Video Summary

Germany's role in World War II was central. Under Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, its aggressive expansionist policies fueled the conflict. Beginning with the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, Germany initiated a series of invasions, starting with Poland in 1939, triggering war with Britain and France. Germany's military, employing blitzkrieg tactics, achieved early victories across Europe, conquering much of the continent. The Holocaust, the systematic state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews and millions of others deemed undesirable, stands as a horrific hallmark of this period. Despite initial successes, Germany's advances were eventually halted on multiple fronts, leading to a prolonged and devastating war on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union and a costly air war with Britain. The Allied powers—Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—ultimately defeated Germany in 1945, resulting in the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its subsequent division into East and West Germany.