Transcript Victory in the Pacific

Victory in the Pacific
Warm-Up:
(1) Why did the US go to
war with Japan in the
first place?
(2) Name three major
battles that were fought
on the Pacific front.
(3) List one fact that you
know about the war in
the Pacific?
Agenda:
Warm-Up (5 mins.)
Notes (10 mins.)
Video (26 mins.)
TOD-Articles &
Questions (15 mins.)
The Japanese Retreat
• Even though the war ended in
Europe the Japanese continued to
fight
• After the battle of Guadalcanal the
Japanese advances stopped
• US General MacArthur returned
to the Philippines in 1944-Battle of
Leyte Gulf
– Result-Japanese Naval Force
was eliminated
• US military victories at Iwo Jima
and Okinawa further devastated
the Japanese
• US military prepared to invade
Japan and thus end the war in the
Pacific
The US Ends the War
• US President Truman had
to decide how the US
would end the war in the
Pacific-had two options
– Option #1-Land Invasion
• Truman’s advisors warned that
half a million lives would be
lost in a land invasion
– Option #2-Atomic Bomb
• Advisors believed that using
the bomb would bring the war
to an end in the quickest way
possible
The Atomic Bomb
• AKA the Manhattan Project
• Truman first learns of it’s existence when he becomes
President
• First Atomic Bomb was exploded (tested) in May 1945 in the
New Mexico desert.
• Truman warns the Japanese that unless they surrender the
atomic bombs will be dropped
• Japan does not respond
• On August 6, 1945 the US drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
(70,000-80,000 died)
• Japan does not surrender
• On August 9, 1945 the US drops a second atomic bomb on
Nagasaki (more than 70,000 died)
• Radiation from the explosions killed countless others
• The Japanese surrendered to General MacArthur on September
2, 1945
Postwar Governments
Many Europeans were despaired and blamed their
leaders for the war and the aftermath.
The prewar governments of Belgium, Holland, Denmark,
and Norway returned quickly-prewar governments in Italy,
France, and Germany were not desired in the postwar
world.
The Communist Party promised change and saw its
membership skyrocket in both Italy and France initially;
however violent attacks by communists and an improved
economic situation turned the French and Italian voters
towards anticommunist parties.
Nuremberg Trails
 1945-1946-International Military
Tribunal representing 23 nations put
Nazi war criminals on trial in
Nuremberg, Germany
 22 Nazi leaders were charged with
committing “crimes against
humanity” for the murder of 11
million people
 Goring –eventually killed
himself and Hess remained to
face charges receiving a life
sentence
 Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels
committed suicide
 Hans Frank-the only Nazi to express
remorse said, “A thousand years will
pass and still this guilt of Germany will
not have been erased.”
 The bodies of the executed Nazi leaders
were burned at the concentration camp
of Dachau.
Postwar Japan
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The Japanese defeat in WWII left the nation in shambles
and stripped of their colonial empire.
General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese
surrender and took charge of the US occupation of the
nation.
MacArthur oversaw the demilitarization, war crimes
trails, and democratization of Japan
BY 1947 Japan had a constitution and MacArthur had
successfully enacted land reforms that ultimately
benefited the Japanese.
Japanese society was changed drastically—for one the
emperor had to admit that he was not divine but rather
served as a figurehead.
By 1951 the US and 47 other nations signed a peace
treaty with Japan officially ending the war—the US
maintained a military presence in order to protect Japan
Diplomatic relationships changed drastically: the US and
Japan became allies and the US and the Soviet Union
began to compete for power in the postwar world.
The Aftermath of WWII
(1939-1945)-6 years, 60 million dead (about 13 million civilians), 50
million uprooted and deemed homeless, billions of dollars in damage
Soviet Union lost 20 million troops alone
Civilians tried to pick up the pieces and began the process of
rebuilding; with no electricity, water, and little food, many set out for
a new land.
Video:
The Atomic Bomb the End or the Beginning
Watch the video and create a web of at
least 15 facts from the video
(The Atomic Bomb the End or
the Beginning 26:00)
The Decision to Build and Use the Atomic Bomb
Read articles A, B, & C and pick two of the following questions to
answer in your notebook:
1) Was the decision to drop the atomic bomb a military
necessity? If not why? If so, why was this a better military
option?
2) If you were Truman would you have dropped the atomic
bomb? Why or why not?
3) Many historians believe that the US dropped the atomic
bomb on an already defeated Japan in order to control post
WWII politics. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
4) Do you think that Truman and the scientists understood
the precedent that they had established by using nuclear
weapons in warfare?