World War II

World War II, or the Second World War (often abbreviated as WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers: eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 50 million to over 70 million fatalities.

Allies

 * United States - was neutral until December 7, 1941, went in war on December 8, 1941, a day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. President was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, however, he did not see the end of the 2nd World War, Truman later stepped in as President of the United States.
 * France - Declared war on Germany, fell on June 4, 1940 after Nazi forces invaded Paris and took control.
 * Great Britain - Declared war on Germany.
 * Soviet Union - trusted Germany not to invade them, but Nazi Germany lied and invaded Stalingrad

Axis Powers

 * Germany - With the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, the German military forces was powerless to stop until 1945 when Adolf Hitler commits suicide
 * Italy - With the rise of fascism, Mussolini met with Adolf Hitler one time.
 * Japan - carried out a plan to bomb Pearl Harbor in 1941 to cripple the U.S. into war, however, Japan's cities were bombed by the United States, first by 16 B-25s led by Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle of the U.S. Army Air Forces, then later again in 1945 by atomic bombs, one to Hiroshima in a B-29 Superfortress (the plane's name is the Enola Gay and the bomb's name is Little Boy) and another to Nagasaki 3 days later naming Fat Man (not referring to Hermann Göring.)

In Downfall Parodies
Almost all Downfall parodies take place during WWII, particularly, during the Battle of Berlin. Some parodies however tend to take place earlier.