Toward the End: The Axis Power Fail (Part 1) EQ: How did Allied advances in 1944 and 1945 combined with Axis failures lead to the end of the Second World War?

In Europe:

European Scoreboard: January 1, 1945 Paris and most of France have been liberated A new French Army is pushing into Germany in conjunction with American, British, and Canadian troops In the East, the Soviets are on the border with Germany In the South, the last German troops in Italy and Austria are ready to fall Field Marshall Rommel is dead Hitler still refuses to surrender

Hitler’s Questionable Sanity: Hitler was suffering from advanced Syphilis In its advanced stage, this disease can cause mental illness When asked by his advisors to surrender, Hitler claimed that God would intervene to save Germany He also ordered the destruction of Germany and its people instead of surrender Ordered more troops and resources to death camps and to saving his art horde

Battle of the Bulge: December 1944-January 1945 Hitler order one final counter-offensive in the West He enlisted boys as young as 13 and men as old as 60 to carry out the attack The Germans caused a bulge in the lines of the Allies near the Ardennes Forest, but the were held This constituted the last major German effort of the war

Liberation of Auschwitz: January, 1945 The most infamous death camp of the war is liberated Allies come to grips with the horrors of the holocaust The story of Auschwitz deeply turns people across the world against Germany and Hitler

Fire Bombing of Dresden: We had already demanded an unconditional surrender with Germany at this point When they refused, we attacked their manufacturing centers The incendiary bombs used at Dresden were designed to burn the entire city More than 135,000 people were killed Hitler still refused to surrender

April 12, 1945: An Unexpected Setback United States President, Franklin Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage He had led the United States through the Great Depression and World War 2 and was one of our most popular presidents of all time Harry S. Truman became our new president

Soviet Troops Enter Berlin: April 21, 1945 Hitler had been trying to negotiate a peace settlement where he could keep power The allies firmly rejected this proposal They wanted unconditional surrender

Hitler Commits Suicide: April 30, 1945 Hitler marries his long-time girlfriend Eva Braun in the morning Later that afternoon, she commits suicide with a cyanide pill Shortly afterward, Hitler shoots himself in the head and dies

V. E. Day: May 8, 1945 On May 7, all German troops are ordered to surrender their arms Field Marshall Jodl signed the papers ending the war The next day, the world celebrated V.E. Day The Allies had won in Europe