History · Unit 15

World War Two

A global conflict, 1939-1945

The deadliest conflict in human history, fought across every inhabited continent, and the one where the distinction between soldier and civilian largely disappeared.

The unit covers the causes running back through the 1930s, the main theatres and turning points, the home fronts, and the Holocaust - treated as its own subject rather than as one campaign among others, because it was not a military operation.

This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 20
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-3

What this unit covers

Causes of the War
The Holocaust
Key Events
The Home Front
The End and Aftermath

Where this fits

Reads directly on from World War One. It sets up The Cold War, which begins before this war has finished.

Where people slip

Appeasement made sense to many people at the time, given living memory of the previous war. Judging it only with hindsight makes the decision look stupid rather than tragic.

How the unit is structured

World War Two runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 20 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Causes of the War

Build the sentenceLevel 1
1. Put the words in order to make a true sentence about how the war in Europe began.
Answer: Germany invaded Poland in 1939
Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 is generally seen as the start of the war in Europe.
Fill the blankLevel 1
2. Adolf ____ led the Nazi Party and became the dictator of Germany.
- Hitlercorrect
- Stalin
- Churchill
- Mussolini
Adolf Hitler led the Nazi Party and became the dictator of Germany, leading it into the Second World War.
Guess the numberLevel 1
3. In which year did Germany invade Poland, starting the Second World War in Europe?
Answer: 1939 CE
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and Britain and France declared war soon after.
Match the pairsLevel 1
4. Match each wartime leader to the country they led.
Answer: Adolf Hitler = Germany; Benito Mussolini = Italy; Joseph Stalin = the Soviet Union; Emperor Hirohito = Japan
These leaders headed the main countries as the Second World War began.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
5. Which of these countries were the three main Axis powers linked by the 1940 Tripartite Pact? Choose all that apply.
- Germanycorrect
- Italycorrect
- Japancorrect
- The Soviet Union
- The United States
Germany, Italy, and Japan were the three main Axis powers, formally linked by the Tripartite Pact of 1940.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
6. How did the Treaty of Versailles affect Germany after the First World War?
- It placed harsh penalties and blame on Germanycorrect
- It gave Germany many new colonies
- It made Germany the most powerful country in Europe
- It had almost no effect on Germany
The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept blame and heavy penalties, causing anger that leaders like Hitler later used to gain support.

Key Events

Fact or fibLevel 1
7. The D-Day landings of 1944 took place on the beaches of Normandy in France.
Answer: True
The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 took place on the beaches of Normandy in northern France.
Guess the numberLevel 1
8. In which year did Japan attack Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war?
Answer: 1941 CE
Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, bringing the United States into the war.
Fill the blankLevel 2
9. Operation ____ was the codename for Germany's June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.
- Barbarossacorrect
- Overlord
- Sea Lion
- Torch
Operation Barbarossa opened a vast Eastern Front and became the largest land invasion in history.
Match the pairsLevel 2
10. Match each battle or campaign to the theatre of the war where it was fought.
Answer: Stalingrad = The Eastern Front; El Alamein = North Africa; Midway = The Pacific; Battle of the Atlantic = The Atlantic Ocean
The war was truly global: Stalingrad was fought on the Eastern Front, El Alamein in North Africa, Midway in the Pacific, and the long U-boat campaign across the Atlantic Ocean.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
11. What was 'Blitzkrieg', the tactic used by Germany early in the war?
- A fast attack using tanks, planes and troops together
- A slow siege lasting many years
- A blockade of enemy ports by ship
- A peace agreement between two sides
Blitzkrieg, or 'lightning war', combined tanks, aircraft and troops in fast, surprise attacks.
Build the sentenceLevel 3
12. Put the words in order to describe the Allied 'island-hopping' strategy in the Pacific.
Answer: Allied forces captured key islands to approach Japan
In the Pacific, Allied forces captured selected key islands to move steadily closer to Japan while bypassing others.

The End and Aftermath

Fact or fibLevel 1
13. The United Nations was created to help countries start wars with one another.
Answer: False
In fact, the United Nations was founded in 1945 to help countries keep peace and avoid future wars.
Guess the numberLevel 1
14. In which year did the Second World War end, with victory in Europe and later in Asia?
Answer: 1945 CE
The Second World War ended in 1945, first in Europe and then in Asia.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
15. What did VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) mark in May 1945?
- The end of the war against Germany in Europecorrect
- The day Germany invaded Poland
- The start of the First World War
- The signing of the Treaty of Versailles
VE Day, on 8 May 1945, marked the end of the war against Germany in Europe.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
16. Which of these happened in 1945? Choose all that apply.
- VE Day was celebratedcorrect
- Atomic bombs were dropped on Japancorrect
- The United Nations was foundedcorrect
- Germany invaded Poland
VE Day, the atomic bombings and the founding of the United Nations all took place in 1945.
Match the pairsLevel 2
17. Match each wartime term to what it means.
Answer: VE Day = Victory in Europe; VJ Day = Victory over Japan; UN = The United Nations; Allies = Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union
These short terms are often used when talking about the end of the Second World War.
Fill the blankLevel 3
18. After 1945, the weakening of European empires accelerated ____ across much of Asia and Africa.
- decolonisationcorrect
- industrialisation
- globalisation
- urbanisation
Exhausted by the war, European powers could no longer hold their empires, and decolonisation swept through Asia and Africa in the decades that followed.

The Holocaust

Fill the blankLevel 1
19. A young Jewish girl named Anne ____ wrote a famous diary while hiding from the Nazis.
- Frankcorrect
- Smith
- Brown
- Jones
Anne Frank was a Jewish girl whose diary, written while in hiding, is read around the world today.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
20. The Holocaust was the persecution and genocide, by Nazi Germany, of which group among others?
- Jewish peoplecorrect
- Roman soldiers
- Ancient Egyptians
- Viking traders
The Holocaust was the persecution and genocide of Jewish people, along with other groups, by Nazi Germany.
Spell itLevel 1
21. Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow ____ on their clothes. Spell the missing word.
Answer: star
Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow star so they could be identified and treated unfairly.
True or falseLevel 1
22. Around six million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust.
Answer: True
Historians estimate that about six million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
23. Besides Jewish people, which groups were also persecuted by the Nazis? Choose all that apply.
- Roma peoplecorrect
- Disabled peoplecorrect
- Political opponentscorrect
- People who grew the most food
The Nazis also persecuted Roma people, disabled people and political opponents, among others.
Match the pairsLevel 2
24. Match each word to its meaning.
Answer: Holocaust = The Nazi genocide of Jewish people and others; Genocide = The deliberate destruction of a group of people; Refugee = A person forced to flee their home; Persecution = Cruel and unfair treatment of a group
These words help us describe and remember the events of the Holocaust accurately.

The Home Front

Build the sentenceLevel 1
25. Put the words in order to make a true sentence about the home front.
Answer: Women worked in factories and on farms
With many men away fighting, women took on vital jobs in factories and on farms.
Fill the blankLevel 1
26. Limiting how much food and goods each person could buy was called ____.
- rationingcorrect
- shopping
- feasting
- trading
Rationing limited how much food and other goods each person could buy so supplies were shared fairly.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
27. Why were many children evacuated from British cities during the war?
- To keep them safe from bombingcorrect
- To send them to fight in the army
- Because schools had closed forever
- To work in factories for high pay
Children were evacuated from cities to the countryside to keep them safe from bombing raids.
Odd one outLevel 1
28. Which of these was NOT part of British home front life during the war?
- The California Gold Rushcorrect
- Rationing
- Evacuation
- The blackout
The California Gold Rush happened in the 1800s and was not part of the British home front.
Picture questionLevel 1
29. 😷 People carried one of these in case of a poison gas attack. What is it?
- A gas maskcorrect
- A raincoat
- A metal helmet
- A warm blanket
Everyone in Britain was issued a gas mask in case of poison gas attacks, though they were rarely needed.
Sequence recallLevel 2
30. Remember the order of what people did during an air raid, then repeat it.
Answer: The warning siren sounds -> People hurry to the air raid shelter -> The all-clear siren sounds
During an air raid, a warning siren sounded, people sheltered, and an all-clear siren signalled safety.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 17 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Listen and choose
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sequence recall
Sort into groups
Spell it
Tap the pairs
True or false
Type the answer

Practise World War Two

120 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about World War Two

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

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