70 WW2 Quotes About the Deadliest War in History

History buffs will enjoy these WW2 quotes that show what a world-altering event this war was.

World War II is often abbreviated as WW2 or WWII and is a war that included the majority of the world’s countries from 1939 until 1945.

This war consisted of two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis.

The most well-known countries that were part of the Allies were The United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China.

Germany, Japan, and Italy were the most well-known countries that were part of the Axis alliance.

The war began after Germany invaded Poland, but other factors contributed to the war, including:

• Tensions from World War I
• Fascism rising in Europe
• Border conflicts

Take a look at these WW2 quotes to learn more about the historic war.

WW2 Quotes About The Second World War 

Look at some WW2 quotes about the war. 

1. “I was a lieutenant in World War II.” — John Eisenhower 

2. “We learned the value of research in World War II.” — Amar Bose 

3. “I had the first integrated Army band in World War II.” — Dave Brubeck 

4. “During World War II, the pilot losses were staggering.” — Simon Sinek 

5. “The world must know what happened, and never forget.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower 

6. “Our World War II generation met the challenges of their time.” — Gary Herbert 

7. “With external help, even the countries ravaged by World War II recovered.” — Michael Spence 

8. “World War II had a very important impact on the development of technology, as a whole.” — Barry Commoner 

9. “I was in World War II; I cried when they took me in the Navy. That’s the last time I cried.” — Don Rickles 

10. “World War II ended the Great Depression with one of the great public-private industrial collaborations in the history of man.” —  Jon Meacham 

WW2 Quotes About People Who Served In The War

Check out these WW2 quotes about people who served. 

11. “I was a lieutenant in World War II.” — John Eisenhower 

12. “My father was a veteran. He fought in World War II.” — John Edgar Wideman 

13. “I spent two and a half years in the Philippines in World War II.” — Don Rickles 

14. “When I was a kid, my dad went to World War II. I didn’t know him.” — Nick Nolte 

15. “My dad served in World War II and died on active duty after the war.” — Tommy Tuberville 

16. “I lost a great uncle in World War II who was with the Royal Canadian Air Force.” — Jake Trapper 

17. “It was 1943. The U.S. had already entered World War II, so I decided to join the army.” — Lloyd Alexander 

18. “I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.” — George McGovern 

19. “Both of my grandfathers served in World War II, both in the Pacific. One wouldn’t talk about it, and one would.” — Nancy Duboc 

20. “In 1949, I saw a World War II veteran named Lou Brissie, who had nearly lost a lower leg in combat, pitch in the All-Star Game in Brooklyn.” — George Vecsey 

WW2 Quotes From War  

Here are some World War II quotes from the war. 

21. “This war is a new kind of war.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt 

22. “Your task will not be an easy one.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

23. “If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.” — General George Patton

24. “We are now in this war. We are all in it, all the way.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt 

25. “The fruits of victory are tumbling into our mouths too quickly.” — Emperor Hirohito

26. “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower 

27. “The enemy win their battles from the air! They knock out my panzers with American armor-piercing shells.” — Erwin Rommel

28. “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.” — Winston Churchill 

29. “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” — Winston Churchill 

30. “…We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…” — Winston Churchill 

Informative WW2 Quotes 

Informative WW2 quotes will help you learn more about WW2. 

31. “And of course, there is so much of World War II that is documented that we never have seen.” — Oliver North 

32. “World War II was a trauma that paralyzed writers. It was something metaphysical, diabolical.” — A.B. Yehoshua 

33. “World War II was a decisive time in our history, and June 6, 1944, marked the decisive moment of the war.” — Lane Evans 

34. “After World War II, the winds of nationalism and anti-colonialism blew through the developing world.” — Stephen Kinzer 

35. “World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.” — Herman Kahn 

36. “Since the end of World War II, U.S. presidents of both parties have recognized that foreign and domestic policy do not have to be pursued at the expense of each other.” — Bret Stephens 

37. “World War II had been such a tremendous success story for this country that the political and military leadership began to assume that they would prevail simply because of who they were.” — Neil Sheehan 

38. “World War II affected the male population in a very detrimental way. They were happy to be home, happy to be alive, happy they won, but they could not express to anybody the horror they had been through.” — Nick Nolte

39. “The United Nations was founded in the aftermath of World War II, just as the world was beginning to learn the full horrors of history’s worst genocide, the Holocaust that consumed 6 million Jews and 3 million others in Europe.” — Linda Chavez 

40. “I think the reaction to a World War II situation would be the same today as it was in 1942. Initially, people would question, but once patriotism got stirred up, the whole thing would gather momentum and we’d all pull together.” — Parker Stevenson 

More WW2 Quotes 

Take a look at more WW2 quotes. 

41. “When we went into World War II, I was a tractor driver then. I drove tractors on the plantation.” — B.B. King 

42. “My father-in-law was a pilot. During World War II, he was shot down in a B-17 over Belgium.” — Bobbie Ann Mason 

43. “Writing a novel about World War II and the French Resistance was a challenge both sobering and thrilling.” — Bobbie Ann Mason 

44. “Western Europe has been redefining the nation-state since 1945 when it formed the European Union following World War II.” — Pete Hoekstra 

45. “World War II really fascinated me because it’s the only time that everybody in this country sat down at the same table because eating on rations was your patriotic duty.” — Ruth Reichl 

46. “Obviously, the World War II guys, that’s where we, we learned everything from those guys. And then we hopefully, what we learned, we pass down to the newer generation.” — Marcus Luttrell 

47. “I hope my journals relating to World War II will help clarify issues of the past and thereby contribute to understanding the issues and conditions of the present and future.” — Charles Lindbergh 

48. “We have known the bitterness of defeat and the exultation of triumph, and from both we have learned there can be no turning back. We must go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war.” — Douglas MacArthur 

49. “I was born in Allied-controlled Pola. At the end of World War II, the victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of peace treaties and borders with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland.” — Lidia Bastianich 

50. “In so many ways, World War II was one of the lowest lows imaginable, yet some of my most treasured memories come from that time. Communities came together, people displayed a wonderful generosity of spirit, and I saw the bravery of our boys on the front line as they fought for our freedom.” — Vera Lynn 

WW2 Quotes That Illuminate the Past

51. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein

52. “We leave it up to books and movies to talk about WWII on our behalf.” ― Chris Cleave

53. “I have to admit that WWII France was not at all on my radar for Kristin Hannah.” ― Megan Chance

54. “I did a film called ‘Fort McCoy,’ based on a true story of one of the few internment camps during WWII that was actually in the United States.” ― Eric Stoltz

55. “As far as I’m concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.” ― Zadie Smith

56. “Even post-WWII, nobody talked about the Holocaust. It wasn’t until the ’50s that people started talking about it.” ― Eli Roth

57. “The continued rapid cooling of the earth since WWII is in accord with the increase in global air pollution associated with industrialisation, mechanisation, urbanisation and exploding population.” ― Reid Bryson

58. “Britain didn’t win WWII by panicking. Let´s be bold, determined and stick to the best of values.” ― Hans Rosling

59. “I was a soldier in WWII. The last couple of months of the war I was actually in combat.” ― Mel Brooks

60. “WWII was, without exaggeration, the biggest event in all of human history, and it is still within living memory.” ― Chris Cleave

Inspirational WWII Quotes from a Time of Turmoil

61. “Everyone carries the weight of WWII with them in their recent family history, and yet it is rarely spoken about within families, because veterans and survivors don’t tend to talk.” ― Chris Cleave

62. “There’s an army story in me, and I think there’s a WWII Brooks film somewhere.” ― Mel Brooks

63. “An era that I specifically like is sort of late 50’s, early 60’s. I guess mid 50’s too. I like these types of films that deal with post WWII America and this more complex leading man that kind of emerges from that.” ― Alden Ehrenreich

64. “I learned in grade-school that after WWII European politicians considered sending Jews to Madagascar instead of Palestine. At the time I thought: Madagascar would’ve been so great.” ― Jill Soloway

65. “We don’t know our hearts until life puts us to the test, and WWII fascinates because it was the last time everyone was simultaneously pushed to their limit.” ― Chris Cleave

66. “I think the recent cluster of WWII novels is so good because we have reached an optimal distance from the war. Just as a lens has its focal length, the novel also has its best distance from the action.” ― Chris Cleave

67. “We owe our World War II veterans – and all our veterans – a debt we can never fully repay.” ― Doc Hastings

68. “And of course there is so much of World War II that is documented that we never have seen.” ― Oliver North

69. “I had wanted to make a film about World War II for some time, but I didn’t really want to do something that was set in the trenches, so to speak.” ~ Michael Apted

70. “I think this conflict [against terrorism] is going to require a suspension of freedom and rights unlike anything we have ever seen, at least since World War II.” ~ Marlin Fitzwater

What Happened During World War II?

The battle was the bloodiest conflict in history, and between 70 and 85 million people died.

As the Allies and Axis clashed, the countries threw all of their resources into winning the war.

In 1945 after the suicide of Hitler and the killing of Mussolini, the strongest country left was Japan, but they surrendered on August 15, 1945, and the war was finally over.

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