World War II started when Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, launched an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France then declared war on Germany. It soon developed into a total war that involved 61 countries, and 1.7 billion people. The Axis countries consisting of Germany, Italy, and Japan were on one side. The other side was made up of the Allies, and included the USA, UK, France, and Russia among other European nations. Fifty million people lost their lives in this war, and hundreds of millions were injured.
World War II ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. On May 8th 1945, the Allies accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender, and this day marks the end of World War II in Europe. However, though the war had officially ended, it raged on in the Far East, for Japan refused to surrender. The Japanese held on for some more months until atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th. Japan surrendered to the Allies only on 15th August 1945, and the surrender was officially signed on September 2nd 1945, abroad the battleship USS Missouri. That is why we say that World War II had not one, but many ‘last days’!
Last Soldier
The last soldier to surrender in World War II was Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier. He surrendered only in 1974, 29 years after the Japanese surrendered. He had been living on a remote island, and did not know that the war had ended!
