The end of World War Two

The end of the war in Europe On the 8 th of May 1945 unconditional surrender was excepted by the allies. This was the formal ending to Adolf Hitler's reign and the Third Reich. “Victory in Europe” also known as VE day/ Nothing in Europe would ever be the same again. Unlike the first world war the end was in sight a the start of 1945

Lead up to VE day Germany had been on an ongoing offensive both on the front line and the home front. Nazi soldiers were aggressively fighting. On the home front Hitler was committing unthinkable atrocities. By the start of 1945 Germany was being attacked on both the eastern and western fronts

Lead up to VE day At the start of 1945 the revelation of the concentration camps was found as Soviet forces started progressing towards Germany. From the west the allies were progressing rapidly across the Rhine land in Germany. The Russians reached Berlin on the 21 st of April 1945.

Hitler commits Suicide The Russians had encircled Berlin. The end of the war was insight. The chancellory building was surrounded by Russian forces. Underground there was an elobrate set of rooms where Hitler spent a lot of his time towards the end of the war. He managed German troops from here, the German war effort along with the Nazi regime. Hitler and his wife both swallowed a cyanide tablet and then shot himself in the head on the 39 th April 1945.

The pacific As the war was dying down in Europe, the pacific war was raging. Japanese forces started to withdraw from Japan America had started defeating the Japanese and there was talk about a possible invasion of Japan. The Americans new the war was over in Europe, it was becoming clear the pacific war needed to come to an end. However the Japanese would not surrender

The pacific The plans of a possible invasion of Japan, however after careful calculations by American President Harry Truman the Americans decided to sanction the atomic bomb. Truman new their would be a massive resistance and a massive causality rate. The atomic bomb was sanctioned and the American military started planning the mission

The pacific In 1939 Leo Szilard a leading scientist from America, pleaded to Albert Einstein one of the most advanced mines in the history of the world to write a letter to the American president about investing in the study of nuclear weapons. Einstein agreed, and in 1939 the Manhattan project was commissioned. The research for this project was to create a nuclear bomb, because their was fear the Nazis were trying to do the same thing

The atomic bomb An ultimatum was given to the Japanese government, this was ignored as the Japanese military leaders did not want to surrender. After extensive fire bombing by American planes on major cities on the 4 th of August Then on the 6 th of August 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima instantly killing between 45, civilians The on the 9 th of August 1945 the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing between 35,000-70,000

The atomic bomb The two atomic bombs were the only time nuclear weapons have ever been used in the history of the world. On the 14 th of August 1945 World war two was over. Japan officially surrendered, they were socially, economically and militarily defeated. The surrender came just over three months after the surrender of the Axis forces in Europe

Post WW2 The end of world war two marked a new chapter in world history. The failure of the league of nations which was set up to ensure world peace lead to the creation of the United Nations. A process called denazification took place in Germany however it was later abandoned. The peace between the United States and Soviet Union only lasted for a few months and their differences were highlighted through the shared occupation of Germany.

Post WW2 Approximately 47million soldiers died during the war. At the end of the war millions of people where homeless. Thousands of cities around the world were destroyed. The Marshall plan was implemented in Europe to help their recovery which saw 13 billion dollars allocated for the reconstruction of western Europe. The Soviet Union was excluded from the plan and they were in charge of eastern Europe.

Post WW2 The end of World War Two marked the decline of the imperial power and the rise of the super power. The two super powers were the ones who were strongest at the end of world war two and that was the United States and the Soviet Union. This created a bi-polar world, as you were either an ally of the United States or the Soviet Union

Post WW2 The decline of the imperial powers lead to a power vacuum. The Marshell plan had highlighted the bipolar world. The Western was controlled by the American and the East was controlled by the Soviet Union which heightened tensions between the two powers.

Activity Explain what VE day is (Include the date) Define- Communism and capitalism Research the events that lead up to the cold war. Create a timeline starting from the unconditional surrender to the end of the cold war highlighting major events. Extension – Explain the concept of a power vacuum and what did this have to do with the cold war.