22 Really Simple World War 2 Facts for Kids to Understand Fast

These World War 2 facts for kids should be helpful and briefly informative on a war that’s been recounted for years keeping in memory its damaging effects and long run impact on the people who experienced it at proximity…

After World War 1 came to an end, World War 2 took place between the years 1939 to 1945. The world was in complete turmoil with people from far and near, hoping and praying for the war to end, and all those involved in the war’s extremities. Many of the world’s most powerful nations and countries came forward to battle it out, in two opposing alliances known as the Axis and the Allies. There were as many as 70 million people who died at the hands of those who fueled the war, along with others who were subjected to its brutality and widespread impact. There were about a 100 million military personnel involved, when the countries were immersed knee-deep in war.

The events that followed pursuit like The Holocaust, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and other incidents, marked the reality of what World War 2 was about, as the deadliest of wars to have existed. In school, we learn about the war with a mere reference to the casualties and what went down in the war, but it is important to stress to kids, the details and causes of World War 2 and not just ramble on about facts and figures.

Interesting Facts About World War II for Kids

These facts about World War 2 for kids may not be entirely fun, but will definitely prove to be a good read when learning and understanding about what happened during the most chaotic, momentous, and life-changing event in American history.

1. The war is also abbreviated as WW2 or is referenced in some places as the Second World War.
2. When it came to raiding civilians by air, the Germans killed approximately 543,000 people, along with more in Britain amounting to 60,400.
3. One of the many causes as to why World War 2 began, was due to the inability of the League of Nations to intervene and prevent its onset.
4. The war began on September 1st, 1939, and continued until September, 2nd, 1945.
5. The US got involved in the war, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 by the Japanese.
6. Hitler executed 84 German generals as one of his many vicious and cutthroat traits.
7. Those who were part of the Allies were Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
8. The number of soldiers that served in the war, taking only the Americans into count, were 16,112,566, where 671,846 were found wounded.
9. Barely a teenager, Calvin Graham signed up as a soldier to fight the war, after lying about how old he really was. He was discharged after being wounded in battle.
10. 15 million Americans took up jobs to help out during the war.
11. A major defeat for the Germans was being forced to raise the white flag (a symbol of surrender) at Stalingrad, where they gave in to defeat in the year 1943.
12. After the war, Italy had to pay a staggering charge for damages done, amounting to roughly $36 million.
13. The Russians killed their first American soldier in the year 1940, in Finland.
14. The length of service on an average for a US soldier in the military, was 33 months.
15. German aircraft didn’t fare too well when it came to battling it out in the sky. Up to 45 percent of their crafts were destroyed because of accidents, and not because they were gunned down.
16. The major leaders who headed the Axis league were Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Emperor Hirohito.
17. The allies released 3.4 million tons of bombs, amounting to about 27,700 tons of this dropped on an average, in a month.
18. The territories that were under the World War 2 grip were – Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, China, the Middle East, and regions along the Pacific, Mediterranean, and Atlantic.
19. The holocaust, when it began, saw the murders of Jews in the concentration camp of Auschwitz, in the year 1942. There were a total of approximately 1,500,000 Jews killed during the war.
20. The war involved nearly all countries of the world while it lasted, making it history’s most massive and influential wars to have hit the planet.
21. At least 1.9 billion people are said to have served in WW2.
22. 62 million people died at the hands of this war.

These World War 2 facts for kids aren’t easy for one to stomach, being as devastating and life-altering as it was. Today we recount this moment in history in the form stories and factual events, conveying through our words about a time that marked an important timeline in US history. It is critical to understand, analyze and take in what we can about our country’s history, because that is what shapes our view of what was.