人類史上規模最大的戰爭，涉及全球絕大多數國家，超過1億名軍人投入作戰，總死亡人數高達5,000萬人。主要參戰方是英美中蘇組成的同盟國，對上德日義組成的軸心國，戰火遍布全球。最後歐洲戰場因希特勒進攻蘇聯失敗，納粹德國後繼無力，太平洋戰場也在美國向日本長崎和廣島投下兩顆原子彈後宣告結束。1945年，同盟國宣布勝利，戰爭結束。二戰對現代國際局勢影響深遠，型塑了往後世界的政治版圖。我們現在熟悉的聯合國便是在二戰後成立，而戰勝國也成為常任理事國，掌握世界秩序。美國因本土幾乎不受戰火摧殘，於戰後脫穎而出，成為全球霸主，並與同樣為戰勝國的蘇聯展開長達半世紀的冷戰。時至今日，世界各國仍小心翼翼處理著二戰遺留下來的慘痛教訓。

Date: 1939 – 1945

World War II is by far the largest scale war that has taken place in human history, involving the vast majority of the world’s countries, more than 100 million enlisted soldiers, and a total death toll as high as 50 million. The main parties involved in this war were the Allies formed by the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China against the Axis powers led by Germany, Japan, and Italy.  The flames of WWII engulfed the entire globe. Toward the end of the war, Hitler’s failed 

attempt to invade the Soviet Union set back Nazi Germany’s advancement in the European theater. Also, after the US dropped two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the battles in the Pacific theater abruptly ended. In 1945, the Allies announced victory, bringing the war to an end. 

WWII made a profound impact on the international dynamics of the time and shaped the global political landscape of the future. The United Nations we are now familiar with was established after WWII with the victorious nations serving as permanent members and controlling world order. As its homeland remained almost untouched by the conflict, the U.S. emerged as the post war global superpower and a half-century-long Cold War against the Soviet Union, another victorious country, began. Even till this day, countries around the world are still dealing with the painful aftermath of WWII.