THE END OF THE WAR IN EUROPE

YALTA CONFERENCE February 4-11, 1945 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill – “The Big 3” Decide what to do with Germany after the war- divide the country into 4 demilitarized zones

MANHATTAN PROJECT Project used to design the atomic bomb for the US Employed more than 600,000 people and cost $2 billion Top-Secret facilities in Los Alamos, NM, Hanford, WA and Oak Ridge, TN

J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER Physicist in charge of running the Manhattan Project University of California at Berkley

ROOSEVELT DIES Died in Warm Springs, Georgia on April 12, 1945 of a cerebral hemorrhage 3 months into his 4th term Harry S. Truman, VP, becomes the 33rd President

HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE On April 30, 1945 two days after being married, Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun committed suicide inside a bunker in Berlin, Germany Braun died of cyanide poisoning and Hitler of both poisoning and a self- inflicted gun shot

HITLER CONTINUED Guards found the bodies of Hitler and Braun, doused them in gasoline and burned the bodies The bodies were rumored to have been destroyed in later bombing or removed by the Russian Red Army and reburied several times

VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY “VE Day” May 8, 1945 the day after the Germans unconditionally surrendered to the Allies

More than one million people celebrated in the streets of Europe CELBRATION IN EUROPE More than one million people celebrated in the streets of Europe

War crimes hearings held against Axis Powers leaders NUREMBERG TRIALS (1945-49) War crimes hearings held against Axis Powers leaders 24 Nazis tried- 21 convicted 12 executed, 1 committed suicide, 3 acquittals, the rest were imprisoned (4 for life)