The 1940s: A Time of War An 8 th Grade Exit Project by Riley Black

: A Quick Summary The 1940s were known primarily for being a time of war. World War II, only 30 years after World War I, shook the world in the worst of ways. Masses of people died, both soldiers and civilians. While World War II is the centerpiece of this project, there were other events worth putting on paper.

1940: Germany’s “Warm Welcome” On April 9, Germany’s decision to invade Norway was executed. Hitler aimed to take Norway for its ports, making transportation of goods easier. Five attack groups invaded the five major ports, snuck past mines on the coasts, and fought against Norwegian and British soldiers.

1940: Germany’s “Warm Welcome” Unfortunately, the British in Norway were transported to France, causing an immediate victory for Germany. It was the second country taken by the German supremacy.

1941: A Shattered Pearl Only one year after Germany’s invasion, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States’ military harbor in the Pacific Ocean. Japanese pilots bombarded the harbor, destroying battleships and killing people. At the end, 188 planes were destroyed and 2,430 people died in a matter of two hours.

1942: Battle for a City During the last few months of 1942, Germany attempted to take Stalingrad. During the battle, Germans took parts of the city by day while the Russians took areas by night. On November 9, the Russians trapped Germany in the city, left to face the winter. The Germans lost 91,000 soldiers and failed to take a major city.

1943: Warsaw The Jews in Warsaw tried to prevent the Germans from destroying the city and killing everyone in it. Using makeshift weapons and pistols, they fended off the Germans invading. Germans eventually burned down the buildings and killed any fleeing Jews. The city was finally destroyed.

1944: D-Day On June 6, 1944, D-Day was launched. With previous preparations, the American and British attacked a major German outpost in France. They attacked from the front and back, taking the fortress from all sides. At nightfall, the American and British, along with a Canadian division, took the outpost from the Germans.

1945: Little Boy and the Fat Man To end the war, the U.S. told Japan to sign the Potsdam Declaration to Japan, or face “prompt and utter destruction”. When Japan refused, an atomic bomb named Little Boy was dropped by the U.S. on Hiroshima, killing 70,000.

1945: Little Boy and the Fat Man Japan still refused, and the U.S. dropped another bomb named Fat Man, hitting Nagasaki and killing another 74,000. Japan finally signed the Declaration, ending the war.

1946: The Iron Curtain Winston Churchill was invited by President Harry S. Truman to give a speech at Westminster College. Churchill talked about an “Iron Curtain” across Europe, and about a “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain.

1946: The Iron Curtain While the U.S. and Britain weren’t as excited about the idea, and Stalin thought part of the speech was imperialist racism, most took the speech warmly.

1947: The Sound Barrier In the October of 1947, Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1, a test plane used for research by the government, past the speed of sound. It was the first plane to ever do this in history. Other planes were made and went far past the speed of sound, even up to hypersonic speeds.

1948: Gandhi’s Mourning Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist, using a.38 cal pistol from point blank. After his death, a mourning of 13 days lasted, with half- mast flags and no public entertainment and celebration. Even the King, the U.S. President, and others sent messages of sympathy. It was a sad time for India.

1949: NATO To protect including the U.S., formed NATO, known as the Brussels Pact before the U.S. joined. The pact stated that if one country was themselves, several countries in Western Europe, attacked, then it was considered a threat to all the other countries. NATO still exists today.