World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countriesincluding all the great powerseventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Index of Book Index Chapter 1: History of Soviet Union Chapter 2: The division of Eastern Europe and other invasions Chapter 3: Termination of the pact Chapter 4: Soviets stop the Germans Chapter 5: The Frontoviki Chapter 6: Soviet push to Germany Chapter 7: Final victory Chapter 8: Repressions Chapter 9: Soviet war crimes Chapter 10: War crimes by Nazi Germany Chapter 11: Survival in Leningrad Chapter 12: Aftermath and damages Chapter 13: GermanySoviet Union relations, 19181941 13.1 Treaty of Rapallo 1922 and secret military cooperation 13.2 Documentation 13.3 Relations in the 1920s 13.4 Plans for Poland 13.5 Diplomatic relations 13.6 The "Third Period" 13.7 Early 1930s 13.8 Persecution of ethnic Germans in the USSR Chapter 14: The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany before World War II 14.1 Initial relations after Hitler's election 14.2 Relations in the mid-1930s 14.3 Spanish Civil War 14.4 Collective security failures Chapter 15: MolotovRibbentrop Pact Chapter 16: World War II 16.1 Soviet invasion of eastern Poland 16.2 Amendment of the Secret Protocols 16.3 Expanded commercial pact 16.4 Soviet war with Finland 16.5 Soviets take the Baltics 16.6 August tensions 16.7 Soviet negotiations regarding joining the Axis 16.8 January 1941 Border and Commercial Agreement 16.9 Mid-1941 relations 16.10 Further development Chapter 17: Volksdeutsche in the Soviet Union Chapter 18: Aftermath 18.1 Post-war commentary regarding the timing of Soviet-German rapprochement