WORLD WAR II BATTLE OF STALINGRAD June 1941

WORLD WAR II

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD • June 1941 – January 31, 1943 • Germans violated nonaggression pact with Soviet Union and attacked • Hitler hoped to captured Soviet oil fields • Germans nearly won • Controlled 9/10 of the city • Winter of 1942 -1943 hit

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD CONT…. • Hitler forced Germans to stay put • Soviets used to their advantage and won • Soviets lost over 1 million people in this battle • More then the U. S. for the entire war • Turning point in WWII

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

NORMANDY INVASION CONT… • After 7 days of fighting, the Allied forces had an 80 mile stretch of beach • on August 25, 1944 France was liberated from 4 years of German rule • By September, Belgium and Luxembourg were freed

BATTLE OF THE BULGE • December 16, 1944 • German tanks broke through American lines • 80 mile front • Fought in Belgium – Germany was trying to capture Antwerp • Very brutal war – one of the most extensive of U. S. military • 120 American GIs ( soldiers) captured • Germans were winning in the beginning

BATTLE OF THE BULGE CONT… • 120, 000 Germans died • Also lost 600 tanks and guns and 1, 600 planes – leading to defeat • 80, 000 Americans died • Americans won, but were close to losing

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

YALTA COMPROMISE • Divided Germany temporarily into 4 zones • Americans, British, Soviet Union, and France • Stalin agreed to free and unfettered elections in Poland other Soviet Union occupied countries • Stalin agreed to join war effort against Japan

APRIL 12, 1945 • At the beginning of his 4 th Term, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passes away from a stroke • The U. S. went through a major grieving period • Harry S. Truman, as Vice President, takes the role as 33 rd President

THE END OF HITLER • April 30, 1945 Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide • Gun shot and cyanide • Bodies burned in street

THE END OF MUSSOLINI • Attempted to escape the advancing Allied army by hiding in a German convoy headed toward the Alps • Found and captured • Executed on April 29, 1945 with 15 leading Fascists • Hung at a gas station

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

NUREMBERG TRIALS • International tribunal court tried Nazi officials • Over 23 nations tried Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, Germany • 12 of the 24 defendants were sentenced to death • 200 other officials were found guilty, but given lesser sentences

STAMP SET ASSIGNMENT • On four separate notecards, create a commemorative stamp set that shows how World War II affected the people of the United States. • Follow these guidelines when creating your stamp set. • Your stamp set must include two stamps. • One stamp should commemorate one group: members of the military, the government, consumers, women, Japanese Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, or Jewish Americans. • One stamp should commemorate one major battle in World War II. • Each stamp should include images or symbols to represent the impact of World War II on the group or the importance of the battle.