Conclusion of World War ii

Objective: Students will investigate the final decisions made to end WWII and argue if these decisions were correct/wrong and be measured through their Cornell notes, QW, reading analysis, discussion, and exit slip.

Setting the Stage Allied forces moved toward Germany from the west Soviet army began advancing toward Germany from the east Hitler now faced a war on two fronts

Battle of the Bulge In desperation, Hitler decided to focus all force in the west For a moment, Hitler was able to break through the Allied lines Allies would eventually push back forcing the Germans to retreat and surrender

Germany’s Unconditional Surrender By April 1945 3 million allied troops approached Berlin from the west 6 million Soviet troops approached from the east Hitler wrote his final address to his people Blamed the Jews for starting the war His generals for losing it May 8, 1945- surrender of Germany was official V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day Unfortunately, Roosevelt died on April 12

JTPS Now that Hitler and Germany are defeated; is World War II over? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.

Victory in the Pacific After the battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese ended up retreating for the rest of the war By the end of 1944 – Allied forces retook the Philippines 1945 U.S. took Iwo Jima (660 miles away from Japan) Okinawa (350 miles)

Battle of Leyte Gulf Japanese risked their entire naval fleet Kamikaze fighters – Japanese suicide pilots that crashed into Allied ships with their bomb-filled planes Japanese navy had lost disastrously, which eliminated them from the war

The Atomic Bomb The next stop was Japan President Truman was told that it would cost half a million lives to invade Japan Instead, Truman decided to drop the A-bomb or atomic bomb on Japan

Japan Surrenders Aug. 6, 1945 Aug. 9 Sept. 2 First bomb was dropped on Hiroshima killing 73,000 people Aug. 9 Second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 37,500 Sept. 2 The Japanese surrendered and the war had finally ended

QW #24 – WWIII? The devastation of WWII will forever be remembered. Think about what started WWII… If another World War were to occur, how would you feel? What is worth fighting for? Elaborate on what you believe is worth fighting for. Explain your reasoning. 1 paragraph