The Battle of Britain, Luftschlacht um England, literally “Air battle for England” is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was also… Read more »
Eager to invade France, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler demanded a new weapon that could easily pierce the concrete fortifications of the French Maginot Line — the only major physical barrier standing between him and the rest of Western Europe. In 1941, the year after France fell, German steelmaker and arms manufacturer Friedrich Krupp A.G. began… Read more »
The Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, peaking at over 300.000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60.000 to 200.000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly by some one million people, including German occupiers and military. Dutch… Read more »
The first mass deportation of Polish nationals by Nazi Germany occurred less than a year before the outbreak of war. It was the eviction of Jews holding Polish citizenship, during the Kristalnacht attack of 9–10 November 1938 carried out by the SA paramilitary forces. Approximately 30.000 Polish Jews were rounded up and sent via rail to prewar concentration camps… Read more »
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the world’s nations, including all of the great powers, eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more… Read more »