On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded neighbouring Poland, triggering the start of World War Two. Eighty years ago, on 9 April 1940, German troops invaded Denmark and Norway. They subsequently swept through Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and, by mid-June, France. In summer 1940 the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) began to launch bombing raids on Britain. In spring 1941 German forces entered Greece and Yugoslavia. The invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 continued the war of annihilation in the East.

World War Two in Europe ended 75 years ago, on the night of 8/9 May 1945, with the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht in Berlin-Karlshorst. The war cost the lives of at least 50 million people, both civilians and soldiers. The memory of German occupation continues to define the countries affected.

The exhibition of the Permanent Conference of National Socialist Memorial Sites in the Berlin Area addresses the events in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, as well as the associated culture of remembrance.

A free accompanying brochure on the exhibition is available at the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre.