The New Childrens Encyclopedia

WORLD WAR II

211

 THE CAMPS

Auschwitz in

Poland was

one of eight

concentration

camps that had

gas chambers.

In May, the

Axis army in

North Africa

finally surrendered

to the Allies.

1943 1944

In May, Germany

surrendered, but the war

continued in east Asia. Japan

surrendered only after atomic

bombs were dropped on two

cities in August.

On June 6 (D-day),

Allied forces invaded

the beaches of

Normandy, France,

and began to push

back the Axis forces.

1945

HISTORY AND POLITICS

The Holocaust The Nazi party was

very anti-Semitic (against Jews). They

forced Jews to wear badges with a

yellow star and, from 1942, sent

them to concentration camps. Many

millions of Jews died from illness,

starvation, and in gas chambers.

World at war Until mid-1941, the two

sides were the Axis (Germany, Italy, and

some east European countries) and the

Allies (Britain, France, and countries in

their empires). Nations around the world

became involved when Germany invaded

the Soviet Union and Japan’s attacks began.

Soviet Union

United States

of America

(US)

Pacific

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Indian

Ocean

Atlantic

Ocean

Allied powers (dots show

countries annexed by the USSR)

PEARL HARBOR

The unexpected attack

by the Japanese air force on

the US naval base in Hawaii

destroyed 19 ships and killed

2,403 soldiers. The United

States immediately declared

war on the Axis powers.

BATTLE OF

BRITAIN After

conquering France in June

1940, Germany planned to

take over Britain. The British

air force was targeted first,

but the German air force

was unable to defeat it.

STALINGRAD

Germany invaded the

Soviet Union in 1941. There

was a huge loss of life on both

sides, especially in the battle

for Stalingrad in the south.

In 1943, the weakened

German army surrendered.

TAKE A PICTURE

After the war, relations between the Soviet

Union and the US became very tense. Eastern

and western Europe were separated. The

collapse of the Berlin Wall, Germany, in 1989

became a symbolic end to this Cold War.

THE COLD WAR

Germany

Japan

Britain

Countries that joined the Allies

after the Pearl Harbor attack

Axis powers (dots show countries

that were conquered by them)

Neutral countries

THE WORLD AT WAR