End of WWII
Chapter 35, p. 833-837
Japan Dies Hard
• American
submarines were
ruining Japan’s
fleet, and attacks
such as the March
9-10, 1945
firebomb raid on
Tokyo that killed
over 83,000 were
wearing on Japan.
•On October 20, 1944,
General MacArthur kept
his vow and finally
•The last great naval battle at Leyte Gulf was lost by
“returned” to the
Philippines. However, Japan, terminating it’s sea power status.
he didn’t retake Manila •From this point, they resorted to suicide bombings
until March, 1945.
from the sky – the Kamikake (Divine Wind).
Japanese Kamikaze Planes:
The Scourge of the South Pacific
Kamikaze Pilots
Suicide Bombers
US Marines on Mt. Suribachi,
Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
• In March 1945, Iwo
Jima was captured;
this 25-day assault
left over 4,000
Americans dead.
•Okinawa was won after fighting from
April to June of 1945, and was
captured at the cost of 50,000
American lives.
•Japanese “kamikaze” suicide
pilots, for the sake of their godemperor, unleashed the full fury of
their terror at Okinawa in a last-ditch
effort.
The Beginning of the
Atomic Age
The Atomic Bombs
•The spending of enormous
sums on the original atomic
bomb project was spurred by
the belief that the Germans
might acquire such a weapon
first.
•The first atomic bomb had
been tested on July 16, 1945,
near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
• At the Potsdam Conference, the
Allies issued an ultimatum for Japan:
surrender or be destroyed.
•When Japan refused to
surrender, Americans
dropped the first A-bomb
onto Hiroshima on August
6, 1945, killing 180,000.
•The second A-bomb was
dropped onto Nagasaki on
August 9, killing 80,000.
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 and warns the
Japanese to surrender or else.
 Allies agree Germany is to be
divided into
occupation zones.
 Poland resituated to suit
the Soviets.
P.M. Clement
Atlee
President
Truman
Joseph
Stalin
Yet, Churchill was still invited…
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 – August 6, 1945
©
©
©
70,000 killed
immediately.
48,000 buildings.
destroyed.
100,000s died of
radiation poisoning &
cancer later.
Nagasaki – August 9, 1945
© 40,000 killed
immediately.
© 60,000 injured.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning
& cancer later.
Japanese A-Bomb Survivors
Hiroshima Memorials
Japanese POWs, Guam
The Official Surrender:
(September 2, 1945)
The Japanese Surrender
Representatives of the
Japanese government
arrived to sign the surrender
document on the deck of the
battleship Missouri in Tokyo
harbor, September 2, 1945.
General Douglas MacArthur
then made a conciliatory
address, expressing hope
“that from this solemn
occasion a better world
shall emerge . . . a world
founded on faith and
understanding.” A Japanese
diplomat attending
wondered “whether it
would have been possible
for us, had we been
victorious, to embrace
the vanquished with a
similar magnanimity.”
Soon thereafter General
MacArthur took up his
duties as director of the
U.S. occupation of Japan.
An End to the War
•
On August 8, 1945, the Soviets
declared war on Japan, just as
promised.
•
On August 10, Japan sued for
peace on one condition: that
Emperor Hirohito be allowed to
remain on the Japanese throne,
and despite the “unconditional
surrender” clause, the Allies
accepted.
•
AND THE WORLD REJOICED!!
(Just check out these two.)
•
The formal end came on
September 2, 1945, on the
battleship U.S.S. Missouri where
Hirohito surrendered to General
MacArthur.
V-J Day: NYC Times Square
The Allies Triumphant
•
•Other than Pearl Harbor, the U.S.
suffered little damage on its homeland
(two Japanese attacks on California
and Oregon that were basically
harmless).
•Industry also rose to the challenge,
putting out an enormously effective
effort in producing weapons and
supplies – completely proving
wrong Hermann Goering, a Nazi
leader who had scorned America’s
lack of manufacturing skills.
America suffered 1 million casualties
(some 300,000 dead), but the
number killed by disease and
infections was very low thanks to
new miracle drugs like penicillin.
•This was America’s
best-fought war, despite
the fact that the U.S.
began preparing later
than usual.
•This success was partly thanks
to the excellent U.S. generals
and admirals, and the leaders.
WW II Casualties: Europe
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
WW II Casualties: Asia
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
Country
Men in war
Battle deaths
Wounded
Australia
1,000,000
26,976
180,864
Austria
800,000
280,000
350,117
Belgium
625,000
8,460
55,5131
40,334
943
4,222
339,760
6,671
21,878
Canada
1,086,3437
42,0427
53,145
China3
17,250,521
1,324,516
1,762,006
Czechoslovakia
—
6,6834
8,017
Denmark
—
4,339
—
Finland
500,000
79,047
50,000
France
—
201,568
400,000
20,000,000
3,250,0004
7,250,000
Greece
—
17,024
47,290
Hungary
—
147,435
89,313
India
2,393,891
32,121
64,354
Italy
3,100,000
149,4964
66,716
Japan
9,700,000
1,270,000
140,000
Netherlands
280,000
6,500
2,860
New Zealand
194,000
11,6254
17,000
75,000
2,000
—
—
664,000
530,000
650,0005
350,0006
—
410,056
2,473
—
—
6,115,0004
14,012,000
5,896,000
357,1164
369,267
16,112,566
291,557
670,846
3,741,000
305,000
425,000
Brazil2
Bulgaria
Germany
Norway
Poland
Romania
South Africa
U.S.S.R.
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia
WW II
Casualties
1. Civilians only.
2. Army and navy figures.
3. Figures cover period July 7,
1937 to Sept. 2, 1945,
and concern only Chinese
regular troops. They do not
include casualties suffered
by guerrillas and local
military corps.
4. Deaths from all causes.
5. Against Soviet Russia;
385,847
against Nazi Germany.
6. Against Soviet Russia;
169,822
against Nazi Germany.
7. National Defense Ctr.,
Canadian
Forces Hq., Director of
History.
Massive Human Dislocations
The U.S. & the U.S.S.R.
Emerged as the Two Superpowers
of the later 20c
The Bi-Polarization of Europe:
The Beginning of the Cold War
The Division of Germany:
1945 - 1990
The Creation of the U. N.
The Nuremberg War Trials:
Crimes Against Humanity
Japanese War Crimes Trials
General
Hideki Tojo
Bio-Chemical
Experiments
7 Future American Presidents
Served in World War II
The Race for
Space
Early Computer Technology
Came Out of WW II
Colossus, 1941
Mark I, 1944
Admiral Grace Hooper,
1944-1992
COBOL language
The Emergence of Third
World Nationalist Movements
The De-Colonization of
European Empires