World War II Summary
World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved more than 50
nations and was fought on land, sea and air in nearly every part of the world. Also known as the
Second World War, it was caused in part by the economic crisis of the Great Depression and by
political tensions left unresolved following the end of World War I.
The war began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and raged across the globe
until 1945, when Japan surrendered to the United States after atomic bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the end of World War II, an estimated 60 to 80 million people had
died, including up to 55 million civilians, and numerous cities in Europe and Asia were reduced
to rubble.
Among the people killed were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps as
part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust. The legacy of the war
included the creation of the United Nations as a peacekeeping force and geopolitical rivalries
that resulted in the Cold War.
References:
Onion, A. (2023, June 27). World War II: Summary, Combatants & Facts. HISTORY.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history