World War II began 82 years ago, the largest armed conflict in human history. After Nazi Germany crossed the border into Poland on September 1, 1939, and Britain and France declared war on September 4, 1939, the Soviet Union began invading Poland from the east, capturing western Ukraine and Belarus. The war involved most of the world's countries, which formed opposing military camps: the Axis bloc (Germany, Italy, Japan, and their satellites) and the anti-Hitler coalition (Britain, the Soviet Union (since July 12, 1941), the United States, China and etc.). The casualties ranged from 60 to 70 million, including the Holocaust, starvation, disease, and mass murder.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the anti-Hitler coalition, the Axis countries were defeated. On May 8, 1945, the leadership of the Third Reich signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender. This date is considered the Day of Victory over Nazism in Europe. On September 2, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan was signed. This was the end of World War II - an event that radically changed the future of the world.