Conflict, fragile peace & conflict againOur World

World Wars

Explore selected turning points in the two world wars and the unstable years between them.

Subject guide · scope, chapters & sources ↗

Requested road · A short 1914–1945 overview, not a complete military history. The second war was not an inevitable, single-cause result of the first. Chapters discuss genocide and mass death without graphic imagery.

June–August 1914Europe & beyond

A regional crisis becomes world war

Decisions and alliances widen the conflict after an assassination.

11 November 1918Europe

The Western Front falls silent

An armistice brings the fighting there to a halt.

Typed telegram announcing that an armistice has been signed. — Archives New Zealand · CC BY-SA 2.0

1919–1933 CEEurope

A fragile peace and the Nazi rise

Grievances, economic crisis and political choices undermine democracy.

Hitler bows and shakes Hindenburg's hand at an outdoor ceremony. — Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S38324 / Theo Eisenhart · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

1937–1939 CEAsia & Europe

War expands in Asia and Europe

Major invasions lead into a wider conflict.

1941 CEGlobal

Global war and escalating genocide

New invasions widen the war as Nazi mass murder intensifies.

Heavy smoke rising from the burning USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. — U.S. Navy; National Archives · Public domain

May–September 1945Global

Germany and Japan surrender

The wars end in Europe and then in Asia.