The End of World War II

I. Important Dates to Remember… Hitler is elected into office in 1933 Hitler passes the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, Nuremberg, Germany He also stages rallies for the Nazi Party here Anschluss between Austria and Germany, March 1938 Sudetenland is taken by Hitler, September 1938 Kristallnacht occurs on Nov. 9th & 10th 1938 Poland is attacked September 1, 1939 WWII officially begins Wannsee Conference occurs in late 1941/ early 1942 Final Solution

I. Important Dates to Remember December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor is bombed June 6, 1944: D-Day, Allied Forces storm Frances’ beaches February 1945: Yalta Conference- how do we make the war end faster? April 12th 1945: FDR dies from a stroke April 30th 1945: Hitler commits suicide May 8th 1945: VE Day

I. Important Dates to Remember… August 6th 1945: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima August 9th 1945: Atomic bombing of Nagasaki August 15th 1945: VJ Day Sept. 2nd 1945: Official surrender of the Japanese and the end of WWII!

II. Nuremberg Trials Allied leaders believed that after learning about the Holocaust and other war crimes, the Axis leaders would be charged with “crimes against humanity” Trials occurred between Nov. 1945 & Oct. 1946 177 Germans and Austrians tried 142 found guilty 12 were sentenced to death The United States, England, France and the Soviet Union all had legal representation for the trials

III. Tokyo Trials These are trials that were led by the United States in Japan against the Japanese people There were 3 classifications that you could be charged under Class A: Crimes against Peace (25 people charged) Class B: War Crimes (5,700 people charged for both B & C) Class C: Crimes against Humanity Trial outcomes 984 condemned to death (only 920 executed) 475 received life sentences 2,944 received some prison sentences 1,018 were acquitted

IV. United Nations (UN) International peace keeping body that would be more powerful than the League of Nations 50 nations joined in 1945 5 permanent members were the US, UK, France, Russia and China Goes beyond peacekeeping Preventing the outbreak of disease Improving education Protecting refugees Helping nations develop economically Currently there are 192 nations that participate in the UN, with only a handful of nations that don’t belong

V. The Cold War “Peaceful” conflict from 1945 until 1991 between the United States and the Soviet Union, or any country that the Soviet Union and Communism befriended. Communism vs. Democracy Leads to many actual armed conflicts Korean War 1950-1953 Vietnam War 1955-1975 Cuban conflicts in 1961, 1962 China East Germany 1945-1989 (Berlin Wall)

VI. Marshall Plan Massive aid package The United States offered money to European countries in need to prevent them from becoming Communist states Billions of dollars was funneled into Europe

VII. Truman Doctrine Policy of containment for communist nations The basic goal is to NOT have any other countries accept Communism as a legitimate form of government Truman gave a speech to Congress in 1947 that was basically named the “Truman Doctrine”

VIII. Fate of Germany Split in four pieces after the war Berlin Wall Soviet Union, France, UK, US East Germany (Communist) West Germany (Democracy) Berlin Wall Literal wall used to separate the parts of the city Put in place 1961 and torn down in 1991 Families were literally separated and could not be in contact with each other Only 63 official deaths are recognized for those who attempted to climb the wall

VIII. Fate of Germany Stalin was upset with the success of Western Berlin (and West Germany) Blockaded railroads that went into the Western portion Hoped that he could starve the West out of Berlin Berlin Airlift 1948-1949 Allied forces flew in food and fuel for a year to keep Western Germany functioning Caused the increase in tensions during the Cold War

IX. New Alliance Systems North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO US, Canada and 9 other Atlantic nations agreed to protect each other if necessary Warsaw Pact Communist version of NATO Soviet Union and 7 satellite nations agreed to protect each other if necessary

CFU: End of the War Write both the question and your answer. You have 15 minutes to complete. Which event causes WWII to start? Which event causes the U.S. to enter WWII? What is the name of the trials of the war criminals in Germany? What is the name of the trials of the war criminals in Japan? What is the United Nations? What is the Cold War? What is the Marshall Plan? What was the goal of the Truman Doctrine? What was the Berlin Wall? What happened during the Berlin Airlift? What was the purpose of NATO? What was the purpose of the Warsaw Pact?