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 remarkable history of the Netherlands. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Beevor on Arnhem. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

11 shocking moments in history

Second World War

5 facts about the Bevin Boys

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

Creating the SAS. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Opposing the Nazis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&A: Are any laws made by the Nazi regime still in use?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Third Reich’s nuclear programme: Churchill’s greatest wartime fear. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The postwar world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History heroBarbara Taylor Bradford chooses Winston Churchill (1874–1965). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview with Wendy Webster: “In its finest hour, Britain’s population was multiethnic and multinational”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Marshall Plan and the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

10 facts about crime on the home front in the Second World War

Britain’s secret wartime prison. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Prisoners of war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

'Darkest Hour': an interview with director Joe Wright. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Churchill’s darkest hour. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Churchill’s days of destiny. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe island fortress fallacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

The cruel cost of the Blitz: how did everyday Britons rebuild their lives?

The British soldiers who fought for Germany in the world wars. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

The Coventry Blitz – Q&A with historian Frederick Taylor

Sewing for the Nazis: who were the dressmakers of Auschwitz?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Last Kamikazes. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

El Alamein: the line in the sand. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Neville Chamberlain is underestimated, argues author Robert Harris. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Munich Conference. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The May 1940 War Cabinet Crisis: Churchill’s darkest hour?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Primo Levi (1919–87). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

You're currently on page 24