Notes 16: End of WWII

World Wars – HamerMay 25, 2010

The Yalta Conference

February 1945

Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph StalinWinston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin

The “Big Three”

What to do with Germany? PART 1• 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.

What to do with Germany? PART 2• 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 inter-relationships 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

What to do with Germany? PART 3

• Germany would undergo demilitarization and de-nazification.

• German reparations were not in the form of forced labor.

• Creation of an allied reparation council with its seat in Moscow.

Poland?• 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.• The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon

Line, and Poland would receive substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany

Purple is additional land given to Poland

Soviet Union PART 1• Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were

to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent.

• 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– 5 permanent members: China, USSR, England, France,

USA

Soviet Union PART 2

• Stalin requested that all of the 16 Soviet Socialist Republics would be granted United Nations membership, only 2 would in the end.

• 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

Allies Approach on the Western Front PART 1

• The two sides of the Allied armies were closing in on Germany by the spring of 1945.

• By March 27, 1945 all seven of the Allied armies had crossed the Rhine into Germany

• On April 11, 1945 the Ninth Army reached the Elbe River

Allies Approach on the Western Front PART 2

• Eisenhower ordered the Ninth Army to stop at the Elbe River:– Had overstretched their supplies– At Yalta it was agreed that Berlin would be part

of the Soviet Zone

Soviets Invade Berlin PART 1

• April 25, 1945, Russian units invaded Berlin from the west

• Approximately 10,000 German soldiers were left to defend the city.

• The Soviets captured the German Reichstag (Congress) on May 2, 1945.

The Fall of Berlin

• Russian Katyusha rocket launchers fire on Berlin

Soviets Invade Berlin PART 2

• The Red Army flew the Soviet flag from the top of the Reichstag

• Soviet troops signed their names on the side of the Reichstag

Hitler’s Death PART 1• 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 PART 2

• 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 PART 3• 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.

The FThe Füührer’s Bunkerhrer’s Bunker

Cyanide & PistolsCyanide & Pistols

Mr. & Mrs. HitlerMr. & Mrs. Hitler

Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945

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 PART 4• 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.

V-E Day: May 8, 1945

• The Soviets lost more troops in the Battle of Berlin than America had lost in all of Europe

• 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

• American 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.

General Keitel General Keitel

V-E Day(May 8, 1945)

The Potsdam Conference

Finishing the War in the Pacific

• After fulfilling the promise to destroy Germany first, America had to finish the war in the Pacific

• FDR was dead, Churchill FDR was dead, Churchill was out of office as Prime was out of office as Prime Minister during conference.Minister during conference.

• Stalin was the only Stalin was the only originaloriginal..• The United States has the The United States has the

A-bomb.A-bomb.• Allies agree Germany is to Allies agree Germany is to

be divided into four be divided into four occupation zonesoccupation zones

• Poland moved around to Poland moved around to suit suit the Soviets. the Soviets.

P.M. Clement President JosephP.M. Clement President Joseph Atlee Truman Stalin Atlee Truman Stalin

Potsdam Conference July 1945

Potsdam Declaration PART 1• "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 PART 2• 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 PART 3• 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

America’s New Weapon

The Atomic Bomb PART 1

• 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 PART 2

• 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 PART 3• 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.

Dr. Robert Dr. Robert OppenheimerOppenheimer

I am become death,

the shattererof worlds!

I am become death,

the shattererof worlds!

Major GeneralMajor GeneralLesley R. GrovesLesley R. Groves

The Manhattan Project:Los Alamos,

NM

Little Boy Fat ManLittle Boy Fat Man

Enola GayEnola Gay Crew Crew

Tinian Island, 1945

Col. Paul Tibbets and 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 Boyover 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 over 200,000 people had died as a result of injuries and radiation poisoning.

• 70,000 killed 70,000 killed immediatelyimmediately..

• 48,000 buildings 48,000 buildings destroyed.destroyed.

• Hundreds of thousands Hundreds of thousands died of radiation died of radiation poisoning and cancer poisoning and cancer later.later.

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945

Hiroshima

• Model of Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima

• Aftermath of Hiroshima

• 40,000 killed immediately.40,000 killed immediately.• 60,000 60,000 injuredinjured..• Hundreds of thousands died Hundreds of thousands died

of radiation poisoningand of radiation poisoningand cancer later.cancer later.

Nagasaki – August 9, 1945

Nagasaki

• Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki ( L )• Nagasaki Before and After ( R )

• Burn victims• Map of Atomic Bomb Sites

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

V-J Day PART 1

• Emperor Hirohito began to circulate the idea of surrendering among the less militant members of the government.

• Many in the military still refused to surrender, but Emperor Hirohito announced that the war was over on the radio on August 14, 1945.– This was the first time the Emperor was ever heard

on the radio!

V-J Day PART 2

• 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