Download Section 5- World War II Ends - Waverly

10th American History
Unit IV- A Champion of Democracy
Chapter 14 – Section 5
World War II Ends
World War II Ends
The Main Idea
While the Allies completed the defeat of the Axis Powers on the
battlefield, Allied leaders were making plans for the postwar
world.
Reading Focus
• How did the Allies defeat Germany and win the war in Europe?
• How did the Allies defeat Japan and win the war in the Pacific?
• What challenges faced the United States after victory?
Winning the War in Europe
 After the Battle of the Bulge, Germany had few soldiers left to defend the
homeland.
 Germany faced 4 million Allied troops on its western border and millions
more Soviet troops to the east.
 The Big Three – Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin – met in
Yalta to make plans for the end of the war and the peace that was to
follow.
 Allied forces made their way across the Rhine River, which was a key
barrier to the center of Germany.
 Roosevelt decided to leave Berlin to the Soviets.
 In April of 1945 Hitler realized that the war was lost and committed suicide
in his Berlin bunker.
The War in Europe Ends: The Liberation of the Concentration Camps (00:55)
The Yalta Conference
Allied leaders Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—
the so-called Big Three—met in the resort town of Yalta in the
Soviet Union to discuss the end of the war and the peace that
was to follow.
A key goal was to determine what to do with Germany. The
leaders agreed to divide the country into four sectors. The
Americans, Soviets, British, and French would each occupy one
of these sectors. Berlin was also divided into four sectors.
Another agreement had to do with the fate of Poland and other
Eastern European countries now occupied by the Soviets. Stalin
agreed to hold elections in these countries after the war.
Stalin also said that the Soviet Union would declare war on
Japan three months after Germany was defeated.
The Yalta Conference – 2:42
The Yalta Conference- 3:15
Winning the War in Europe
Crossing the Rhine
The Berlin Question
 Hitler ordered his troops to
make a stand at the Rhine
River.
 Some Allied leaders wanted
to capture Berlin before the
Soviets did.
 Despite the fact that the
Germans blew up many of
the bridges across the
Rhine to slow the Allies,
they managed to cross at
Remagen.
 Eisenhower decided not to
try to get to Berlin before
the Soviets.
 The decision to defend the
river turned out to be one of
Hitler’s military mistakes.
 He believed the battle for
Berlin would be bloody.
 Allied leaders had already
agreed on how to divide
Berlin.
Hitler’s Death
On April 30, 1945, Hitler realized that all hope for a German
victory was lost. He committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.
Berlin surrendered on May 2, 1945. Karl Dönitz, who had taken
over as Germany’s leader, agreed to a surrender on May 7,
which would take place the following day.
In the United States, May 8 was proclaimed V-E Day—Victory
in Europe Day.
The Death of Hitler
 The generally accepted cause of the death of
Adolf Hitler on April 30, 1945 is suicide by gunshot
and cyanide poisoning.
 Hitler, having dictated his last will and testament to
his secretary and signed them at 04:00 on April 29.
Shortly after midnight on April 29, 1945, Hitler
married Eva Braun in a small civil ceremony in a
map room within the bunker complex, before finally
retiring to bed at around 04:00.
 Hitler appeared to have shot himself at right
temple, with an exit wound towards the top, left
side of his head, with a 7.65 mm pistol which lay at
his feet. Eva had no visible physical wounds and it
is assumed she had poisoned herself.
 The bodies were carried outside, covered with
gasoline and set afire. The SS were unable to
completely destroy the bodies with the fire and it is
commonly believed that the Russian recovered the
remains.
V-E Day - May 8, 1945 (03:02)
VE Day
 On May 6, Admiral Donitz authorized
General Alfred Jodl to "conclude an
armistice agreement" with General
Eisenhower. The Germans wanted a
separate peace with the allied troops in
the West in order to continue their battle
with the Russians in the East.
 Eisenhower would have none of it. He
ordered the Germans to surrender
unconditionally the next day.
 The Germans acquiesced, signing the
surrender document on May 7, in the
French city of Reims. The cessation of
fighting took effect at 11:01 PM on May
8.
 May 8, 1945, the day on which the
Allies announced the surrender of
German forces in Europe.
Winning the War in Europe
 How did the Allies defeat Germany and win the
war in Europe?
 Describe- What plans were made at the Yalta
Conference for Germany and Eastern Europe?
 Make Inferences – How did Hitler’s order to
defend the Rhine turn out to be deadly?
 Predict – Do you think that if Allied forces had
reached Berlin before the Soviets, they could
have prevented division of the city?
Winning the War in the Pacific
 The cost of capturing Okinawa were high.
 High rates of battle-related psychological casualties
 Thousands suffered from battle fatigue and other disorders.

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
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 Many dreaded the possibility of invading the major islands of
Japan.
General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz developed plans for a
massive invasion of Japan.
A new bombing tactic was used on Japanese cities, one designed
to produce tremendous firestorms in the bombed area.
Some Japanese leaders began to see the need for peace and
began to contact the Soviet Union.
President Harry S Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on
Japan.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.
The Potsdam Conference-4:08
The Atomic Bomb
Harry S Truman became president when Roosevelt died. He
had to decide whether the United States should use the
Manhattan Project’s atomic bomb.
After consulting with his advisors, Truman decided to drop the
bomb on a Japanese city. There would be no warning.
On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped its atomic bomb on
the city of Hiroshima.
Despite the horror caused by the bomb, the Japanese did not
surrender.
On August 9, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on
Nagasaki. Even this did not bring an end to the war.
Finally, on August 15 – known from then on as V-J Day—the
Japanese emperor Hirohito announced the end of the war.
Why Truman Decided to Drop the Bomb
 As a result of the war, noncombatants were dying throughout Asia at a rate of
about 200,000 per month
 The U.S. blockade of Japan could result in the starvation of over 10 million.
 Japanese War Ministry on August 1, 1944, ordered the disposal and execution
of all Allied POWs, numbering over 100,000, if an invasion of the Japanese
mainland took place.
 Japanese government waged total war, ordering many civilians (including
women and children) to work in factories and military offices and to fight against
any invading force. The Japanese army was already training its civilians to fight
with sharpened bamboo poles in the Samuri tradition die for Japan and the
Emperor. training of young children to be “Sherman carpets.” Japanese children
were to be strapped with TNT and throw themselves under American tanks,
thereby dying in the most honorable way possible--by killing the enemy.
 Hastening the end of the war would stop further bloodshed in Japanese
occupied territories. It can be assumed that at least as many civilians would
have died as soldiers, bringing the totals somewhere around 200,000 to four
million Japanese dead, along with the 50,000 to one million American
dead, totaling 250,000 to five million total dead.
 Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan at
the end of World War II. The operation was canceled when Japan surrendered
following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's
declaration of war against Japan.
First Atomic Blast- New Mexico
Trinity Test
Took place on July 16, 1945 at
Alamogordo Testing Range in
New Mexico
The explosions fireball fused the
desert sand into a green glasslike
solid, and created a crater 10 feet
deep and 2,400 feet across.
Atomic Bomb - August 6, 1945 (02:41)
The Manhattan Project and the Atomic Bomb Attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (01:49)
The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A Result of the Atomic Bomb (05:04)
Japan Surrenders (00:30)
Winning the War in the Pacific
How did the Allies defeat Japan and win
the war in the Pacific?
Explain - How did the Allies hope to force
Japan to surrender?
Evaluate – Do you believe that the United
States was justified in dropping the bomb
on the city of Hiroshima?
Challenges after the War
United Nations
Potsdam Conference
• Representatives
from 50 countries
met to form a
new organization,
the United
Nations.
• Allied leaders met in
the German city of
Potsdam to discuss
the spread of
communism and
Soviet influence in
the postwar world.
• The UN was
meant to
encourage
cooperation
among nations
and to prevent
wars.
• Truman hoped to get
Stalin to live up to
his promises from
Yalta.
• Stalin did not do this.
Rebuilding
• MacArthur led
efforts to help
Japan rebuild its
government and
economy.
• Seven Japanese
leaders were tried
for war crimes.
• Rebuilding Europe
caused tensions
between the U.S
and the Soviet
Union.
The Potsdam Conference, July - August 1945
 President Truman, Soviet Premier Stalin and
British Prime Ministers Churchill and Atlee
discussed post-war arrangements in Europe,
frequently without agreement.
 Potsdam divided postwar Germany into four
occupation zones, administered by Britain,
France, the United States and the Soviet
Union, and reorganized Germany's
institutions and economy.
 The "Potsdam Declaration" described
Japan's present perilous condition, gave the
terms for her surrender and stated the Allies'
intentions concerning her postwar status. It
ended with an ultimatum: Japan must
immediately agree to unconditionally
surrender, or face "prompt and utter
destruction".
 Although the Potsdam Conference was
considered successful, many of the
agreements reached were dishonored within a
year as a result of the growing rift between
the USSR and Western Europe.
V-J Day
Events Leading Up to the Surrender
 July 26, 1945: Potsdam Declaration is issued.
Truman tells Japan, "Surrender or suffer prompt and
utter destruction.“
 July 29: Japan rejects the Potsdam Declaration.
 Aug 2: Potsdam conference ends.
 Aug 6: A nuclear bomb, "Little Boy" is dropped on
Hiroshima.
 Aug 8: USSR declares war on Japan.
 Aug 9: Another nuclear bomb, "Fat Man" is dropped on
Nagasaki.
 Aug 15: Japan surrenders.
V-J Day
 V-J Day is the abbreviation for
Victory over Japan Day, the
celebration of the Surrender of
Japan, which took place on
August 15, 1945, ending the
Second World War.
 In Japan, the day is known as,
Shusen-kinenbi, which literally
means the "Memorial day for
the end of the war".
 The formal Japanese signing
of the surrender terms took
place on board the battleship
USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on
September 2, 1945 and at that
time Truman actually declared
September 2 to be VJ-Day
World War II (05:18)
The Birth of the United Nations and Post-War Recovery (01:51)
Creation of the United Nations
 The UN was founded after the end of
World War II by the victorious Allied
Powers in the hope that it would act to
intervene in conflicts between nations
and thereby avoid war.
 The five permanent members of the UN
Security Council, each of which has
veto power on any UN resolution, are
the main victors of World War II or
their successor states: People's
Republic of China (which replaced the
Republic of China), the French
Republic, the Russian Federation
(which replaced the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics), the United
Kingdom, and the United States of
America.
The Nuremberg Trials of Nazi War Criminals (00:25)
The Challenges of Victory
What challenges faced the United States
after victory?
Recall - What new concern faced the
United States following the end of the
war?
Analyze – Why do you think the task of
rebuilding Europe created tension
between wartime allies the United States
and the Soviet Union?
Consequences of the War in the Pacific- 2:35
Life in Post World War II- 6:43 min.