Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
End of WWII World Wars – Hamer January 29, 2009 The Yalta Conference February 1945 The “Big Three” Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin Yalta - February 1945 • There was an agreement that the priority would be the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. • After the war Germany would be split into three occupied zones with a three-power occupation of Berlin, prior to unification of Germany. – Stalin agreed that France might have a fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria but it would have to be carved out of the British and American zones. France would also be granted a seat in the Allied Control Council. Yalta - February 1945 • A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up to decide whether Germany was to be divided into several nations, and if so, what borders and interrelationships the new German states were to have • The eventual partition of Germany into Allied Occupation Zones: British zone, French zone (two exclaves), American zone, Soviet zone, and Allied-administered Austria Yalta - February 1945 • Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification. • German reparations were not in the form of forced labor. • Creation of an allied reparation council with its seat in Moscow. • It was agreed to reorganize the communist Provisionary Polish Government that had been set up by the Red Army through the inclusion of other groups such as the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and to have democratic elections. This effectively excluded the Polish government-in-exile that had evacuated in 1939. Yalta - February 1945 • The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany • Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent. Yalta - February 1945 • FDR obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in the UN once it was agreed that each of the five permanent members of the Security Council would have veto power. Churchill lobbied heavily to get France in the Security Council. • Stalin requested that all of the 16 Soviet Socialist Republics would be granted United Nations membership, only 2 would. Yalta - February 1945 • Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany. The Soviet Union would receive the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kurile islands after the defeat of Japan. The Fall of Berlin • The two sides of the Allied armies were closing in on Germany by the spring of 1945. • By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin. Approximately 10,000 German soldiers were left to defend the city. • The Soviets captured the German Reichstag (Congress) on May 2, 1945. Hitler’s Death • Hitler had made the Füherbunker, located in Berlin, his primary base on January 16, 1945. • By April 22, 1945 it seemed to those around him that Hitler had finally admitted defeat and realized that Germany would lose the war. • Shortly after midnight on April 29, 1945, Hitler married his long time companion, Eva Braun. Earlier that day he had written his last will and testament. Hitler’s Death • At approximately 2:30 pm on April 30,1945, the Soviets raised their flag over the Reichstag and Hitler and Eva Braun went into their study. • Approximately an hour later, a gunshot was heard. Hitler’s valet opened the door to the study and found Eva Braun and Hitler dead. Hitler’s Death • Braun had killed herself by ingesting a cyanide capsule. Hitler shot himself in the right temple at the same time that he had a cyanide capsule in his mouth. • Following Hitler’s orders, members of Hitler’s SS bodyguards took the bodies outside, doused them with gasoline, and tried to cremate the corpses. • This did not completely work, so the bodies were buried where they were later found and confiscated by the Soviets. Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945 Cyanide & Pistols The Führer’s Bunker Mr. & Mrs. Hitler Hitler’s Death • On the left, an American Military paper wrongly stated that Hitler fell in Battle • Time magazine cover after Hitler’s death (eyes wrong color) Hitler’s Death • Many believe that the public and disturbing execution of Mussolini (April 28, 1945) and his mistress further encouraged Hitler to take his own life instead of being captured. • Others in Hitler’s command, such as Goebbels, also killed themselves and their families. The Fall of Berlin • Russian Katyusha rocket launchers fire on Berlin The Fall of Berlin • The Red Army flew the Soviet flag from the top of the Reichstag • Soviet troops signed their names on the side of the Reichstag V-E Day: May 8, 1945 • Small pockets of resistance continued until the official surrender on May 8, 1945. This was known as V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day – when the war in Europe was finally over. The Death of FDR • President Roosevelt did not live to see this victory, he died on April 12, 1945 at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia. • Vice President Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president and guided America through the victory in Europe. V-E Day (May 8, 1945) General Keitel V-E Day (May 8, 1945) American Heroes in Europe • Many groups of American troops distinguished themselves in battle during the campaign in Europe. During WW2 the United States Army was still segregated, and many of these units were among the most decorated in the war. These include: • The Tuskegee Airmen: An all-African American Squadron that helped take down the Luftwaffe in Italy and won two Distinguished unit Citations American Heroes in Europe • The Buffaloes: Another all-African American Division – the 92nd Infantry Division that won 7 Legion of Merit awards, 65 Silver Stars, and 162 Bronze Stars for courage under fire in only 6 months • Company E of the 141st Regiment, 36th Division: An all-Chicano unit that became one of the most decorated of the war • 442nd Regimental Combat Team: An all-Nisei regiment that became the most decorated unit in U.S. History Finishing the War in the Pacific • After fulfilling the promise to destroy Germany first, America had to finish the war in the Pacific Potsdam Conference: July, 1945 • FDR dead, Churchill out of office as Prime Minister during conference. • Stalin only original. • The United States has the A-bomb. • Allies agree Germany is to be divided into occupation zones • Poland moved P.M. Clement President around to suit Atlee Truman the Soviets. Joseph Stalin Potsdam Declaration • "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.” • "...The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people. The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland..." Potsdam Declaration • Militarism in Japan must end. • Japan would be occupied until the basic objectives set out in this proclamation were met. • The terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out and Japanese sovereignty would be limited to the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku, and such minor islands as the Allies determined. • The Japanese army would be completely disarmed and allowed to return home. • Those who had led Japan to war must be permanently and finally discredited, and abandoned. Potsdam Declaration • War criminals would be punished including those who had "visited cruelties upon our prisoners”. • Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights shall be established. • Japan should be permitted to maintain a viable industrial economy but not industries which would enable her to re-arm for war. • The treaty was not intended to enslave the Japanese as a race or as a nation. • Allied forces would be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished The Atomic Bomb • The intensity of fighting at the Battle of Okinawa made the Allied commanders worry about how much worse the fighting would be once the Allies invaded Japan. • Churchill predicted that the cost of invading Japan would be 1.5 million Allied lives. • President Truman chose to use a newly developed weapon instead of invading Japan with troops. This new weapon was the Atomic Bomb. The Atomic Bomb • The best-kept secret of the war was the development of the Atomic Bomb through The Manhattan Project. • Before America entered the war, Albert Einstein had written a letter to the President warning that Germany was trying to develop an atomic weapon. • FDR chose J. Robert Oppenheimer to head up a project to build an atomic weapon for America. The Atomic Bomb • Branches of the Manhattan Project were hidden all over America with the original branch in Manhattan and one of the most famous branches in Los Alamos, New Mexico. • At its peak, more than 600,000 Americans were involved in the project though few knew its actual purpose. • On the morning of July 16, 1945 in the middle of the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first test of the new bomb occurred. The Manhattan Project: Los Alamos, NM Major General Lesley R. Groves Dr. Robert Oppenheimer I am become death, the shatterer of worlds! Tinian Island, 1945 Little Boy Fat Man Enola Gay Crew Col. Paul Tibbets & the A-Bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Less than a month later, on August 6, 1945, a bomber named the Enola Gay released the Atomic Bomb Little Boy over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. • Forty-three seconds later, almost every building had collapsed into dust from the force of the blast. • Japan still did not surrender and a second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped three days later on Nagasaki. • By the end of the year approximately 200,000 people had died as a result of injuries and radiation poisoning. Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 • 70,000 killed immediately. • 48,000 buildings. destroyed. • 100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later. Hiroshima • Model of Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima • Aftermath of Hiroshima Nagasaki • Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki ( L ) • Nagasaki Before and After ( R ) Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Burn victims • Map of Atomic Bomb Sites Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 • 40,000 killed immediately. • 60,000 injured. • 100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later. V-J Day • Emperor Hirohito, who had not been running Japan’s military, was horrified by the destruction to his people and ordered the military leaders to end the war. • The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945, which was then celebrated as V-J Day (Victory over Japan). • On September 2, 1945, formal surrender took place on the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Formal Signing of Treaty: September 2, 1945 V-J Day in Times Square, NYC