Transcript THE LAST STAGES OF THE WAR

THE
LAST STAGES
OF THE WAR
Objective…
Explain the diplomatic & military
challenges facing the U.S. in the final
stages of the war.
The Holocaust
1) What was the Holocaust…
What groups did Hitler target with his
actions…
The Final Solution
The Nazi plan to murder
every Jewish person in
Europe
Train tracks into Auschwitz…
The British prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials
stated in his closing address that…
"murder [was] conducted like some mass production industry in the
gas chambers and the ovens"
The Holocaust
2) How did the US government & the
news media handle information on
the Holocaust?
3) Why did the U.S. military refuse
to take action against the
extermination camps?
4) How many people died in the
Holocaust?
The reality of the “Final Solution”…
• 6 million Jews
• 1 million children
• 5 million Slavs, Gypsies &
enemies of the German State
5) Why would the goals of the
Atlantic Charter be hard to
achieve?
The Atlantic Charter (1941)
•Renounce territorial gains
•Support free trade
•Self determination
•Establish a world peace-keeping
organization
•Lend–lease aid to Soviets
The Yalta Conference
Feb, 1945
6) Who attended the Yalta Conference?...
The agreements reached…
7) What happened to President Roosevelt in April
of 1945?
The Yalta Conference
-Influenced by the Atlantic Charter
&
The Four Freedoms
• Germany would be divided into occupational
zones
• Communist regimes in Poland & Yugoslavia
• Free elections
• Germany will pay reparations
• The Soviets will enter the war against Japan
The Potsdam Conference
July - August , 1945
Who attended the Potsdam Conference?
8) In what way did President Roosevelt’s death
make cooperation among the Allies more
difficult?
The Potsdam Conference
July, 1945
• Communist regimes in Poland,
Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania
• “Satellite nations”…
• Agreement on Japanese surrender
The Atomic Bomb
To Sec of State Stimson: “Babies satisfactorily born”
The decision to use the atomic bombs….
• President Truman was responsible for the decision to use
the atomic bomb
• Quickest way to win the war
• Least destructive way to win the war
• Save Allied & Japanese lives
• Not using the bomb would have been a waste of money.
• U.S. & Soviet tension - Gain an advantage over the Soviet
I & E: Manhattan Project –
The U.S. program to develop an atomic bomb for use in WW II.
•First atomic test
•Described as “a red hot
elephant balancing on its
trunk.”
The Atomic Bomb
• The Interim Committee…
The decision to use the atomic bombs….
• President Truman was responsible for the decision to use
the atomic bomb
• Quickest way to win the war
• Least destructive way to win the war
• Save Allied & Japanese lives
• Not using the bomb would have been a waste of money.
• U.S. & Soviet tension - Gain an advantage over the Soviet
How did scientists view using the
atomic bomb?
• Some believed it would stop additional
blood shed… i.e. Avoid battles like Okinawa
& Iwo Jima
• Some believed that the Japanese deserved
fair warming and a demonstration of the
bomb.
• Most realized they had created a weapon
with far reaching consequences and had
concerns about the future.
August 6th, 1945 - Hiroshima
Little
Boy
Results of
Hiroshima…
•70K dead on impact
•69K injured
•67% of city gone
“Shadow people”
August 9th, 1945 - Nagasaki
Fat Man
Bocks Car & crew
Results of Nagasaki…
• 39K dead - 25K injured
“…temperatures of 7,000 degrees
centigrade hit me… Nobody looked like
human beings… Human had lost the
ability to speak. People couldn't speak. ‘it
hurts’ even when they were on fire…
People with their legs wrenched off.
Without heads. Or with faces burned and
swollen out of shape. The scene I saw
was living hell. “ - quoted in Japan at War: An
oral history
On Sept. 2, 1945, the Japanese formerly
surrender aboard the battleship Missouri
in Tokyo Bay.
VJ Day – Victory over Japan
The Nuremberg Trials
1945- 1949
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Who? The Allies
What? The trial of 22 Nazi officials
Where? Nuremberg, Germany
Why? Launching an "aggressive war" &
committing "crimes against humanity"
The Nuremberg Trials
1945 - 1949
• The results…
–
–
–
–
22 defendants
11 sentenced to death by hanging (Nov. 1946)
7 received life prison terms
3 acquitted
The Japanese Trials
1946 - 1948
• Where? Tokyo, Japan
• Why? Charges of aggressive war, atrocities
against POWs & civilians.
The Japanese Trials
1946 - 1948
The trial of 28 Japanese officials
• The results…
– 28 defendants
– 7 death by hanging
– 16 life in prison (Parole 1956)
– 2 lesser terms, 2 died during trial,
1mental breakdown
Victory in Europe - May 8,1945
V-E Day
V-J Day
Victory over Japan –
August 15,1945
Formal surrender Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri
The Economic Cost of WW II
TOTAL COST: $1 TRILLION
$ Cost per country…
• USA: 341 billion
• Germany: 272 billion
• USSR: 192 billion
• Great Britain: 120 billion
• Italy: 94 billion
• Japan: 56 billion
The Cost of WW II
Allied Military Dead & Wounded
Country: Dead…….
Wounded
USSR:……… 11m……… N/A
China:……… 1.3m……... 1.7m
Yugoslavia:.. 305,000…. 425,000
USA:……….. 292,000…. 672,000
UK:…………. 265,000…. 277,000
France:……. 213,000…. 400,00
Poland:……. 123,000….. 237,00
The Cost of WW II
Axis Military Dead & Wounded
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Country: Dead:
Wounded:
Japan:…… 1.3m…….. 4m
Germany:.. 3.5………. 5m
Romania:… 300,000…. N/A
Italy:……… 242,000…. 66,000
Hungary:… 200,000…. N/A
The Cost of WW II
War Related Allied Civilian Deaths
Country:
Dead: Wounded:
USSR:……… 7m……. N/A
China:……… 115,00… N/A
Yugoslavia:.. 1.2……… N/A
USA:……….. 6,000…... 139,000
UK:…………. 93,000….. 214,000
France:……. 350,000… N/A
Poland:……. 5.7m…… 421,000
The Cost of WW II
War Related Axis Civilian Deaths
Country:
• Germany:…
• Japan: ……
• Romania:…
• Italy:………
• Hungary…
Dead
Wounded
780,000… 3.4m
672,000… 810,00
200,000… 100,000
153,000… 350,000
290,000… 170,000