World War II killed more people and destroyed more than any other war in history. It began in Europe 1939 and to almost every part of the world. were fought on land, at sea and in the air.

About 17 million soldiers were killed during the war and an even greater number of died of starvation, illnesses and from bomb . Millions of and other people that the Nazis didn't want died in Germany's camps.

Two main groups fought against each other during the war. The powers were led by Germany, Italy and Japan . The were made up of fifty countries including the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union .

World War II was caused by many things. Hitler and Nazi Germany wanted to take for what happened to the Germans in World War I. came up in many other countries. And there were problems after the First World War that called for a strong leader and a strong .

Early in the war Germany attacked its very quickly and won a lot of battles. But after the had entered the war in 1941 and the German of Russia had gone badly, Hitler's army started to lose . Allied forces invaded France in 1944 and a year later the Germans had to .

Japan, however, kept on fighting. In order to stop the Japanese the United States dropped two bombs over Hiroshima and . On September 2, 1945 the island state finally surrendered.