When Germany invaded Poland on September 1 , 1939 , it was the second time the world went to war . With the Japanese surrender on September 2 , 1945 , World War II was over . Here is some background information about the end of World War II , by the numbers . 3 -- Nations leading the Axis Powers at the start of World War II : Germany , Italy and Japan . 4 -- Nations leading the Allied Powers : Great Britain , the United States , the USSR ( Soviet Union ) and China . September 1 , 1939 -- Germany invades Poland . December 7 , 1941 -- Japan bombs Pearl Harbor , Hawaii and Manila , Philippines . September 3 , 1943 -- Day Italy signs an unconditional surrender with the Allied Powers in Sicily . June 6 , 1944 -- D-Day , the Allied invasion of Europe . 50 feet -- Depth underground of the bunker in which Adolf Hitler and partner Eva Braun committed suicide below the Chancellery in Berlin on April 30 , 1945 . May 8 , 1945 -- V-E Day ( Victory in Europe ) , after Gen. Alfred Jodl of the German High Command signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces . 2 -- Atomic bombs dropped on Japan in August 1945 . August 14 , 1945 -- V-J Day ( Victory in Japan ) , when the Japanese accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and unconditionally surrendered . September 2 , 1945 - Day the Japanese delegation formally signs the instrument of surrender on board the USS Missouri , marking the official ending of World War II . 2,194 -- Days between the German invasion of Poland on September 1 , 1939 , through September 2 , 1945 , when Japan signs the unconditional surrender . 4 -- Flags flown on the USS Missouri -- those of United States , Great Britain , USSR and China -- when the surrender papers are signed . 255 -- Allied ships in Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony . 18 minutes -- Time it took for representatives of Japan , the United States , China , Great Britain , the USSR , Australia , Canada , France , The Netherlands and New Zealand to each sign two copies of the Instrument of Surrender , from 9:04 a.m. to 9:22 a.m. 16 million -- Americans who serve during World War II . 73,661 -- The number , as of May 2013 , Americans classified as missing in action in World War II . 26.6 million -- Estimated number of casualties , military and civilian , suffered by the USSR . 10 million-20 million -- Estimated number of casualties , military and civilian , suffered by China from the fall of Manchuria in 1931 through the end of World War II . 6 million -- Approximate number of people killed in Nazi concentration camps .
World War II came to an end 68 years ago when Japan formally surrendered . The U.S. and its allies won the war against Imperial Japan, but it was a bitter pill for many Japanese who had fought in the Pacific theater of operations during WWII, including those from Okinawa and other Approximately 6 million people died in Nazi concentration camps .