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Article: World War II
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
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WORLD WAR II
World War II (1939
–
1945) was an international conflict involving 61 countries that mobilized over 100 million people for military service in four geographic regions: Europe, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. The war left 55 million people dead (30 million civilian and 25 million military), cost over one trillion dollars, and resulted in more material destruction than any other armed conflict in history. The United States emerged from the war as the most powerful nation in the world, while the Soviet Union gained a stronghold over Eastern Europe.
The war pitted the Allied Powers (the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France, Russia, and China, among ...