The Nazis › The Second World War in outline
The Second World War in outline
The Nazi regime's aggression started the Second World War in Europe. This outline gives the main stages of the war and explains how it created the conditions for the Holocaust.
Why this outline is brief
The war is a huge subject, and this page covers only the main points. For more detail, see the Imperial War Museum's galleries and collections (see remembrance and learning) and your course materials. The focus here is how the war connects to the story of the Nazi regime.
Rearmament and expansion
Once in power, the regime rebuilt Germany's armed forces in breach of the peace settlement of 1919 and expanded the country's borders, including the union with Austria in 1938 and the takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Britain and France hoped that concessions would prevent war, a policy known as appeasement. It failed.
1939 to 1941: war in Europe
- September 1939: Germany invades Poland on 1 September. Britain and France declare war on Germany on 3 September.
- 1940: Germany occupies Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Britain, led by Winston Churchill from May, stands against invasion and wins the Battle of Britain in the air.
- June 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union. Mobile killing squads begin murdering Jews in Soviet territory.
- December 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and the United States enters the war; Germany declares war on the US.
1942 to 1943: the turning point
In January 1942 the Wannsee Conference coordinated the genocide of European Jews (see persecution and the Holocaust). Soviet victory at Stalingrad in early 1943 marked a turning point on the Eastern Front, and German military officers began to plan the removal of Hitler. In 1943 the Allies also invaded Italy.
1944 to 1945: defeat
- 6 June 1944: the D-Day landings in Normandy begin the liberation of western Europe.
- July 1944: an assassination attempt on Hitler by army officers fails; Hitler survives with minor injuries and about 200 people connected with the plot are executed. See resistance.
- 27 January 1945: Soviet forces liberate Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- April 1945: British, American and Soviet forces liberate more camps as they advance; Hitler dies by suicide on 30 April.
- 8 May 1945: the war in Europe ends with Germany's surrender, remembered as VE Day. The war with Japan ended later that year.
The war and the Holocaust
The war did not cause the regime's hatred of Jews, but it gave the regime the opportunity and the cover to turn persecution into mass murder. Occupation of Poland and then the Soviet Union brought millions of Jews under German control. Many of the killing centres were built in occupied Poland, and the transport and killing of Jews continued even when the army needed trains and resources for the front. Many millions of people also died as soldiers and civilians, in bombing, in occupation and in famine.
Britain's part
For Britain, the war meant the Blitz, rationing, evacuation and the service of millions of people at home and overseas. Britain also took in refugees from the Nazi regime, including around 10,000 children on the Kindertransport before the war began, and survivors after 1945. Those details are worth checking in the IWM and other museum collections.
What came next
After the war the Allies put the surviving leaders on trial: see the Nuremberg trials.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Second World War start?
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and Britain and France declared war on 3 September.
When did the war in Europe end?
Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, remembered as VE Day.
Was the Holocaust part of the war?
The genocide happened during the war and was made possible by it. It was carried out by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators, and it continued even when resources were needed for the war effort.