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Second World War

The Second World War, which started on 1 September 1939, was fought between two groups of countries: on one side were the Axis Powers (primarily Germany, Italy and Japan); and on the other side were the Allies (which included Britain, France, the Soviet Union, China and America, plus Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India). The war broke out when Germany, which was ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, invaded Poland in 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, on 3 September 1939. It has been estimated that more than 50 million people died in the Second World War, including an estimated six million Jewish people in the Nazi genocide. The conflict ended on 2 September 1945 when Japan formally surrendered to the Allies

The wrecked remains of an Allied glider that participated in Market Garden

Second World War

Why Operation Market Garden, the Allies' battle for Arnhem, was a disaster in the planning

King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of United Kingdom. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

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The Windsors at war: what did the royal family do during WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Archduchess Ileana’s great grandmother, Queen Victoria, whose birth certificate Ileana desperately needed to get hold of (Getty) 

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Queen Victoria and the Nazis: the strange tale of the search for the royal family's Aryan origins. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chancellor Adolf Hitler with President Paul von Hindenburg, Berlin, 1 May 1933

Second World War

Hitler's millionaire backers: how Germany's elite facilitated the rise of the Nazis

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Sir Max Hastings: “While the Dambuster raid’s strategic impact was almost nil, its propaganda value was immense”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Neil MacGregor photographed in London. “It seemed a good juncture, as Britain sets to leave the EU and operate alone on the world stage, to get a sense of how other countries view us,” he says. (Image by Chris McAndrew)

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Neil MacGregor: “A consistent element of Britain’s image has been the lonely fighter standing against foreign tyranny”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Poles watch the first of the German invasion planes over Warsaw, 1939. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Poland, 1939: World War Two begins. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Adolf Hitler watches German troops march in central Poland

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Roger Moorhouse: How Hitler’s diplomatic miscalculation led to WW2. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Brendan Simms photographed by Ian Farrell

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Hitler’s war with Anglo-America. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Pearl Harbour attack

Second World War

The 11 most significant battles of WW2

Soldiers standing on the western front during WW2

Second World War

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Second World War

Brendan Sims, professor of the history of international relations at the University of Cambridge

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Books interview with Brendan Simms: “Hitler didn’t see Germany’s main enemy as Soviet communism, but Anglo-American capitalism”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

One of the earliest and most famous examples of extremism comes from ancient Rome. Starting in 264 BC and continuing for more than a century, Rome engaged in a series of wars with neighbouring Carthage. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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A brief history of extremism – from ancient Rome to al Qaeda. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

US infantrymen in snowdrifts

Second World War

Q&AWhy is Hitler's Ardennes campaign called the battle of the Bulge?

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9 notable ambassadors in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

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9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of the battle of Agincourt. By attacking over unsuitable ground, Charles d’Albret “doomed his army”, says Rupert Matthews. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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The top 10 military blunders in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, seated from left to right, in Yalta for the 'Big Three' Conference. In February 1945, British diplomats were already joking that it was actually a conference of the ‘Big Two-and-a-Half’. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)

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WW2: When Britain stood (not quite) alone. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill gives his famous 'V for Victory' sign while addressing crowds from the balcony of City Hall in Sheffield, November 1941. Churchill's "inspirational" wartime speeches "galvanised the country and became part of our national lexicon", says historian Dr Nick Lloyd. (Photo by Capt. Horton/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)

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Debate: Is British history too fixated with the story of the world wars?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Appeasement and the road to World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The battle for Okinawa: one Marine’s story. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The women of Bletchley Park. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Members of the Home Guard train racing pigeons as messengers in Blackburn, July 1940. Soon, carrier birds like this would be supplying vital intelligence on German arms factories and troop movements in occupied Europe. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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The pigeons’ war on Hitler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The (forgotten) Iraq war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary Fulbrook and Richard J Evans. (Photo by Fran Monks)

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"Many of the Holocaust's perpetrators got away with it": why Nazi crimes went unpunished. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Edward Burns in 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), directed by Steven Spielberg. (Photo by Dreamworks LLC /Paramount Pictures)

Second World War

D-Day on screen: 5 TV and film depictions of the Second World War operation

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A new view of D-Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings, 6 June 1944. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to D-Day: what happened, how many casualties were there, and what did it accomplish?

To the point: soldiers prepare themselves for hand-to-hand combat by learning bayonet skills. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

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The road to D-Day: the masterplan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Members of a British parachute regiment consult their maps during a training exercise just weeks before D-Day. Training was intensive – and dangerous. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post /Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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The road to D-Day: getting ready for action. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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