Germany Surrenders The End of Hitler By: Luca Franceschetti and Rudy Szwarc The End of Hitler

Battle of Stalingrad 1942-43 Was a decisive and major battle in WW2. Nazi Germany and the Soviet army fought over the city of Stalingrad in the southwestern Soviet Union. It was close-quarters combat and is among one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare with an estimated 2 million casualties. During the battle as the Russian winter set in the Germans faced cold, starvation and continuous soviet attack. This lead to Germany’s lose. After the Battle of Stalingrad, German forces never recovered to their earlier strength and became a much weaker force.

Soviet Advance 1944 Starting from the summer of 1944 to the winter of 1944-1995 the Soviet Union recaptured Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania from the German Forces on the Eastern Front. The Soviets invaded Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and eastern Poland. The Soviet army was gaining strength at a rapid pace and the German forces were growing weaker daily losing large amounts of territory and falling back to protect their mother country (Germany).

The Total area seized by Germany in WW2

Eastern Front Map 1944

1944 Nearing the end of the war During August of 1944 the German empire was facing certain defeat from enemy forces. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad ended Germany’s advance in eastern Europe. In following months the Soviets drove the Germans out of most of eastern Europe. Hitler has no intention of surrendering and continued to send troops to defend Germany. German casualties were increasing by the thousands daily.

Hitler Commits Suicide Days before his death Hitler continued to command German forces to guard and protect Berlin, the last remaining Nazi Settlement. Hitler and his wife Eva Braun took refuge in the Reich Chancellery bunker under the center of Berlin. After realizing that the war had been lost and his days were numbered Hitler chooses death instead of capture On April 30th , 1945 Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself and his wife Eva Braun bit a cyanide capsule.

Diary Entries

Victory in Europe (Ve-day) On Tuesday, May 8th 1945 it was ‘Victory Day’ (VE) Germany was defeated and Europe and North America were celebrating with the end of Hitler and the second World War.

Work Cited Walter , White. "World War 2 and Europe. The death of Hitler." The History Place . The History Place, n.d. Web. 9 Apr 2013. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline "Adolf Hitler." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 9 Apr 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler David , Stewart. "The End: Hitler’s Germany, 1944-45." History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 9 Apr 2013. <http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2012/01/end-hitler’s-germany- 1944-45>. "Adolf Hitler 20th Century History." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 9 Apr 2013. <http://history1900s.about.com/cs/hitleradolf/p/hitler.htm>.