When did world war 2 start and which countries involved ?
WW2 started on 1 September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. However, Japan and China had been fighting since 1937, so some consider the war to have started back then. The US joined the war on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945, and Japan on 14 August 1945. It’s easier to ask which countries *weren’t* involved, since by 1945, all but 5 countries had taken sides with either the allies or the axis. IIRC, the neutrals were Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Eire (Ireland). Edit: Robabard, I’m glad that you think you can define the “official” start date of WW2, but the judgement of historians is against your US-Centered view. WW2 is almost universally held to have started on 1 Sept. 1939, except for those that believe it started in either 1937 or 1934, when hostilities began in Asia. When Britain & France joined the war on 3 Sept.
