People Associated with World War II
This chapter is about some of the important people involved in World War II. It tells you about the leaders and soldiers.
Leaders
Click on the links to read more about the leaders:
- Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany until he killed himself near the end of the war.
- Winston Churchill was the leader of Britain from 1940 until the end of the war.
- Franklin Roosevelt was the leader of the United States until he died near the end of the war.
- Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union.
- Benito Mussolini was the leader of Italy until he was executed near the end of the war.
- Charles de Gaulle was the leader of the Free French.
- Hideki Tōjō was the political leader of Japan.
Allied
Neville Chamberlin.
Axis
Martin Bormann was the head of the Nazi Party Chancellery after Rudolph Hess. He was one of Hitler’s most trusted people. He disappeared at the end of the war. People have looked for him ever since to bring him to trial for his war crimes.
Joseph Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister. His job was to make it seem to the people of Germany that the war was going well - even if it meant telling lies. He killed himself in May 1945 during the Battle of Berlin so that the Soviet’s wouldn’t capture him.
Herman Goering was commander-in-chief of the German air force (the Luffewaffe). He was sentenced to death by the Allies after the war but killed himself first.
Rudolf Hess was Hitler’s deputy in the Nazi party. Just before the war with the Soviet Union, he flew to Scotland and try to agree peace with Britain. He was put in prison and spent the rest of his life there, dying in 1987.
Heinrich Himmler was the head of the SS. He was captured by the British at the end of the war but killed himself.
Generals
A general is usually in charge of either a division, a corps (one or more divisions), an army (one or more corps) or an army group (one or more armies). A very senior general can be promoted to “Field Marshall”, the highest rank in most armies.
Axis
The German army had two types of soldiers. There was the ordinary army or Wehrmacht and the “SS”. They had different ranks.
Field Marshal Von Bock commanded the army group that attacked north Poland in 1939. He then commanded army groups during the invasion of France and later the Soviet Union. He was killed In Hamburg, Germany during an air raid in 1945.
Field Marshal von Brauchitsch was the commander-in-chief of the German army from the beginning of the war until December 1941. He was captured by the British and died in 1948 in prison.
General Guderian was a brilliant tank commander. He fought in France and commanded an army group in the war with the Soviet Union. He was made head of all armoured warfare and then Chief of the General Staff - the most important job in the army. He was sacked by Hitler in March 1945.
German SS Officers
Sepp Dietrich was the commander of Hitler’s bodyguard and then became an army commander in 1944. He was sent to prison after the war.
Written for younger readers
People Associated with World War II, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: World War II
This chapter is about some of the important people involved in World War II. It tells you about the leaders and soldiers.
Click on the links to read more about the leaders:
- Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany until he killed himself near the end of the war.
- Winston Churchill was the leader of Britain from 1940 until the end of the war.
- Franklin Roosevelt was the leader of the United States until he died near the end of the war.
- Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union.
- Benito Mussolini was the leader of Italy until he was executed near the end of the war.
- Charles de Gaulle was the leader of the Free French.
- Hideki Tōjō was the political leader of Japan.
Neville Chamberlin.
Martin Bormann was the head of the Nazi Party Chancellery after Rudolph Hess. He was one of Hitler’s most trusted people. He disappeared at the end of the war. People have looked for him ever since to bring him to trial for his war crimes.
Joseph Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister. His job was to make it seem to the people of Germany that the war was going well - even if it meant telling lies. He killed himself in May 1945 during the Battle of Berlin so that the Soviet’s wouldn’t capture him.
Herman Goering was commander-in-chief of the German air force (the Luffewaffe). He was sentenced to death by the Allies after the war but killed himself first.
Rudolf Hess was Hitler’s deputy in the Nazi party. Just before the war with the Soviet Union, he flew to Scotland and try to agree peace with Britain. He was put in prison and spent the rest of his life there, dying in 1987.
Heinrich Himmler was the head of the SS. He was captured by the British at the end of the war but killed himself.
A general is usually in charge of either a division, a corps (one or more divisions), an army (one or more corps) or an army group (one or more armies). A very senior general can be promoted to “Field Marshall”, the highest rank in most armies.
The German army had two types of soldiers. There was the ordinary army or Wehrmacht and the “SS”. They had different ranks.
Field Marshal Von Bock commanded the army group that attacked north Poland in 1939. He then commanded army groups during the invasion of France and later the Soviet Union. He was killed In Hamburg, Germany during an air raid in 1945.
Field Marshal von Brauchitsch was the commander-in-chief of the German army from the beginning of the war until December 1941. He was captured by the British and died in 1948 in prison.
General Guderian was a brilliant tank commander. He fought in France and commanded an army group in the war with the Soviet Union. He was made head of all armoured warfare and then Chief of the General Staff - the most important job in the army. He was sacked by Hitler in March 1945.
Sepp Dietrich was the commander of Hitler’s bodyguard and then became an army commander in 1944. He was sent to prison after the war.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “People Associated with World War II” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
Worksheets, answer keys and printable layouts elsewhere on K5Print are our own work and are not covered by this licence.