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World War II
Home » Germany » Germany: A History » World War IIIncreasing the territories of the German Reich was not enough for the greedy Hitler. In March 1939, he ordered German troops to occupy Prague and on September 1 of the same year he unleashed World War II by invading Poland. The war lasted five and a half years and took the lives of 55 million people.
In many countries the Germans were considered to be ruthless occupiers with their conquered land stretching from the Atlantic coast in France to just short of Moscow, from North Norway to North Africa. The attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 marked the beginning of a merciless campaign of destruction in the East.
The entry of the U.S. into the war and the defeat of the German army at Stalingrad marked a turning point. When liberating occupied territories, the Allied troops encountered many resistance groups. Even in Germany there had been acts of resistance against the Nazis by individuals or resistance groups throughout the years. The war continued, claiming huge casualties on both sides, until the Allies occupied the entire German Reich. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 and a week later the darkest chapter in the history of Germany was brought to an end with the country’s unconditional capitulation.
Related Germany: A History Articles
- Germany: A History Overview
- The Middle Ages
- The Bismarck Reich
- World War I
- World War II
- The Cold War
- The New Berlin Republic