War Deaths - World War II

On September 1st 1939, Adolf Hitler launched his invasion of Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

The start of the war is generally held to be in September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and subsequent declarations of war on Nazi Germany by most of the countries in the British Commonwealth and France. Many belligerents entered the war before or after this date, during a period which spanned from 1937 to 1941, as a result of other events.

Amongst these main events are the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (fought between Nationalist China and Japan), the start of Operation Barbarossa (the Nazi invasion of Russia), and the attacks on Pearl Harbor and British and Dutch colonies in South East Asia.

Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940 and, after France surrendered, his speeches inspired Britain to continue fighting until the US and USSR joined the war. The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan prompted the US to enter the war.

Germany's first major defeat occurred at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, which was the largest of the Second World War. After becoming surrounded, the 6th Army surrendered and the Soviet Union emerged victorious. In 1944, on D-Day, Allied forces launched an assault to liberate France from German occupation. This allowed the Allies to invade France and take over Paris.

In 1945 the Soviets liberated Auschwitz and continued their offensive from the East. The Allies built a bridge across the Rhine and raced the Russians to Berlin. The Russians won, and arrived a few days before Hitler committed suicide on the 30th of April.

Germany surrendered on the 7th of May, which ended the war in Europe.

After the war ended in 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the world's superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict.

World War II records are available online and on CD.

World War II Timeline