Transcript End of WWIIx

Words to Look for on your WWII
Study Guide for Today’s Notes
• Atlantic Charter
• Yalta Conference (going to also
highlight the Big 3 Leaders)
• Harry Truman
• VE Day – June 6, 1944
• Manhattan Project
• Robert Oppenheimer
• August 6, 1945
• August 9, 1945
• Fat Man & Little Boy
• VJ Day – September 2, 1945
• Nuremburg Trials
• In August, 1941, before
the war for the US had
even begun, Churchill
and Roosevelt met to
discuss the goals for
post-war. Mostly they
just wanted freedom
and self-determination
for all…but after a war
like this…would that
work?
Atlantic Charter
Yalta Conference
• In February 1945 (before the end
of the war), the “Big Three”
leaders Churchill, Stalin, and
Roosevelt met in Yalta, USSR to
decide on the fate of Germany
and the post-war world.
The Argument
• Stalin wanted Germany divided up so
they could never again threaten the
Soviet Union
• Churchill completely disagreed
• Roosevelt negotiated, wanting support
from Stalin for the US’s campaign
against Japan, and support from both for
his new peacekeeping organization– the
United Nations (UN)
The Compromises
• Roosevelt and Churchill agree to a
temporary division of Germany to
make Stalin happy
• Stalin promises to allow elections in all
the territories he’s taken, so they can
decide to choose communism or not
• Stalin also agrees to aid the US against
Japan
Power Changes Hands
• Unfortunately, before he could see the end of the
war, Roosevelt passed away in April from a
stroke. His vice-President, Harry S. Truman
took the reins, and set his sights on ending the war
as quickly as possible. He leaned heavily on the
knowledge of his Army Chief of Staff, General
George Marshall, who had been so successfully
advising and coordinating for Roosevelt,
Eisenhower, and MacArthur.
End of the War in Europe
• After the Battle of the Bulge in Europe, Germans
were retreating fast, and the first death camps were
liberated. When the Soviets stormed Berlin in
April, 1945, Germans gladly surrendered.
• April 29, 1945, Hitler married Eva Braun, and
together they committed suicide rather than have to
give up in disgrace.
• May 8, 1945, V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day,
General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional
surrender of Germany. The war in Europe was
over, less than a month after Roosevelt’s death.
As fighting with Japan
intensified, the question on
how to beat such an
uncommon enemy took
precedence…
Scientific Developments
• OSRD improved radar and sonar, which
helped locate submarines underwater
• OSRD encouraged use of pesticides to
fight insects, making soldiers nearly free
of body lice
• OSRD pushed development of miracle
drugs like penicillin, which saved lives
• OSRD also secretly developed a new
weapon
• When Germans figure out how to split
Uranium atoms, creating enormous energy,
Albert Einstein warns that Germans could
build a hugely destructive weapon.
• Roosevelt sets up a team to develop a
weapon using the new technology as quickly
as possible, trying to beat the Germans to it
• Research is done mostly in Manhattan,
dubbing the atom bomb development as the
“Manhattan Project”
The first bomb
was tested at
Trinity Site in
Alamogordo, NM.
It was detonated
from this 100 ft.
tower. The
explosion melted
the sand for
800m, creating
atomic glass
called atomsite, or
trinitite. Windows
were shattered
120 miles away.
July 25, 1945
• President Truman orders the military to
make plans for dropping two atomic
bombs on Japanese targets. He said,
“The final decision of where and when to
use the atomic bomb was up to me. Let
there be no mistake about it. I regarded
the bomb as a military weapon and never
had any doubt that it should be used.
The Enola Gay
• Colonel Paul W. Tibbits pilots
the plane, the Enola Gay, that
holds the first atomic bomb to be
dropped on Hiroshima Japan –
• The bomb is nicknamed Little
Boy
Map of Hiroshima
The Bombing of Hiroshima
• On August 6, 1945, the world's
first atomic bomb “Little Boy”,
is dropped on Hiroshima,
Japan.
• 78,000 were killed and another
70,000 were wounded while
another 37,000 just disappeared
– vaporized.
• The bomb destroyed everything
within five square miles.
“Little Boy”
• The bomb, nicknamed "Little
Boy”, was fueled by Oak
Ridge uranium and produced
an explosion equal to 15,000
tons of TNT.
• The 9,700 pound uranium
bomb created a blinding flash
of light and a fireball that
reached one million degrees
Fahrenheit.
Map of Nagasaki
The Bombing of Nagasaki
• The US waited 3 days for the
Japanese to respond, but they
didn’t. So…the second
atomic bomb ever used in
combat was dropped over
Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
It’s nickname was “Fat
Man”.
• In a city of about 173,000,
45,000 people were killed
instantly.
“Fat Man”
• The world's second
and last atomic bomb
was nicknamed "Fat
Man" and fueled by
This is
a big
Hanford plutonium.
bomb! • It was a 10,000 pound
plutonium bomb.
• 73,884 people were
killed and 74,909 were
injured.
Destruction of Cities
• The city of Hiroshima,
as it appeared after the
atomic bomb was
dropped in 1945. The
city was laid to rubble
in a matter of seconds.
• Three days after the
bombing of
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
was also laid to ruin.
Effect On The People
• The death toll of the annihilation had reached
between 130,000 and 150,000 people by the end
of that year.
• Those who survived the bombing rapidly aged.
Some of them lost all of their hair before their
death.
• Five years later, as many as 340,000 people, or 54
percent of the original population, had died from
the two explosions. Why?
Effect On The People (continued)
• On those two tragic days, thousands of
Japanese were killed, vaporized, torn
apart, and boiled in their own skins.
Survivors tell of burns that did not heal
for fifteen years. It was difficult for
firefighters to move the injured because
their skin peeled off as they were being
picked up.
• In the area near the hypo-center the heat
instantly carbonized human bodies and
vaporized their internal fluids.
Effect On The People (continued)
• A person who sat on the
step evaporated, only
leaving their shadow
behind.
Effect On The People (continued)
• This man, who was exposed
within 1 km of the hypocenter,
was burned over his entire body.
• The death toll within 1 km from
the hypocenter was 96.7% of
people who were burned, 96.9%
of people who had external
injuries, and 94.1% of people
who had no apparent injuries.
Effect On The People (continued)
• Data shows that immediate deaths
were due not only to burns and
external injuries but also to severe
radiation-induced injuries. The
effects of atomic bomb exposure
include "keloid" scars, atomic
bomb cataracts, leukemia, and
microcephaly (small head
syndrome).
Effect On Surroundings
• These six bottles were
found melted together in
the ruins of a store about
400 meters from the
hypocenter.
• Ceramic roof tiles bubbled
and rocks turned black.
The rock’s exposed
surfaces turned black and
cracked.
Effect On Surroundings
(continued)
• These coins were stacked
together when exposed to
the heat rays. Since the
coins have different
melting points, some of the
coins fused together. This
is just some evidence of the
fierce, instantaneous heat
released by the atomic
bomb’s explosion.
Japanese Surrender
• Emperor Hirohito was horrified by the
destruction of his people and his country, and
ordered the papers for surrender be drawn up.
• September 2, 1945, Japanese sign surrender
papers in a formal ceremony aboard the USS
Missouri, with General MacArthur leading the
ceremonies. This day is V-J Day, Victory over
Japan Day, the official end of WWII.
Japanese Surrender Party
on the USS Missouri
Occupation of Japan
• General MacArthur commanded the
occupation of defeated Japan
• 1100 Japanese, including General
and former Prime Minister Hideki
Tojo were arrested and put on trial.
7 leaders, including Tojo, were put
to death
Japanese Democracy
• MacArthur introduced free-market
practices to Japan, boosting
Japanese economy.
– He also called for a new constitution
that gave more rights to women, and
guaranteed basic freedoms
– The constitution was so successful, it is
still called the MacArthur Constitution
Nuremberg War Trials
• After the discovery of the atrocities
committed by Hitler’s Third Reich,
24 surviving Nazi leaders were put
on trial for crimes against humanity,
crimes against peace, and war
crimes. 12 of 24 were sentenced to
death, and more were arrested and
found guilty of war crimes
I was only following
orders…
• As Nazis claimed innocence,
citing their orders, they, for
the first time, were held
responsible for their own
actions during war