World War II

The Second World War (also known as World War II and WWII) was the largest military conflict in human history. Some consider it to have begun with the Japanese operations in China in 1931. Others claim that it was essentially a continuation of the first World War. However, the conflict is generally recognized as running from September 12, 1939, to September 2, 1945. In the war over sixty million people died. The war also saw the development and deployment of the first atomic weapons. As it is such a significant part of modern history and due to a high level of interest in military history, the Second World War is a hot subject for debate among SD.net's population.

Causes

The seeds of the conflict were sewn in 1919, with the Versailles Treaty. By the terms of this treaty, Germany was forced to accept all responsibility for the start of the First World War and was required to pay extensive reparations, reduce its military to a standing army of 100,000 men, and meet various other requirements. None of the provisions of the treaty were popular with the German populace. At the time of the armistice ending WW1, Germany still had armies in the field, and Germany proper had never been invaded. This led to the dolschtosslegende (literally: myth of the stab in the back), the popular belief that Germany was not so much defeated as betrayed by her political leadership.

World War 2 in Popular Culture

• World War 2 is a common setting for FPS games

See Also

• Holocaust
• Nazi Germany