On 8 May 1945, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II in Europe. In 2025, 80 years later, we reflect on the devastating conflict that claimed millions of lives and reshaped the global order.
We premiere our new educational animation marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The film guides viewers through the key stages of the conflict – from the aggression of Nazi Germany and the outbreak of war, through occupation and unprecedented mass violence, to the final days of 1945.
World War II was unlike any previous conflict. For the first time, the technology of mass extermination was used against entire ethnic groups, regardless of military rationale. While in World War I 95% of victims were soldiers, in World War II civilians accounted for two-thirds of the deaths. The scale was global: 60 countries involved, military operations across 40 states, 100 million mobilised, and between 50–70 million lives lost.
The film recalls pivotal events and human experiences: the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Blitzkrieg and fall of Warsaw, occupation terror and systematic extermination of the Polish elite, the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Warsaw Uprising, the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi German Concentration Camp, the Yalta Conference, the bombing of Dresden, the fall of Berlin, and finally, Germany’s unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.
This animation is part of our campaign #WWII80YearsAfter, which follows the trajectory of the war and its legacy through videos, articles, and curated resources.
Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition "Public Diplomacy 2024-2025 - the European dimension and countering disinformation
Learn more about the Second World War here.