Transcript The End of War in Europe

Rome Falls
Allies Win on The Mediterranean Front
In 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily and begin
towards mainland
 September 1943 – The new Italian
government formally surrenders
 But… Mussolini goes to German occupied
northern Italy and declares himself the head
of a new fascist government
 October 1943 – Italy (under the Allies)
declares war on Germany
 June 4, 1944 – Rome is liberated (the first
Axis capital to fall to the Allies)
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What huge operation takes place two days later?
The Liberation of Paris
General Dwight D. Eisenhower did not see
Paris as a major objective
 Charles de Gaulle threatened to send in the
Free French single-handedly
 Parisians fully expected to be liberated
(challenged German authority)
 Hitler stated: “Paris is not to fall in the hands of
the enemy, except as a heap of ruins."
 But there was little resistance
 August 25, 1944 – Liberation Day
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Liberating the Concentration Camps
Allies liberated the people as they came to
these death camps
 January 1945 – Soviets liberated Auschwitz in
Poland (the largest)
 April 1945 – U.S. troops liberate Dachau and
find horrific medical experiments
 As Allied troops approached, many prisoners
were led on death marches
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The Downfall of Mussolini
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April 28, 1945 – arrested by anti-fascists along with
mistress (Clara Pitacci)
Walter Audisio, who was once pardoned by
Mussolini for a jail term in 1934, took custody of
Mussolini and Petacci
Mussolini, realizing he was going to killed, opened
up his shirt and asked to be shot in the chest.
Audisio complied and attempted to shoot the pair
with an Italian submachine gun, but it would not fire.
He then pulled out an Italian pistol and again it
would not fire. In desperation he grabbed a French
weapon, a MAS 7.65, from a fellow partisan and
killed them both. Their bodies were strung upside
down the next day for all to see.
The Demise of Hitler...?
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THEORY: The exact cause of death was never
determined
Hitler and Hitler’s wife, Ava, moved to an
underground bunker in Berlin
Upon hearing of Soviets advancing and Mussolini’s
death, Hitler prepared for the inevitable
He tested cyanide pills on his favorite dog and
retreated with his wife to their room
April 30, 1945 – a gunshot was heard and the
bodies of Hitler and Ava were found
 Hitler died from a gunshot wound to the temple
 Ava died of cyanide poisoning
The Demise of Goebbels
Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels,
had taken his 6 children to the bunker
with Hitler
 He is to become the new German
Chancellor
 May 1, 1945 – Goebbels and his wife
poisoned their 6 children
 Request to be shot in the back of the
head by SS guards
 Their bodies are burned
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The Surrender of Germany
May 1, 1945 – German forces in Italy
surrender
 May 2, 1945 – Soviets capture Berlin,
Germany
 Soon to follow:
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 German forces in West Germany, Denmark,
Bavaria, Central Europe, Channel Islands
surrender
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May 7, 1945 – German forces
unconditionally surrender
V-E Day!
News reached the west on May 8, 1945
 Victory in Europe (V-E) was declared!
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