1. End of WWII

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

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. Russian and American soldiers meet at the Elbe

7. 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.

8. 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 $

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. Nuremberg Trials
NPR interview with last surviving attorney from the trial

15. 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?

16. Test on Thursday
Ch.36 worksheet also due Thursday