Donate

INTERACTIVE

INTERACTIVE

World War II in Europe

World War II in Europe

Click through this timeline to better understand how the Axis and Allies engaged in conflict in Europe between 1935 and 1945.

Grades

5 - 11

Subjects

Social Studies, World History

A "theatre" of conflict is the geographic place where military events occur. World War II had two primary theatres: The European Theatre and the Pacific Theatre.

The European Theatre of World War II stretched across the entire continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains. It also encompassed campaigns throughout the Mediterranean Basin, including the Middle East and North Africa.

The roots of World War II in Europe are found far deeper than the development of the Wehrmacht in 1935, and linger far beyond its unconditional surrender ten years later. This timeline, however, is limited to pivotal events in that crucial decade (1935-1945) in modern European history. Click through to learn more.

Visit our interactive timeline of the Pacific Theatre to better appreciate how the conflict truly was a world war. 

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Editors
National Geographic Society
Melissa MacPhee, National Geographic Society
Meghan Modafferi, National Geographic Society
Producer
National Geographic Society
other
Last Updated

January 30, 2024

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources