History

Apuntes

The Second World War (WWII) • World War II started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. • Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on 3rd September. • The war was fought between countries on two different sides: the Allies and the Axis Powers. • Countries on the Allied side included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, the United States of America, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Britain also had colonies (countries or areas controlled by another country and occupied by settlers from that country) across Southeast Asia. • Countries on the Axis Powers side included Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. • From 1937, Japan and China had been at war in a conflict known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. • It was the deadliest war in human history with around 70 million people killed. Events Leading Up to World War II • The origins of the Second World War were in the First World War. • The First World War ended with the Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919. • The treaty was a peace treaty between countries after World War I, but the German government did not participate in its making. Germany had the choice between signing it or...