Transcript Document
The Third Reich Collapses The war in Europe ended in spring 1945 after major battles, as the Allies moved east toward Germany. The Third Reich Collapses (cont.) • In Normandy, the battle of the hedgerows ended on July 25, 1944, when 2,500 American bombers blew a hole in the German lines, enabling American tanks to race through the gap. • As the Allies broke out of Normandy, the French Resistance staged a rebellion in Paris. – The Allied forces liberated Paris on August 25, 1944. The Third Reich Collapses (cont.) • Hitler decided to stage one last desperate offensive with the goal of cutting off Allied supplies coming through the port of Antwerp, Belgium. – Although fighting continued for three weeks, the United States won the Battle of the Bulge. The Third Reich Collapses (cont.) • By the time the Battle of the Bulge had ended, the Soviets had driven Hitler’s forces out of Russia and back across Poland. – American forces attacked Germany’s western border. • As the Soviet and American forces both neared Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. • Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945—known as V-E Day, for “Victory in Europe.” Japan Is Defeated The United States decided to end the war with Japan by using napalm and atomic bombs. Japan Is Defeated (cont.) • After FDR died of a stroke on April 12, 1945, Harry S. Truman became president. • American planners decided to invade Iwo Jima because of its location; however, its geography was formidable. – More than 6,800 marines were killed capturing the island. Japan Is Defeated (cont.) • To help the B-29s hit their targets, General Curtis LeMay ordered the use of bombs filled with napalm. – Loaded with firebombs, B-29s attacked Tokyo on March 9, 1945. – By the end of the war, 67 Japanese cities had been firebombed. Japan Is Defeated (cont.) • Military planners decided to seize Okinawa so that they could use it as a place to stockpile supplies and build up troops for an attack on Japan. – Over 12,000 Americans died capturing Okinawa. Japan Is Defeated (cont.) • The secret American program to build an atomic bomb was code-named the Manhattan Project and was headed by General Leslie R. Groves. – On July 16, 1945, J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team detonated the world’s first atomic bomb in New Mexico. Japan Is Defeated (cont.) • On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. • On August 9, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. • Later that day, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. • On August 15, 1945—V-J Day—Japan surrendered. Building a New World The victorious Allies tried to create an organization to prevent future wars. Building a New World (cont.) • In 1944 39 countries met to discuss the creation of the United Nations (UN). – The delegates agreed that there would be a General Assembly and a Security Council. • On April 25, 1945, representatives from 50 countries came to San Francisco to officially organize the UN and to design its charter. – The UN also created a Commission on Human Rights and chose Eleanor Roosevelt to serve as its first chair. Building a New World (cont.) – The Commission drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN issued it in 1948. • In August 1945, the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union created the International Military Tribunal (IMT). – Twenty-two leaders of Nazi Germany were prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials. – In Tokyo, 25 Japanese leaders were charged with war crimes.