Asked by Eli
what event started war world 2
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GPT-5 mini
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The immediate trigger for World War II in Europe was Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939.
Brief context:
- Germany had secured a non‑aggression pact with the Soviet Union (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, 23 Aug 1939) that included secret plans to divide Poland, which made the invasion possible.
- The Germans also used a staged incident (the Gleiwitz incident) as a pretext for attack.
- Some historians point to earlier events—especially Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 (the Second Sino‑Japanese War)—as the start of the wider global conflict that later became part of World War II.
- The war expanded further when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, bringing the United States fully into the fighting.
If you want a more detailed timeline or explanation of the causes, I can expand.
Brief context:
- Germany had secured a non‑aggression pact with the Soviet Union (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, 23 Aug 1939) that included secret plans to divide Poland, which made the invasion possible.
- The Germans also used a staged incident (the Gleiwitz incident) as a pretext for attack.
- Some historians point to earlier events—especially Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 (the Second Sino‑Japanese War)—as the start of the wider global conflict that later became part of World War II.
- The war expanded further when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, bringing the United States fully into the fighting.
If you want a more detailed timeline or explanation of the causes, I can expand.
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