2. BEGINNING
World War II or the Second World War,
often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was
a global war that lasted from 1939 to
1945. It involved the vast majority of
the world's countries—including all of
the great powers—forming two opposing
military alliances: the Allies and the
Axis powers.
3. HITLER
Adolf Hitler ( 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German
politician who was the dictator of Germany from 1933
until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party,[a]
becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then assuming the title of Führer und
Reichskanzler
in 1934.[b] During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by
invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military
operations
throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust,
the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in
Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in
1913.
He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I. In
1919, he joined the German Workers' Party , the precursor of the Nazi
Party,
and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921. In 1923, he attempted
to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Munich and was imprisoned
with a sentence of five years.
In jail, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political
manifesto Mein Kampf.
After his early release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking
the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Germanism,
anti-Semitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and Nazi
propaganda. He frequently denounced international capitalism and
communism as part of a Jewish conspiracy.
4. MORE ABOUT HIM
Hitler's father, Alois Hitler Sr. (1837–1903),
was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna
Schicklgruber. The baptismal register did
not show the name of his father, and Alois
initially bore his mother's
surname, 'Schicklgruber'. In 1842, Johann
Georg Hiedler married Alois's mother. Alois
was brought up in the family of Hiedler's
brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. In 1876,
Alois was made legitimate and his
baptismal record annotated by a priest to
register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's
father (recorded as "Georg Hitler"). Alois
then assumed the surname "Hitler", also
spelled 'Hiedler', 'Hüttler', or 'Huettler'.
The name is probably based on the
German word hütte (lit., "hut"), and likely
has the meaning "one who lives in a hut".
5. VICTIMS
Civilian deaths totaled 50–
55 million. Military deaths from all
causes totaled 21–25 million, including
deaths in captivity of about
5 million prisoners of war.
6. POSITIVE SIDES OF THE “BIG WAR”
It brought about new technology and
countries. Modern warfare weapons
were created and most of them are still
used today. It lead to World War II and
the rise of Adolf Hitler and the
Holocaust. The rise of fascism and
communism rose and then fell in
Europe, and eventually the European
Union was formed.
7. Countries with the Highest Total Casualties in
World War II
Those totals do not include the more
than 14 million Soviet soldiers who
were wounded during the war. Among
the Soviet Union's 15
republics, Russia withstood the highest
number of casualties, with 6,750,000
military deaths and 7,200,000 civilian
deaths.
