World War II for Kids (2024)

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How to explain World War II to a child? ›

World War II started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. The war in Europe ended with Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. The war in the Pacific ended when Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945.

World War Two, also known as World War II, was a devastating global conflict that began in 1939 and ended in 1945. It involved 100 million people from over 30 countries. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities.

The war began when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain declared war against Germany on September 3rd 1939. Germany was led by Adolf Hitler - the leader of the Nazi party. Hitler had extreme anti-Semitic beliefs, which meant that he wanted to eradicate Jewish people.

World War II started in 1939. By the time it ended in 1945, the war involved nearly every part of the world. The two sides that fought the war were called the Axis powers and the Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan were the major Axis powers.

Read more in our online classroom. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, ended the debate over American intervention in both the Pacific and European theaters of World War II. The day after the attack, Congress declared war on Imperial Japan with only a single dissenting vote.

With the death of Adolph Hitler on April 30, 1945, Germany had no other recourse but to surrender, which took place on May 7. Four countries assumed administrative control of Germany: United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France.

Faced with severe shortages of oil and other natural resources and driven by the ambition to displace the United States as the dominant Pacific power, Japan decided to attack the United States and British forces in Asia and seize the resources of Southeast Asia.

The ultimate aim of the Nazi Party was to seize power through Germany's parliamentary system, install Hitler as dictator, and create a community of racially pure Germans loyal to their führer, who would lead them in a campaign of racial cleansing and world conquest.

Which country played the biggest role in WWII? ›

While most see the United States as having played the crucial role in vanquishing Adolf Hitler, the British, according to polling data released this week, see themselves as having played the biggest part in the war effort — although they acknowledge that the Nazis would not have been overcome without the Soviet Union ...

Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the “pure” German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for the German race to expand.

World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China.

Primary themes in historical analysis of the war's origins include the political takeover of Germany in 1933 by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party; Japanese militarism against China, which led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Second Sino-Japanese War; Italian aggression against Ethiopia, which led to the ...

World War II started in 1939. By the time it ended in 1945, the war involved nearly every part of the world. The two sides that fought the war were called the Axis powers and the Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan were the major Axis powers.

The Second World War was a time of major upheaval for children in Britain. Over a million were evacuated from towns and cities and had to adjust to separation from family and friends. Many of those who stayed, endured bombing raids and were injured or made homeless.

When countries or other large groups of people use weapons to fight each other, the fight is called a war. Throughout history groups of people have used war as a way of settling differences.