WWII officially started on September 1st, 1939. The tension between nations was still high, being that WWI was not that far behind them. Every country knew who their true allies true enemies were. WWII began after Russia and Germany signed a treaty, basically giving Germany free passage to invade anyone they wanted to in Europe. It was a smart move on Germany's part becasue Russia was the 2nd strongest in the continent. All was well for the Germans until Great Britan and France got involved, then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, so the Americans got involved.
America at this time was full of hard working patriots that just wanted to get paid, literally. People at this time period took patriotism as seriously as their money. Jobs weren't plentiful at this time, so as soon as WWII came, several hundreds of Americans were all ready lined up knocking on Uncle Sam's door.
This man is standing next to a Normandy Panther Jagdtiger, it was classified as one of Germany's heaviest tanks. It was made to replace the Panzer 2 and Panzer 4, but instead served along side them. It also served its original purpose and that was a counter to the most popular Soviet T-34.