Transcript Document

The End of the War
in Europe
Framing this lecture…
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I’d taken us to the end of 1944
Britain started to turn the Battle of the Atlantic
Normandy Invasion broke out from
Cherbourg Peninsula
Allies were struggling up the ‘Tough Old Gut’
Soviets were smashing through Eastern
Europe after the Stalingrad victory
Map version…
European TheaterEastern Front is key
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Virtually
unbroken
string of
victories after
Stalingrad
Soviet Army is
a tad bit
ANGRY!
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20 million
Soviet dead
Commissar
Order
Race to Control the Most of Europe
Possible
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Churchill argued for an amphibious invasion
of the Balkans to ensure freedom for Eastern
Europe
Rejected
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FDR thought he could work with Stalin
Churchill’s last plan for an amphibious front in
southeastern Europe was a colossal failure
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Gallipoli (WWI)
Stalin’s Intentions
Slowly Come Into Focus
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Warsaw Uprising
Polish Partisans rose up as the Soviets
approached the city
Stalin paused his troops while the partisans were
brutally crushed by the Nazis… over 80% of the
city was destroyed by the Nazis
Stalin refused to let Western relief missions
anywhere in Soviet controlled territory…
prompting speculation that Stalin doesn’t want us
to see his manipulation of local politics …
The Red Army Reaches Berlin
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Hitler called on all citizens to defend Berlin
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Refuses to accept what is now obvious
Hitler’s brand of Social Darwinism argues that races prove their
worth by success- do you see why this is significant?
Incredibly brutal fighting… many tales (mostly unconfirmed) of
mass rapes of Berliners by the Soviet invading forces
Hitler and Goebbels committed suicide in the fuhrerbunker with
Russians only blocks away
Anyone know why there were so many rumors about Hitler
being alive over the next 20 years?
VE-Day
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May 8th, 1945
Flags in the U.S. were at half mast on this day (why?)
Why wasn’t the atomic bomb used against Germany?
Hunt for leading Nazis and war crimes trials –
Nuremberg War Tribunal
Potsdam Declaration to Japan