\[ **BT: [[history--Europe#World Wars (1914–1945)]]** ] --- # World War II (1939–1945) [[Once Britain declared war against Germany in August 1914, Australia was automatically also at war.|Once Britain declared war against Germany in August 1914, Australia was automatically also at war.]][^1] [[In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered a mould that produced a bacteria-killing chemical. Penicillin became the first modern antibiotic.]][^2] [[The discovery of penicillin arguably helped shift the balance of power during World War II.]][^3] - see also: [[Darmstadt#Brandnacht|Darmstadt’s Brandnacht]] [^1]: ‘First World War 1914–18’, *Australian War Memorial*, 2 June 2021, <https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war>. [^2]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 10. [^3]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 7.