The seeds of World War II were sown in the aftermath of World
War I. Extremism, border skirmishes, expansionism, and political
unrest erupted in Europe and Asia. By the mid-1930s, Japan was
entrenched in Manchuria, Germany had adopted Nazism, Italy had
become fascist, and Spain was divided by a bloody civil war.
Then on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days
later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, igniting the
war in Europe. Germany's blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics were
initially very successful, and Germany pushed westward through
Europe. In the Pacific, Japan launched attacks throughout Asia
and the Pacific, overtaking Malaya, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
Burma, and bombing America's fleet in Hawaii. The United States
immediately declared war with Japan and a few days later
declared war on Germany as well. The European conflict had
become a global war that lasted until 1945. Every aspect of
World War II can be tracked with philatelic materials. Eighty-
six million Axis and Allied m