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The 5 W’s of WW2 Andre Cameron
What • The war in Europe was caused by the German invasion of Poland and the war in Asia was triggered by the Japanese invasion of China. Searching for more fundamental causes is more complicated and becomes intertwined with answers to "What could have prevented World War 2?" and "What chains of events led to WW2?"
Good Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin D. Roosevelt Who Bad Adolf Hitler Gen. Hidaka Tojo Benita Mussolini
How • It ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. Germany surrendered on May 7th to the Western Allies, and May 8th to the Soviet Union, 1945, about a week after Adolf Hitler had committed suicide. Japan was able to hold out for another few months and was preparing for a desperate and bloody defense in the event of an American invasion of the home islands. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 respectively. After that the Imperial government sought the Emperor's personal authority to surrender which he granted. He made a personal radio address announcing the decision on August 15, 1945. The surrender was signed on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the battleship A.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. President Truman officially declared an end to hostilities by Presidential Proclamation on December 31, 1946 (Proc. no. 2714, 61 Stat. 1048)
What The modern world is still living with the consequences of World War 2, the most titanic conflict in history. 70 years ago on September 1st 1939, Germany invaded Poland without warning sparking the start of World War Two. By the evening of September 3rd, Britain and France were at war with Germany and within a week, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa had also joined the war. The world had been plunged into its second world war in 25 years. Six long and bloody years of total war, fought over many thousand of square kilometres followed. From the Hedgerows of Normandy to the streets of Stalingrad, the icy mountains of Norway to the sweltering deserts of Libya, the insect infested jungles of Burma to the coral reefed islands of the pacific. On land, sea and in the air, Poles fought Germans, Italians fought Americans and Japanese fought Australians in a conflict which was finally settled with the use of nuclear weapons. World War 2 involved every major world power in a war for global domination and at its end, more than 60 million people had lost their lives and most of Europe and large parts of Asia lay in ruins.
When • December 8, 1941 was the date of the US declaration of war, but in fact the U.S. was at war December 7, 1941 at about 7:55 AM when the Japanese attacked. • German forces surrendered in Italy on April 29 1945, and in Western Europe on May 7, 1945. On the Eastern Front, Germany surrendered to the Soviets on May 8, 1945. A German Army Group Centre resisted in Prague until May 11, 1945. On July 11, 1945, the Allied leaders met in Potsdam, Germany. They confirmed earlier agreements about Germany. On August 15, 1945 Japan surrendered, with the surrender documents finally signed aboard the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, ending the war. President Truman officially declared an end to hostilities by Presidential Proclamation on December 31, 1946 (Proc. no. 2714, 61 Stat. 1048)
SUMMARY • World War 2, also known as the Second World War, was a war fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe and, during much of the 1930s and 1940s, in Asia. • The war in Europe began in earnest on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, and concluded on September 2, 1945, with the official surrender of the last Axis nation, Japan. However, in Asia the war began earlier with Japanese interventions in China, and in Europe, the war ended earlier with the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. • The conflict spilled over into Africa, included a handful of incidents in the Americas, and a series of major naval battles. • It was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world and involving more countries than any other war, as well as introducing powerful new weapons, culminating in the first use of nuclear weapons. • However, despite the name, not all countries of the world were involved; some through neutrality (such as the Eire - though Eire supplied some important secret information to the Allies; D-Day's date was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information supplied from Ireland - Sweden, and Switzerland), others through strategic insignificance (Mexico). • The war ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict and served as a backdrop for genocidal killings by Nazi Germany as well as several other mass slaughters of civilians which, although not technically genocide, were significant. • These included the massacre of millions of Chinese and Korean nationals by Japan, internal mass killings in the Soviet Union, and the bombing of civilian targets in German and Japanese cities by the Allies. In total, World War II produced about 50 million deaths, more than any other war to date.
