World War II

==Start and end dates==
{{See also|List of timelines of World War II}}
{{WWII timeline}}
World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=6}}<ref>Wells, Anne Sharp (2014) ''Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War against Germany and Italy''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing. p. 7.</ref> with the [[German invasion of Poland]] and the [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|United Kingdom]] and [[French declaration of war on Germany (1939)|France]]'s declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the [[Pacific War]] include the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] on 7 July 1937,<ref>{{Cite book|first1=John|last1=Ferris|first2=Evan|last2=Mawdsley|title=The Cambridge History of the Second World War, Volume I: Fighting the War|location=[[Cambridge]]|language=en|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Förster|Gessler|2005|p=64}} or the earlier [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]], on 19 September 1931.<ref>Ghuhl, Wernar (2007) ''Imperial Japan's World War Two'' Transaction Publishers pp. 7, 30</ref><ref>Polmar, Norman; Thomas B. Allen (1991) ''[[iarchive:worldwariiameric00polm|World War II: America at war, 1941–1945]]'' {{ISBN|978-0-394-58530-7}}</ref> Others follow the British historian [[A. J. P. Taylor]], who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hett |first=Benjamin Carter |date=1 August 1996 |title="Goak here": A.J.P. Taylor and 'The Origins of the Second World War.' |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Canadian Journal of History |language=English |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=257–281 |doi=10.3138/cjh.31.2.257 |access-date=14 September 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307200155/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs&userGroupName=nm_p_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true |url-status=live }}</ref> Other theorised starting dates for World War&nbsp;II include the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italian invasion of Abyssinia]] on 3 October 1935.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ben-Horin|1943|p=169}}; {{Harvnb|Taylor|1979|p=124}}; Yisreelit, Hevrah Mizrahit (1965). ''Asian and African Studies'', p. 191.<br />For 1941 see {{Harvnb|Taylor|1961|p=vii}}; Kellogg, William O (2003). ''[[iarchive:americanhistorye00kell|American History the Easy Way]]''. Barron's Educational Series. p. 236 {{ISBN|978-0-7641-1973-6}}.<br />There is also the viewpoint that both World War&nbsp;I and World War&nbsp;II are part of the same "[[European Civil War]]" or "[[Second Thirty Years' War]]": {{Harvnb|Canfora|2006|p=155}}; {{Harvnb|Prins|2002|p=11}}.</ref> The British historian [[Antony Beevor]] views the beginning of World War{{nbsp}}II as the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] fought between [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] and the forces of [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]] and the [[Soviet Union]] from May to September 1939.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|p=10}} Others view the [[Spanish Civil War]] as the start or prelude to World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2017 |title=In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII' |website=Fresh Air |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |url-status=live |access-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416013707/https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |archive-date=16 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|title=The Spanish Civil War and the Coming of the Second World War|author=Frank, Willard C.|year=1987|journal=The International History Review|volume=9|issue=3|pages=368–409|doi=10.1080/07075332.1987.9640449|jstor=40105814|via=JSTOR|access-date=17 February 2022|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201143429/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|url-status=live}}</ref>

The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ([[Victory over Japan Day|V-J Day]]), rather than with the formal [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September 1945, which officially [[End of World War II in Asia|ended the war in Asia]]. A [[Treaty of San Francisco|peace treaty between Japan and the Allies]] was signed in 1951.{{sfn|Masaya|1990|p=4}} A 1990 [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|treaty regarding Germany's future]] allowed the [[German reunification|reunification of East and West Germany]] to take place and resolved most post–World War{{nbsp}}II issues.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 September 1990 |title=German-American Relations – Treaty on the Final Settlement concerning Germany |url=https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507180629/https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |archive-date=7 May 2012 |access-date=6 May 2012 |publisher=usa.usembassy.de}}</ref> No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed,<ref>[https://asiatimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ Why Japan and Russia never signed a WWII peace treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604072306/https://www.atimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ |date=4 June 2018 }}. ''Asia Times''.</ref> although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the [[Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956]], which also restored full diplomatic relations between them.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p ''Texts of Soviet–Japanese Statements; Peace Declaration Trade Protocol.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209133402/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p |date=9 December 2021 }} [[The New York Times]], page 2, 20 October 1956.<br />Subtitle: "Moscow, October 19. (UP) – Following are the texts of a Soviet–Japanese peace declaration and of a trade protocol between the two countries, signed here today, in unofficial translation from the Russian". Quote: "The state of war between the U.S.S.R. and Japan ends on the day the present declaration enters into force [...]"</ref>