Home
Second World War

Second World War - Getty Images

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 LibrarySongs of the Holocaust: the music of Aleksander Kulisiewicz. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How should we remember the men of Bomber Command?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 things you may not know about British history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Paddy Ashdown chooses ‘Blondie’ Hasler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Industrial revolution

The hidden history of Wales

Remembering the Kindertransport. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe Allies’ big idea: the largest air battle of the Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Germans who fought Hitler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hunting Britain’s Nazis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A history of homelessness. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Forgotten trials: the other side of Nuremberg. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tales from D-Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A new life of Churchill. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Who were the real monuments men of the Second World War?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Nazi on the run. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Otto von Wächter: On the trail of the Nazi who disappeared. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Navy and the battle for Britain in 1940. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The good war?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryIan Kershaw on the trials of writing modern history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charles de Gaulle reconsidered. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Opposing the Nazis: the secret diary of a German against the Third Reich. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britons under Nazi rule. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

100 women who changed the world

The Sumatran Railway: the forgotten death railway. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

Where did Adolf Hitler live? The homes of the führer and how they were used as Nazi propaganda

The Dad’s Army guide to defending Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How the RAF won the war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The mystery of Donald Maclean. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

8 historical events that happened in June

Killing Hitler's hangman: the dramatic story of Reinhard Heydrich's assassination. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

You're currently on page 23