Transcript 06Victory in Europe

Turning the Tide
The Allied Powers victory in Europe
Objectives:
138. Describe the invasion of France at Normandy.
139. Define the Holocaust.
140. Describe the conditions in German
concentration camps.
141. Recognize the accomplishments of the Yalta
Conference.
142. Describe the events that led to German
surrender and V-E Day.
Objective 138: Describe the invasion of France at
Normandy.
 Allied forces had gained
momentum from
defeating the Axis
Powers in North Africa,
naval success in the
Atlantic, and the invasion
of Italy.
 The invasion of France
was named Operation
Overlord.
Objective 138: Describe the invasion of France at
Normandy.
The Allied forces were led
into battle by General
Dwight Eisenhower.
Allied forces gave false
clues to keep Germans
guessing on location of
invasion.
Allies landed in Normandy
on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Objective 138: Describe the invasion of France at
Normandy.
Germans secured the beach
with concrete bunkers,
tanks and mines.
Difficult fighting
commenced, and it took
about a month for Allied
troops to penetrate 20
miles into France.
On August 25, 1944, the
Allied forces had
liberated Paris.
Change in momentum - map
While the invasions of Italy
and France were
successful , the Soviet
Union had won the Battle
of Stalingrad in the east,
and began to push
German forces back into
Europe.
As the Soviet Union, Great
Britain, the United
States, and the other
Allied nations liberated
more and more of
Europe, they discovered
what the Nazis had been
doing in the
concentration camps.
Objective 139: Define the Holocaust.
 The Holocaust was Nazi Germany’s systematic slaughter
of European Jews.
 Millions of Jews were put under German rule as Germany
expanded throughout Europe.
 Approximately six million Jews were killed either at their
capture, or in concentration camps.
 This treatment of Jews was called the “final solution of the
Jewish question” by Hitler.
Objective 140: Describe the conditions in
German concentration camps.
Transportation to the camp.
Objective 140: Describe the conditions in
German concentration camps.
 Jews were herded into railroad freight cars, usually packed
in at least double what was provided for.
 There was standing room only for the entire trip, which
could last several days.
 Water buckets would be passed around the train, but not
everyone would get a drink.
 Passengers had not place to use the restroom.
 Many died in those few days from dehydration, disease or
heat exhaustion.
Objective 140: Describe the conditions in
German concentration camps.
Life in the camps
Objective 140: Describe the conditions in
German concentration camps.
 Those considered too weak to work were immediately
taken into the “showers”, which were actually gas
chambers. Afterwards, their bodies were cremated.
 Those fit to work would provide slave labor in the camps
until they became too weak, at which point they would
also be killed.
 Many were killed in mass firing squads, and buried in
communal graves.
 Nazi doctors and scientists used prisoners for medical or
science experiments, or used their bodies to make
products.
Dr. Josef Mengele
Objective 140: Describe the conditions in
German concentration camps.
Death in the camps
The Allied Powers by summer of 1944 had Meanwhile, the Allies had taken control
the momentum in the war.
of North Africa, invaded Italy and France,
and were pushed the Axis Powers east.
The Soviets had pushed Germany west,
out of Asia.
The time had come for the “big three”
(Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) to make
plans for post war peace.
Objective 141. Recognize the accomplishments
of the Yalta Conference.
What did each of the big three
seek?
Churchill – democratic
systems for European
nations that were liberated
from Germany.
Roosevelt – Soviet assistance
in the Pacific War through
an invasion of Japan.
Stalin – Soviet sphere of
influence in Eastern
Europe.
Objective 141. Recognize the accomplishments
of the Yalta Conference.
What did they agree to?
 Soviet Union would declare war on
Japan three months after a German
surrender.
 They discussed the return of
liberated nations to self
government.
 They agreed to divide Germany up
after the war.
 They made plans for a new
international peace organization,
like the League of Nations.
Objective 142. Describe the events that led to
German surrender and V-E Day.
September 1944:
Allied crossed the
German border.
December 1945:
Germany launched their
final offensive against
the Allies. At the Battle
of the Bulge, after
Germans created a bulge
in the Allies’ lines, the
Allies regrouped and
pushed the Germans
back rapidly.
Objective 142. Describe the events that led to
German surrender and V-E Day.
In the spring of 1945, the
Allied Powers were
pressing further into
Germany from both
sides: the Soviet Union
from the east, the British
and Americans from the
west.
April 30, 1945:
Hitler committed suicide
in a bunker in Berlin.
Objective 142. Describe the events that led to
German surrender and V-E Day.
Germany surrendered
unconditionally on May 7,
1945.
May 8, 1945 was known as
V-E Day (Victory in
Europe), as the end of
the five years of fighting
in Europe.