhattan Project produced the first nuclear weapons, introducing a technology that would reshape international security.
Governments redirected enormous industrial resources toward military production.
Civilians experienced rationing, displacement, bombing and major changes in everyday life.
Resistance movements operated in several occupied countries, opposing Axis occupation and assisting Allied operations.
World War II caused enormous military and civilian losses. Civilian populations were deeply affected by occupation, forced displacement, starvation, bombing and systematic persecution.
The Holocaust resulted in the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Millions of other people were also persecuted and killed by the Nazi regime.
The war remains one of the most devastating conflicts in human history.
Germany surrendered unconditionally, ending the war in Europe.
The war in the Pacific entered its final stage following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan.
Japan formally surrendered aboard USS Missouri, bringing World War II to an end.
The war fundamentally changed the international political system. European powers were weakened while the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the dominant global powers.
The United Nations was established in 1945 with the aim of promoting international cooperation and preventing future conflicts.
Decolonization accelerated in the following decades, while tensions between the United States and Soviet Union developed into the Cold War.
The borders, institutions and political movements created or strengthened during and after World War II continued to shape global affairs.
World War II transformed nations, societies, economies, technology and international relations.
Its consequences continue to influence the political and international order of the modern world.
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