Military Places & Events to Visit

World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the majority of the world’s nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history and directly involved more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. In a state of “total war”, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (in which approximately 11 million people were killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres (in which approximately one million people were killed), it resulted in 50 million to over 70 million fatalities.

The war began with the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, followed by the British and French declaration of war on Germany in September 1939. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, including Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states.

In June 1941, Germany turned on the Soviets, opening the largest and the deadliest theatre of war in history. Nazi Germany acquired additional territories in eastern Europe, invaded the Soviet Union, and embarked on a massive campaign of extermination and enslavement, eventually committing the genocide of over 3 million Soviet and Polish Jews, as well as various Romani peoples, gay people, disabled people, priests, political opponents, and others deemed “unworthy of life” by the Nazi regime. In response, the Soviet Union, along with the United States, China, and the other Allies, eventually defeated the Axis powers and liberated Europe.

The United Nations (UN), formed in the aftermath of the war, and including many of the victorious powers, became the first international organization to address issues of global concern, including decolonization, human rights, and international security. The wars had also a profound impact on the course of world history, including the formation of the Cold War, the rise of superpowers, and the onset of the nuclear age.