10 Key Dates in World War Two

World War Two was the biggest war ever fought – lasting close to six years in Europe, 80 million people were killed in the conflict.

The most important dates are really about context, and these would be different depending which country you’re from. However, a number of dates are clearly pivotal moments over the course of the entire war, and we’ve collected five from each of the European and Eastern theatres to put into a graphic.

The date for the start of the war is 1-3 September 1939 – when Germany invaded Poland and then France and Britain declared war on Germany.

Located off the coast of Florida, Puerto Rico, and its namesake Bermuda - the mysterious Bermuda Triangle is an urban myth that's risen in popularity over the decades. But how come so many planes and boats disappear in this region - and what makes Flight 19 so special? In December 1945, at the end of the Second World War, 5 bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale in a routine navigational training exercise. But these bombers, along with the crew members inside them, would never be seen again. So what happened to Flight 19 and its men?

Listen Now

During the Second World War, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa left her usual position in the Louvre, Paris. From 1939 to 1945, the portrait was moved between five different hiding places in the French countryside, and she was not alone. In this episode, Laura Morelli guides us through the twin stories of the Nazis who were tasked with finding and seizing treasured artworks from across Europe, and the curators, archivists and others who risked their lives to prevent this from happening.

Listen Now