From 1939 to 1945 there was the Second World War. Germany started the war because it always wanted to become more powerful and stronger. At that time Germany was a dictatorship. The National Socialist party ruled. Almost all European countries were involved in the war, as were Asia and the USA. About 60 million people died. Germany lost the war, after which the country was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR.
Large parts of the city of Breslau, now called Wroclaw and located in Poland, were destroyed in World War II.
War of 1939-1945
World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. It began on September 1, 1939, when German troops invaded neighboring Poland. It ended on May 8, 1945 in Europe with the surrender of Germany and in early September 1945 in Asia, where Japan, as an ally of Germany, had waged war against the USA. More than 60 million people were killed in the war.
Germany wanted to be powerful again
The National Socialists had come to power in Germany under the leadership of the dictator Adolf Hitler in 1933. They wanted Germany to become big and powerful again. They no longer wanted to accept the provisions of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which limited Germany's power after the First World War.
The beginning of the World War
Germany started the war on September 1, 1939. Poland was the first country to be invaded and occupied by German troops. Germany was allied with Italy and Japan. These powers were called "Axis Powers". During the six years of the war, the main opponents of the Axis were Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the USA. A total of 27 nations were involved in this global war. In Europe almost all countries were directly affected by the war. First of all, the German troops managed to conquer most of the European countries. But Germany could not defeat its opponents.
 |
| In 2015, Japan commemorates the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. |
The War spread
In 1941, the United States entered the war against Germany. Together with its allies, the so-called Allies, the USA liberated the areas that had been occupied by the German armies. The German troops were defeated. The dictator committed suicide on April 30, 1945 in Berlin. Germany surrendered (surrendered) on May 8, 1945, and by May 9, 1945, fighting in Europe was over.
Atomic bomb in Japan
But that was not the end of the Second World War. Japan was at war with the United States in Asia. The Japanese government only gave up in early September 1945 after American bombers dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed or seriously injured.
Many millions of victims
In total, over 60 million people were killed in World War II. Most of the victims were in the Soviet Union, where 27 million people lost their lives. More than six million Jews were murdered by the Germans. Sinti and Roma and other minorities were persecuted and killed.
 |
| Refugee treks flee from enemy armies in Eastern Europe in 1945. |
Post-War Order
After the end of the war, Germany was initially occupied by troops from the victorious powers of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the USA and France. Then the country was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR. One consequence of the war was the division of Europe into two power blocs. The communist states in Eastern Europe, which were under the dominance of the Soviet Union, were called the "Eastern Bloc". The leading power of the Western democracies was the USA. This post-war order only came to an end in 1990 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist system in Eastern Europe.