End of WWII
Battle of the Bulge
- The last German offensive of the War
- Germany launched a surprise attack against the allied powers in the West
- Germany had the upper hand early while American forces took the brunt of the attack
- Eventually the mostly American forces overwhelm the German army and the Nazi army is in full retreat
- March towards Berlin stalled for 5 weeks resumes
Attero Dominatus
- The Red Army advances rapidly towards Berlin
- Stalin orders are to capture Berlin at all costs
- The Battle of Berlin takes place from April 16th to May 2 1945
- Battle culminates with the suicide of Hitler and the surrender of Nazi Germany
VE Day
- Germany surrendered to the Allies on May 7 1945
- The next day, May 8, 1945, is called VE Day – Victory in Europe Day.
- People were thrilled and celebrated all over Europe and the United States
The Final Solution
- The final solution to the Jewish Question was the German plan to genocide all individuals that they considered to be Jewish on a world wide scale
- Heinrich Himmler became the architect of the final solution
Holocaust
- Throughout hitler’s rule the Nazis persecuted Jews and other minorities in Germany
- Hitler blamed all of Germany’s problems after WWI on the Jewish people.
- First, the Nazis hurt Jewish people economically by forcing Germans to stop buying thinsg from Jewish shops.
- Then, the Nazis forced Jewish people to move into crowded neighborhoods called ghettos.
Death Camps
- The Solution was to round up Jewish Citizens and put them into camps, referred to as Death Camps, Concentration Camps, Work Camps, etc.
- Jewish people while in the camps were often gassed to kill them, others were starved to death, while others were worked to death
- The most notorious of the Death Camps were Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Buchenwald, and Treblinka
- Prior to the allies advancement towards Berlin, the scope and extent of what was happening was not fully known or believed.
INMATE 4859
- Witold Pilecki a member of the Polish Army who volunteered to be captured by German forces
- The goal was to spy on the Germans and investigate the going-ons of the concentration camps
- Ended up in Auschwitz and would eventually escape and told the Polish Home Army
Holocaust
- Hitler and his regime were responsible for the murder of more than 6 million jews between 1933 and 1945 .
- As the Allies advanced through Europe, troops captured the concentration camps and freed prisoners who had survived.
Japan’s Soldiers
- Fighting Japan was difficult because of the Bushido code of death before dishonor, where surrender was dishonorable.
- Japanese kamikaze pilots crashed their planes into US ships on purpose, fully expecting to die.
Manhattan Project
- Name for the research development program for the atomic bomb
- Eisenhower urged Roosevelt to set up the project in fear that Germany would develop the technology first
- Project’s lead scientist = Robert Oppenheimer “Father of the Atomic Bomb”
- American leaders thought the atomic bombs would save up to a million Allied lives (as opposed to an invasion of mainland Japan)
Atomic Bombs
- The allies thought about invading Japan, but worried that too many soldiers would die
- President Harry Truman made a difficult decision _____________________________________________________
- He warned the Japanese government to surrender, but they refused to give up.
- On August 6, 1945, an american bomber plane dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
- A few days later, the US dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki.
- Both cities were completely devastated, and ________________________________________.
Truman
- .
- He made the difficult ________________________________________________________________________________.
- He was the US president when WWII ended.
VJ Day
- 2 sides signed formal surrender papers on the US battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945 .
- This day is officially known as VJ Day - Victory in Japan Day.
- Americans celebrated once again.
Unit 731
- Responsible for the most notorious Japanese War Crimes; headed by Shiro Ishii
- Experiments included disease injections, hypobaric chamber experiments, biological weapons testing, vivisection, amputation
- No survivors of the testing
- Granted immunity to help US biological warfare program
Peace Conferences
Yalta Conference
- “Big Three ” (Churchhill of England, Roosevelt of USA, Stalin of USSR ) met to discuss Europe after WW2 This is FDR’s last meeting ( died in april )
- This is FDR’s last meeting (died in April)
- 6 Topics Discussed:
- Want unconditional surrender of Axis Powers ( Germany, Italy, Japan)
- League of Nations was ineffective—US, England, Russia, France, China should form United Nations ( international organization to keep peace after war )
- Russia would declare war on Japan ( & Help the USA invade Japan ) after Germany surrendered
- Divide Austria, Germany & capital Berlin into 4 occupied zones (controlled US, England, France, & USSR)
- Roosevelt & Churchill were afraid Stalin would make Eastern Europe communist after war;
Potsdam Conference
- After Germany surrender, Stalin began pressuring Eastern European countries to become communist.
- Truman unhappy with these new pro-Soviet governments; Deamnded Stalin allow free elections as he agreed to at Yalta
- Stalin refused to allow freely elected governments in Eastern Europe; feared they would be anti-Soviet
The Cost of War
- The deadliest confirmed conflict in Human History
- Killed up to 85 million people world wide
- Tens of millions of people were killed____________________________________________________________________________
Nuremberg Trials
- On October 18 1945 twenty one of Nazi Germany’s political military, and economic leaders were brought to trial in Nuermberg for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity .
- The purpose of the trial was to compile irrefutable proof of Nazi crimes, offer a history lesson to the defeated Germans, delegitimize the traditional German Elite
Tokyo Trials
- The version of the Nuremberg trial for the Pacific Conflict.
- At the instance of General Douglas MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito was exempt from the trial. He thought having the emperor alive would allow for a smoother occupational rule of Japan
United Nations
- The UN Charter was signed .
- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
- In 1950, the UN headquarters was built in New York City.
What Happened to Japan?
- Japan had to surrender unconditionally
- MacArthur took over the rebuilding process of Japan
- The US forcibly wrote their constitution.
- The Constitution stated Japan could not rebuild its Navy, Airforce, and Army.
- The Emperors power was taken away, he was more of a figurehead
- The power will come from parliament.
After the Holocaust
As jews returned home they realized that their homes had been taken over .
- Many citizens were still anti semetic .
- Citizens believed the Jews would come back and try to take over.
- They also believed Jews would make rituals against them.
- Many survivors moved Westward and lived in displacement camp
- Immigration to other countries was limited. Including the United States.
- The Jews wanted to move to Palestine, present day Israel.
- Britain was in control of Palestine and restricted Jews from moving there .
- Palestine was an Arab nation.
The Creation of Israel
- Britain’s mandate over palestine ended in 1948
- The U.N. made Palestine into Israel, it would be divided into Jewish and Arab sections.
- Both the Jews and Arabs believe that Israel is a Holy hand that was granted to them by God
- The creation of Israel caused many problems between both of them.
- Those problems still exist, there is a never ending war between them.