In September 1939 Hitler's Nazi Germany invaded Poland, sparking international condemnation and declarations of war on Germany and France and most of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Thus, one of the greatest wars in history began. World War II witnessed the mobilisation of more than 100 million military personnel. This was 'total war' in a scale that had not been previously experienced by any of the countries involved. The war eclipsed everything: industry, technology, the economy and home life. It changed generations of men and women, who grew up under the shadow of war. It encompassed theatres of warfare from the desert to the skies, from the sea to the swathes of land across Europe and Russia. It was the dealiest conflict in human history with the loss of 50 million and over 70 million people and saw the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare to this day. The World War II Story charts the narrative of the war and the impact it had on human life and history.