WWII THE END BATTLE OF STALINGRAD v August

WWII – THE END

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD v August 23, 1942 v Germany suffered huge losses during the winter v Stalin urged the city never to surrender v Another winter set in – and the Soviets launched a successful counterattack v Only 90, 000 Germans surrendered/survived out of a 300, 000 army v 1 million Soviets died and the city of Stalingrad was destroyed

ALLIED VICTORY IN EUROPE v June 6, 1944 v Under command of general Dwight D. Eisenhower, forces ready to attack on the beaches of Normandy (D-Day) v Greatest land sea attack in history v Allies had huge casualties but eventually marched into Paris and liberated France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and much of the Netherlands

BATTLE OF THE BULGE v Allies advanced towards Germany from the West v Soviets advanced towards Germany from the East v Germany fighting a 2 front war v March 1945 – Allies entered Germany v Hitler married his girlfriend and then they both drank poison. He also shot himself. v May 7, 1945 – Gen. Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender from Germany v V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day

VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC v Allies struggling against Japanese kamikaze – suicide pilots v Victory at Iwo Jima and Okinawa v President Truman demands Japan surrender or face a “rain of ruin from the air” v Manhattan Project – the building of the atomic bomb v Heavy decision based on calculation of lives lost if the Allies entered Japan

THE ATOMIC BOMB HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI v August 6, 1945 v August 9, 1945 v Japanese city of 350, 000 v City of 270, 000 v About 70, 000 -80, 000 v Killed 70, 000 immediately killed immediately v Radiation = more deaths

HIROSHIMA: FACTS v Ground temperatures: 7, 000 degrees Fahrenheit v Hurricane force winds: 980 mph v Energy released: 20, 000 tons of TNT v Buildings destroyed: 62, 000 v Killed immediately: 70, 000 v Dead by end of 1945: 140, 000 v Total deaths: 210, 000

JAPANESE SURRENDER v Official surrender Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri to General Douglas Mac. Arthur in Tokyo Bay v VJ Day

DESTRUCTION OF WWII v 40 million Europeans died v 2/3 were civilians v Billions of dollars in property damage v London, Warsaw, Berlin all destroyed v Civilians had no homes, food, jobs, cities v Famine set in – Berlin 1945 – 4, 000 citizens died a day

RECONSTRUCTION IN GERMANY v February 1945 – U. S. , Britain & Soviet Union met in Yalta v Agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into zones of occupation, controlled by Allied forces v The U. S. and Britain wanted to rebuild the German economy to help stabilize Europe v Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak and divided

v Western Berlin and Western Germany will become democratic due to the aid of W. Europe and the U. S. v The West will also become an economic power in postwar Europe v The East, controlled by Stalin will lag behind and become communist

NUREMBERG TRIALS v Allies put Nazis on trial v Nuremberg, Germany – 22 Nazi leaders were put on trial • Charged with “crimes against humanity” • 12 sentenced to death • 11 hung and their bodies burned at Dachau – a concentration camp

THE UNITED NATIONS v 50 countries v Goal – protect the members against aggression v Based in New York v Each nation could cast their vote on issues v Security council – 5 permanent members • Britain, China, France, U. S. & Soviet Union

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS v Established and adopted by the United Nations v The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued in 1948 to protect the dignity and rights of all people v Provide a code of conduct for the treatment of people under the protection of their government

RECONSTRUCTION IN JAPAN v 2 million died v Atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki v Tokyo, the capital, also destroyed v Allies took away Japan’s colonial possessions v August 15, 1945 – Emperor Hirohito made a radio address urging his people to stop fighting and begin reconstructing Japan v Douglas Mac. Arthur took charge of U. S. occupation in Japan

v Mac. Arthur was determined to fairly control Japan but he needed to make sure his men were safe v Began process of demilitarization • Disbanded the Japanese army – eliminated aggressive abilities • Brought war criminals to trial – Hideki Tojo was hung • Created a “safe” Japan • Promised Japan the U. S would keep them safe

MACARTHUR BRINGS DEMOCRACY & REVIVES ECONOMY v The U. S. helped the Japanese create a new constitution that went into effect May 3, 1947 v Japan now had a Parliamentary Democracy like Britain v Increased land ownership v U. S. gave Japan 2 billion dollars v Japan slowly began to emerge as a dominant economy in Asia