WWII The End of the War

How did WWII end in Europe? Operation Overlord- Allied invasion of France. Also called D-Day. Within a month 1 million Allied troops were stationed in Europe. Germany is surrounded with the USSR to the east Germany surrenders in 1945 after Hitler commits suicide.

Normandy Invasion (D-Day) June 6, 1944 During this time, Soviet Union was pushing into Poland and Allies were pushing North in Italy   Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Patton influential in leading attack 3 million ally troops to attack

D-DAY June 6, 1944

Normandy Invasion cont. D – Day Ø       60 mile stretch of beach Ø       156,000 troops Ø       4,000 landing craft Ø       600 warships Ø       11,000 planes Ø       Largest land-sea-air operation in history Ø       Omaha beach known as one of the most brutal areas

Normandy Invasion cont. The battle continues  W/in 1 month, a million more troops  September 1944, France was freed from Nazi control

Yalta Conference Took place February 1945 before WWII was over Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill met in Yalta in the Soviet Union to discuss post WWII Set up United Nations

Yalta – “The Big 3”

April 12, 1945 At the beginning of his 4th Term, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passes away The U.S. went through a major grieving period Harry S. Truman, as Vice-President, takes the role as President

The End of Hitler April 30, 1945 Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide (gun shot and cyanide) Bodies burned in street Cover of Time magazine May 7, 1945

V-E Day May 8, 1945 General Eisenhower accepted a surrender by the Third Reich   V-E day = Victory in Europe day 1st part of War was over

Potsdam July – August 1945 Truman, (Churchill and then Clement Atlee) and Stalin met in Potsdam, Germany Drew up a blueprint to disarm Germany and eliminate the Nazi regime

Potsdam Continued Divided Germany into 4 sections (occupied by France, Britain, U.S. and Soviet Union) Berlin to be divided up in East (or Soviet Germany) Set up the Nuremberg Trials to persecute Nazi leaders Japan must “unconditionally surrender”

Potsdam, Germany

How did WWII end in Europe? Allies divide Germany up between them. This helps start the Cold War. The Nuremburg Trials are held in Germany to try the people responsible for the war. Many are executed and jailed for war crimes.

Nuremberg Trials International tribunal court tried Nazi officials Over 23 nations tried Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, Germany 12 of the 22 defendants were sentenced to death 200 other officials were found guilty, but give lesser sentences

The Manhattan Project US effort to build a new type of weapon that would unleash tremendous destructive energy by splitting uranium atoms – an “atomic bomb” Led by Gen. Leslie Groves and researcher J. Robert Oppenheimer, the team produced 3 bombs 1 bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert, leaving just 2 bombs for military use Bombs were code-named “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”

Harry S. Truman 1884 – 1972 (life) 1945 - 1953 (Pres.) Became president upon FDR’s death Truman now had to decide how to end the war – should the US mount an invasion of Japan, which would cost an estimated 1 million American lives or should it use the new atomic bomb, which would kill an unknown number of Japanese civilians and whose after-effects were still unknown?

Hiroshima Japan was warned that unless they surrendered immediately and without conditions, they faced “prompt and utter destruction” When the Japanese did not reply, orders were given to destroy the industrial city of Hiroshima August 6, 1945: The B-29 Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” on the city, destroying 76,000 buildings and killing over 120,000 people

Nagasaki When the Japanese still did not surrender, the B-29 Bock’s Car dropped “Fat Man” on the port of Nagasaki, killing over 50,000 on August 9, 1945 On the same day, the Soviets declared war on Japan and began to prepare to enter the war in the Pacific

Japan Surrenders Faced with destruction on an unforeseen scale (and unaware that the US had no more atomic bombs to use), Emperor Hirohito ordered his government to surrender unconditionally Fighting stopped August 15, 1945 (“V-J Day”) Formal surrender took place on September 2, 1945 As part of the terms of surrender, Japan was occupied by U.S. forces until Apr. 1952

Quick $$$ Facts War Costs US Debt 1940 - $9 Billion WWII cost $330 billion – 10 times the cost of WWI & equivalent to all previous federal spending since 1776

Losses of the Major Wartime Powers in WWII, 1939-1945 Germany 4.5 million military 2 million civilian Japan 2 million military 350,000 civilians Italy 400,000 military 100,000 civilian China 2.5 million military 7.4 million civilians USSR 10 million military 10 million civilians Great Britain 300,000 military 50,000 civilians France 250,000 military 350,000 civilian United States 274,000 military