Sunday Reading - World War II, Explained

 

A Sequel to the Great War     World War II, explained World War II was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945, involving over 50 countries and 100 million mobilized military personnel. The war became the largest conflict in human history in terms of geographic scale (see contemporary maps) and human cost, with an estimated 70 million to 85  million fatalities—including over 50 million civilians.   The roots of World War II lie in the punitive 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which disarmed Germany, imposed steep reparations, and forced it to accept sole blame for World War I. As the Great Depression challenged the liberal democratic order, militant nationalist movements looking to expand their territories emerged: Benito Mussolini's fascism in Italy, Adolf Hitler's National Socialism (or Nazism) in Germany, and Imperial Japan.   World War II’s end launched the Cold War, pitting the United States against the Soviet Union and reshaping global geopolitics into competing ideological blocs. The war’s unprecedented destruction and the horror of Axis war crimes—most notably the Holocaust—sparked a moral imperative to prevent future atrocities. ... Read our full deep dive on the war here.   Also, check out ...  > The dozens of attempts on Adolf Hitler's life. (More) > Over 700 civilian "little ships" saved the British at Dunkirk. (More) > The Soviet "Night Witches" that terrorized the German front lines. (More) Check out our additional features: First Responder Credit Union Academy Podcasts YouTube Mini's Blog Job Board 2025 Conference Mobile App