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The 5 W’s of WW2
Brandon Brooks
What
• The war in Europe was caused by the German
invasion of Poland and the war in Asia was
triggered by the Japanese invasion of China.
Searching for more fundamental causes is
more complicated and becomes intertwined
with answers to "What could have prevented
World War 2?" and "What chains of events led
to WW2?"
Who
Bad
Adolf Hitler
Gen. Hidaka Tojo
Benita Mussolini
Good
Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
How
It ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers.
Germany surrendered on May 7th to the Western Allies, and May
8th to the Soviet Union, 1945, about a week after Adolf Hitler had
committed suicide. Japan was able to hold out for another few
months and was preparing for a desperate and bloody defense in
the event of an American invasion of the home islands. Atomic
bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9
respectively. After that the Imperial government sought the
Emperor's personal authority to surrender which he granted. He
made a personal radio address announcing the decision on August
15, 1945. The surrender was signed on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the
battleship A.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. President Truman officially
declared an end to hostilities by Presidential Proclamation on
December 31, 1946 (Proc. no. 2714, 61 Stat. 1048)
What
The modern world is still living with the consequences of World War
2, the most titanic conflict in history. 70 years ago on September 1st
1939, Germany invaded Poland without warning sparking the start of
World War Two. By the evening of September 3rd, Britain and France
were at war with Germany and within a week, Australia, New
Zealand, Canada and South Africa had also joined the war. The world
had been plunged into its second world war in 25 years. Six long and
bloody years of total war, fought over many thousand of square
kilometres followed. From the Hedgerows of Normandy to the
streets of Stalingrad, the icy mountains of Norway to the sweltering
deserts of Libya, the insect infested jungles of Burma to the coral
reefed islands of the pacific. On land, sea and in the air, Poles fought
Germans, Italians fought Americans and Japanese fought Australians
in a conflict which was finally settled with the use of nuclear
weapons. World War 2 involved every major world power in a war
for global domination and at its end, more than 60 million people
had lost their lives and most of Europe and large parts of Asia lay in
ruins.
When
•
December 8, 1941 was the date of the US declaration of war, but in fact the U.S.
was at war December 7, 1941 at about 7:55 AM when the Japanese attacked.
•
German forces surrendered in Italy on April 29 1945, and in Western Europe on
May 7, 1945. On the Eastern Front, Germany surrendered to the Soviets on May 8,
1945. A German Army Group Centre resisted in Prague until May 11, 1945. On July
11, 1945, the Allied leaders met in Potsdam, Germany. They confirmed earlier
agreements about Germany.
On August 15, 1945 Japan surrendered, with the surrender documents finally
signed aboard the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri on September 2,
1945, ending the war.
President Truman officially declared an end to hostilities by Presidential
Proclamation on December 31, 1946 (Proc. no. 2714, 61 Stat. 1048)
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SUMMARY
World War 2, also known as the Second World War, was a war fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe
and, during much of the 1930s and 1940s, in Asia.
The war in Europe began in earnest on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi
Germany, and concluded on September 2, 1945, with the official surrender of the last Axis nation,
Japan. However, in Asia the war began earlier with Japanese interventions in China, and in Europe,
the war ended earlier with the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945.
The conflict spilled over into Africa, included a handful of incidents in the Americas, and a series of
major naval battles.
It was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world and involving more countries
than any other war, as well as introducing powerful new weapons, culminating in the first use of
nuclear weapons.
However, despite the name, not all countries of the world were involved; some through neutrality
(such as the Eire - though Eire supplied some important secret information to the Allies; D-Day's
date was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information supplied from Ireland Sweden, and Switzerland), others through strategic insignificance (Mexico).
The war ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict and served as a backdrop for
genocidal killings by Nazi Germany as well as several other mass slaughters of civilians which,
although not technically genocide, were significant.
These included the massacre of millions of Chinese and Korean nationals by Japan, internal mass
killings in the Soviet Union, and the bombing of civilian targets in German and Japanese cities by
the Allies. In total, World War II produced about 50 million deaths, more than any other war to
date.