Chapter 1: The World Goes to War

The World Goes to War

A World About to Change

Imagine waking up one morning to discover that everything you knew about your neighborhood had changed overnight. Your school might be closed. Your parents might be whispering nervously. The radio in the living room might be crackling with voices speaking in tones you've never heard before—tones of worry, of fear, of urgency.

This is what happened to millions of people around the world on September first, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine. And it would change their lives forever.

On that cool autumn morning in Europe, before many Americans had even finished their breakfast, the largest and most destructive war in human history began with an event that seemed, to some, almost like a thunderclap out of a clear sky. Tanks rumbled across borders. Airplanes roared overhead. Soldiers marched in perfect formation, their boots striking the ground in rhythmic unison. And somewhere in a command bunker in Berlin, a man with a small, dark mustache and wild, angry eyes stared at a map of Europe, watching his plans unfold exactly as he had imagined them.

His name was Adolf Hitler, and he was about to change the world in ways that no one could have predicted—ways that would touch every corner of the globe, every family, every child who had ever lived.

The Spark That Started the Fire

Germany, the country Hitler led, had been angry for a long time. After the first World War, which had ended in nineteen eighteen, Germany had been forced to sign a document called the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty made Germany take responsibility for starting the war. It made Germany pay enormous amounts of money to other countries. It took away some of Germany's land and made its military very small.

Many Germans felt this was unfair. They felt embarrassed and angry. And Hitler, who was a very talented speaker, convinced millions of people that Germany was the greatest nation on Earth and that it deserved more—more land, more power, more respect.

On that September morning, Hitler gave the order. Three million German soldiers crossed into Poland, the country that lay between Germany and a larger country called the Soviet Union. German tanks rolled forward. German airplanes bombed Polish cities. Polish soldiers tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered and outgunned.

Within just a few weeks, Poland would be conquered. But this was only the beginning. Because Poland had allies—other countries that had promised to help if Germany attacked. And when Germany refused to stop, those countries declared war on Germany. So now, instead of one country fighting another, countries all over the world were being drawn into the conflict.

Britain and France, two powerful nations in Europe, declared war on Germany on September third. Other countries soon followed. What had started as one country's invasion had become something much, much bigger.

By the end of nineteen thirty-nine, half the world was at war.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

As the war spread, countries began to pick sides. It's a bit like when you and your friends decide to play a game—pretty soon, everyone has to choose a team. In this case, there were two main teams, and historians still use these names today.

The first team was called the Axis powers. The word "axis" might remind you of an axle—the rod that goes through the center of a wheel and helps it spin. An axis is like a center that things revolve around. The Axis powers believed that they were the center of their world, and that everyone else should follow them.

The three main Axis powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan. Germany was led by Adolf Hitler, who believed that some groups of people were superior to others and that Germany should rule the world. Italy was led by Benito Mussolini, who was a dictator—a person who takes complete control of a country and doesn't allow people to disagree with him. Japan was a powerful empire in Asia that wanted to expand its territory and power.

On the other side were the Allies. The word "allies" means friends or partners. The Allies believed that countries should work together and that no single country should be allowed to dominate the entire world.

The main Allied countries were Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Britain was an island nation with a powerful navy and a vast empire that spanned the globe. France was another European country with a strong military tradition. The United States was a young nation across the Atlantic Ocean that had been mostly staying out of world affairs, though that would soon change. And the Soviet Union, which covered a huge part of eastern Europe and northern Asia, was led by Joseph Stalin—another dictator, but one who would eventually fight against the Axis.

These two groups of countries would fight each other for six long years, across every ocean and on almost every continent. It was truly a world war.

A War Unlike Any Other

You might be wondering: hadn't there been other wars before? Weren't there battles and soldiers and weapons in previous centuries?

Yes, there had been. But World War II was different in ways that made it far more terrible than anything that had come before.

First, it was much bigger. Previous wars had involved a few countries or maybe a continent. World War II eventually included almost every country on Earth. More than seventy million soldiers fought in the war. That's more than the entire population of many countries combined!

Second, the weapons were much more powerful. In earlier centuries, soldiers fought with swords, spears, and later, single-shot rifles. By nineteen thirty-nine, armies had tanks, airplanes, submarines, and bombs that could destroy entire city blocks in a single blast. Some of these weapons could kill thousands of people in seconds.

Third, the war spread across the entire planet. Battles raged in the deserts of North Africa, where soldiers fought in sandstorms and extreme heat. Battles froze on the vast plains of Russia, where winter temperatures dropped far below zero and soldiers on both sides sometimes had to abandon their tanks and machines because the fuel froze solid. Battles burned in the jungles of Asia and the Pacific Islands, where soldiers waded through mud and fought with machetes and rifles. Battles roared across the skies of Europe, where airplanes dogfighting—chasing and shooting at each other—looked like enormous, deadly dances.

There was nowhere to hide. No part of the world that the war would not eventually touch.

Churchill: The Voice in the Darkness

Among the Allied leaders, one figure stood out not because of his army or his weapons, but because of his words.

Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Britain—roughly the same as being the leader of the country's government. He was a large man, often seen with a thick moustache, a formal hat, and a cigar perpetually in his mouth. He had a deep, booming voice that seemed made for giving speeches. And in the dark days of nineteen forty, when Britain stood almost alone against the German war machine, Churchill gave some of the most famous speeches in history.

"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties," Churchill told the British people in May of nineteen forty, "and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"

Imagine being a child in Britain in nineteen forty. Your country was at war. German airplanes were bombing British cities every night. Your parents might not know if they would have enough food. Your older brother or sister might have joined the army. And then, through the static of your radio, you would hear Churchill's voice—strong, determined, refusing to give up.

"The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us," Churchill admitted. But he added: "If we are to pass through this trial and emerge-prosperous at the other end, we must make t