how long was ww2

World War II lasted from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945, which is a little over six years (often rounded to “six years” in simple answers).

Quick Scoop

• Most historians date WW2 from:
  • Start: 1 September 1939 – Germany invades Poland.

* End: 2 September 1945 – Japan formally surrenders aboard the USS Missouri.

• That makes the war just over six years long (about six years and one day, or six years and seven months depending on how precisely you count).

• Many summaries simply say: “World War II lasted six years, from 1939 to 1945.”

In everyday terms: WW2 ran from late 1939 until late summer 1945 — six brutal years that reshaped the world.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.