End of WWII 3.27.18

The Allies Liberate Paris Allies in Paris by August 1944 By September, Allies liberate France, Belgium, Luxembourg, & much of the Netherlands

The Battle of the Bulge Hitler’s Last Offensive December 1944: Hitler now faced with Soviets on the east & Allies on the west Allied airpower provided support & Germans eventually retreat Allies rolled into Germany as the Soviets approached from the east

The Battle of Dresden February 1945 Allied air attack on Dresden 4,000 tons of explosives Example of total war

Hitler commits suicide April 30, 1945: Hitler & his wife, Eva Braun, commit suicide as the Allies close in on Berlin Joseph Goebbels also commits suicide later that day

Russian and American soldiers meet at the Elbe

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day: The Allies accept the Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945 US President Roosevelt died a month before and Truman took his place.

Europe in Ruins 40 million dead (2/3 civilians)—more deaths than any conflict in history. Hundreds of cities destroyed No water, no electricity, little food Factories destroyed so no jobs to earn $

Atomic Bombs Bombing of Hiroshima: Aug. 6, 1945 Bombing of Nagasaki: Aug. 9, 1945 5 days after Nagasaki, Japan announced their surrender

Dropping the Atomic Bomb Arguments for dropping it Arguments against Necessity of ending the war – this accomplished that Concerns that Japanese wouldn’t surrender Sending in troops on the ground would lead to many more American deaths Ended the war quickly Possibly fewer deaths than the other options Importance of giving other countries a fair chance to surrender Should have warned Japan of new weapon Brutality & terrorism of this weapon

V-J Day August 15, 1945 Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept the surrender blames the “new and most cruel bomb” for the country’s defeat Official end of WWII

Nuremberg Trials Series of 13 trials of Nazi officials 1945-1949 Never been done before France, GB, US, Soviet Union all working together Created new procedure & 3 categories of crimes: crimes against peace war crimes crimes against humanity

Nuremberg Trials 209 people on trial 118 found guilty Sentences ranged from prison to death penalty Highly controversial, but step toward creating international law

Nuremberg Trials NPR interview with last surviving attorney from the trial http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/10/18/497938049/the-last-nuremberg-prosecutor-has-3-words-of-advice-law-not-war

Questions for the future: What should happen to Germany after WWII? How will countries recover from yet another war? What type of governments will they choose? Can communism and capitalism exist in the same world?

Test on Thursday Ch.36 worksheet also due Thursday