Exploring American History
Unit VIII- Boom Times and Challenges
Chapter 26 – Section 5
Victory and Consequences
World War II (05:18)
Victory and Consequences
The Big Idea
The Allies won World War II, the most devastating war in
world history.
Main Ideas
• The Allies gained victory in Europe with Germany’s
surrender.
• Nazis murdered millions of Jews and other people in the
Holocaust.
• Victory in the Pacific came after the United States dropped
atomic bombs on Japan.
Main Idea 1:
The Allies gained victory in Europe
with Germany’s surrender.
After D-Day invasion, hundreds of thousands of Allied
troops land
Allies begin moving toward Germany.
July 1944– Allied forces break western front.
August 1944– Paris is liberated.
Allies push through Belgium and Luxembourg.
Germans plan desperate attack.
Push Allied forces back about 65 miles in the Battle of the
Bulge
Allies recover quickly and stop German advance.
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
Allied Push Toward Germany
January 1945– Germans began to retreat.
Losses heavy– between 70,000 and 81,000
American casualties and even greater German loss
Allied bombing raids devastate major German cities.
April 1945– Soviet troops enter Berlin.
April 12, 1945– U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
dies of stroke.
May 8, 1945– V-E (Victory in Europe) Day
New United States president Harry S. Truman faces
challenge of winning war in Pacific.
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.
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.
V-E Day - May 13, 1945 (03:02)
Germany Surrenders
Recall – From which direction did
Bradley’s troops fight toward Germany?
Identify – When was Paris Liberated?
Describe – What was Hitler’s reaction to
the Allied advance?
Make Judgments – Judge the
effectiveness and the character of Hitler’s
leadership.
Main Idea 2:
Nazis murdered millions of Jews and
other people in the Holocaust.
Final Solution
 Nazi’s attempted to exterminate the entire Jewish population in a program of
mass murder known as the Holocaust.
 January 1942– Nazi officials met to plan their “final solution to the Jewish
question,” which was genocide, or the extermination of an entire group of
people.
The Death Camps
 Nazis forced Jews and others, including Gypsies, Slavs, and political opponents,
into concentration camps.
 Camps were equipped with gas chambers designed to kill large numbers of
people, and furnaces to cremate victims’ bodies.
 More than 6 million Jews were killed as well as millions of others.
Liberation [02:23]
Horrors of the Holocaust
Recall – Where were Jews made to live in
German territory?
Explain – What were Hitler and the Nazis
trying to do?
Describe – What were the living
conditions like at Buchenwald?
Make Inferences – Why do you think the
Jews of Warsaw fought back?
Horrors of the Holocaust
Recall – What happened to elderly and ill
people sent to concentrations camps?
Analyze – Why were some non-Jews
murdered by the Nazis??
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.
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.
Main Idea 3:
Victory in the Pacific came after the United
States dropped atomic bombs on Japan.
Allied scientists developed the atomic bomb, a weapon
that produces tremendous power by splitting atoms, in a
secret program known as the Manhattan Project.
When Japanese leaders refused to surrender, President
Truman ordered use of the bomb.
August 6, 1945– the B-29 bomber Enola Gay drops an
atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.
Explosion killed almost 80,000 people instantly.
Thousands more died from burns and radiation poisoning.
Japanese leaders still refused to surrender.
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.
End of World War II
August 9, 1945– U.S. forces drop a second atomic bomb
on city of Nagasaki.
One-third of the city destroyed
22,000 people killed instantly
August 15, 1945– Japanese announce their surrender
thus ending World War II.
The war took a harsh toll.
50 million people killed
National economies in Europe and Asia devastated
Millions of people left without food, water, or shelter
First Atomic Blast- New Mexico
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)
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
Challenges after the War
United Nations
Potsdam Conference
Rebuilding
• 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.
• MacArthur led
efforts to help
Japan rebuild its
government and
economy.
• 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.
• Seven Japanese
leaders were tried
for war crimes.
• Rebuilding Europe
caused tensions
between the U.S
and the Soviet
Union.
Nuremberg [01:22] )
Hermann Goering [02:42]
Nazi Atrocities [06:11]
Victory in the Pacific
Explain – Why was it to the Allies
advantage to use the atomic bomb instead
of invading Japan?
Contrast – What is the difference in
devastation between bombs used
previously and the atomic bomb used at
Hiroshima?
Victory in the Pacific
Recall – What was the reason the United
States dropped the second atomic bomb?
Identify – How many civilians were killed
in World War II?
Evaluate – What is your opinion about the
United States bearing much of the
responsibility for postwar rebuilding?