Second World War

How the peace after 1918 broke down

The Treaty of Versailles imposed territorial losses, military restrictions and reparations on Germany, but the treaty alone did not make another war inevitable. The Great Depression weakened democratic politics, while Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement deliberately pursued dictatorship, racial conquest and revision of the European settlement.

Britain and France tried negotiation, deterrence and rearmament in different combinations. Appeasement reflected fear of another catastrophic war, military weakness and genuine grievances about parts of the peace settlement, but the Munich Agreement of 1938 sacrificed Czechoslovakia's borderlands without producing a durable peace.

From European crisis to global war

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. The rapid defeat of Poland was followed in 1940 by German victories in Scandinavia and western Europe. Britain remained in the war after France fell, while fighting spread through the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 in a war of conquest and annihilation. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December brought the United States directly into the conflict. Existing wars in Europe and Asia now formed one global struggle.

Turning the military balance

The Soviet victory at Stalingrad, the Allied success in North Africa, the Battle of the Atlantic and American advances after Midway did not end the war at once, but together shifted the strategic initiative. Industrial production, shipping, intelligence and the ability to replace losses were as important as individual battles.

The invasion of Normandy in June 1944 established a western front in France while the Red Army advanced from the east. Germany surrendered in May 1945. In Asia, fighting continued until Japan accepted surrender after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan.

Occupation, genocide and civilian war

Occupation policies differed across territories but commonly involved coercion, forced labour, food seizures and violent reprisals. Nazi racial policy radicalised into the systematic murder of Europe's Jews. Roma and Sinti, disabled people, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish elites, political opponents and others were also targeted.

Civilian populations experienced bombing, hunger, conscription, displacement and family separation. Home fronts expanded state power and drew women into new forms of paid and military work, although wartime mobilisation did not remove older inequalities.

Victory and consequences

Victory left difficult questions about borders, refugees, justice and reconstruction. War-crimes trials established important precedents but could not address every crime. Germany and other territories were occupied, while political rivalry between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union hardened into the Cold War.

The conflict's meaning remains debated. Military history explains operations and resources; social and cultural history recovers civilian experience; histories of empire show how colonial troops, labour and resources sustained the war and how wartime promises encouraged demands for independence.

Key developments and why they matter

28 June 1919 marks treaty of versailles. The peace treaty with Germany reshaped borders and imposed military restrictions and reparations. 30 January 1933 marks hitler became chancellor. The Nazi seizure of power destroyed German democracy and enabled an expansionist racial dictatorship. These dates matter because each development grew from earlier events and changed what people could do next.

29–30 September 1938 marks munich agreement. Britain, France, Germany and Italy agreed that Germany could annex the Sudetenland. 1 September 1939 marks germany invaded poland. Britain and France declared war two days later. Reading these events together connects political decisions with changes in war, work and everyday life.

10 May–22 June 1940 marks fall of france. German forces defeated France and the Low Countries. 22 June 1941 marks operation barbarossa. Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union. Reading these events together connects political decisions with changes in war, work and everyday life.

7 December 1941 marks pearl harbor. Japan attacked the US Pacific Fleet; the United States entered the war. 23 October–11 November 1942 marks second battle of el alamein. The British-led Eighth Army defeated Axis forces in Egypt. Together, these later events show how Second World War developed over time and why its consequences lasted.

How historians explain this topic

A timeline shows what happened, but it does not explain every cause. To understand Second World War, historians compare political decisions, available resources, ideas and the experiences of people in different places.

Important questions include why did the international system fail to contain axis expansion; how did industrial capacity, logistics and coalition warfare shape the outcome; how should military campaigns be studied alongside genocide, occupation and empire. Answering them requires evidence, not just a list of dates or the actions of one famous person.

The further reading includes Second World War, How Europe Went To War In 1939, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Official records explain government decisions, while objects, personal accounts and later research reveal experiences and disagreements that official papers may miss.