Military - World War II - Earl-Markus Genealogy

World War II

2 September 1945

Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument

of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri as American General Richard K. Sutherland watches.

World War II (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions. The principal combatants were the Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the Allies: France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China.

The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in the aftermath of World War I, the rise of fascism in Europe, militarism in Japan, and Germany’s annexations of Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939 when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, after which the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany.

During the first two years of World War II, the U.S. maintained formal neutrality. While officially neutral, the U.S. supplied Britain, the Soviet Union, and China with war materiel through the Lend-Lease Act signed into law on 11 March 1941 and deployed the U.S. military to replace the British forces stationed in Iceland. Following the 4 September 1941 Greer incident involving a German submarine, Roosevelt publicly confirmed a “shoot on sight” order on 11 September, effectively declaring naval war on Germany and Italy in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The United States is officially entered the War on 8 December 1941 when Congress declared war on Japan following the 7 December surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Three days later, on 11 December 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, solidifying its commitment to the European theatre of war. On 8 May 1945 the war in Europe ended when Germany signed an unconditional surrender. The U.S. officially accepted Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. A formal end to the state of war with Germany came 19 October 1951 when Congress passed a joint resolution and President Truman signed a proclamation to that effect.

Source: History.com (30 August 2025)

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Daniel's World War II Family

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Earl – Markus Genealogy • Family in World War II
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Created: 29 May 2016 • Modified: 23 February 2026
URL: earlmarkusgenealogy.net/military/wwii