Germany had entered World War II with its leaders hoping that they would conquer the world. Germany created the Axis powers with Japan and Italy, knowing that once Germany was strong enough, they would go it alone. Germany started to take over lands in Europe.

After World War I, The Treaty of Versailles made Germany furious because it reduced its land, money, population, and rights. Before the war, Hitler’s Nazi Germany was almost overthrown by the SA, a violent group of people in Germany, in the Night of Long Knives. In Europe, WWII began on September 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland. Soon after, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, had a plan to take over countries in Europe so that he could take over the world. Germany took over countries such as France and Denmark.

During World War II, many battles including The Blitz and D-Day were fought by Germans and other countries. The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last chance to nearly win the war.

During all of this, Germany had been torturing and killing many people especially Jews. This was called the Holocaust. The Warsaw Ghetto was one battle fought between some Jews and Germans. Nazis destroyed and damaged Jewish owned shops, homes, and synagogues for 24 hours, and it went on to be called Kristallnacht. Almost all Jews had been sent to concentration camps and extermination camps.

On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered this bloody battle. World War II was one of the most gruesome wars in the history of the world. In total, about 40,000,000 people were killed.